Wombat Bill

A few days later, Tristan and Snowy arrived for lunch. After greetings, Craig went to the kitchen and Justin joined Tristan and Snowy. “Tristan, are you still alcohol free or will you join us and have a glass of wine?” “I drink a little these days, not as strict as I used to be about that.” “Or other matters either, I have noticed.” “OK, I’ve relaxed my standards.” “I don’t think you’ve relaxed your standards, but the contrary, you’ve raised your standards to allow Snowy into

That's Justin. What you see is what you get. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.Apart from Quiche and Croissants, a Sunday brunch tradition in our house, not a fan of French food either. However we did enjoy three days in Paris a few years back. A beautiful and friendly city.

While Justin was preparing dinner, Craig received a call from a very excited Romel. “Hey Romel, thanks for calling back, I only wanted to talk to you about the car dealership, but Edward has told me all about your encounter and his payback. Sounds like a total loser, I’ll keep away from him.” “Yeah, yeah, but I’ve got other news for you. Edward told me you’re looking for a commercial kitchen.” “Yes, we really have reached the limit of what we can do here at home.” “I don’t kn

Nice thoughts @Summerabbacat I hope he lives up to your expectations.

It's not a done deal yet. What are you hoping for from Snowy? I thought I'd set the scene early for the possible new directions of CWB.

“You’re doing fine Mr Prentice, but you will have to be up and about tomorrow, because you need to start your physio.” Doctor McGuire told his patient. “And after all that will I get back to normal?” “Triple by-pass surgery after a major heart attack takes a toll on your body. At your age I recommend you slow down some and especially remove stress from your daily life.” “But I own a restaurant, bar and function centre.” “Do you work there every day?” “Yes, sometime seven

Come on guys, he's given you a free kick. All I can add is - OMG, Bugger me, WOW, If we are thinking the same, then we have had one Liberal PM, one Labor PM and one Labor Premier who were closeted. The latter married late and married a lady who preferred ladies.

@chris191070, @ReaderPaul, @Summerabbacat all well observed and early days yet.

Jonathan and Virginia Price, who had led almost separate lives for most of their marriage were now in their mid-fifties and found their priorities changing with age. They were extremely wealthy and their lifestyle was funded by a national chain of jewellery design studios and retail stores. The business had been passed down the Price family for three generations and Jonathan was the current owner. Due to Jonathan’s preference for male sexual partners, Virginia had long had live-in lovers em

Before introducing Jared to Hannah and the boys, Julia thought it better to meet alone with Jared to tell him about the circumstances that lead to her pregnancy. A restaurant seemed a bit public, especially if one or both of them became emotional and they both had others living in their homes so another venue had to be found. Eventually Julia asked Jessica for the use of her flat. *** Jared arranged to have the whole of Saturday off, as he did not know what would happen when he met his

You may have just named book 4.

Three Months Earlier Julia told Jessica and Justin that she had been raped by her brother Brendan when she was only 16 years old. As a result of that rape she fell pregnant and gave birth to a son, named Jared, who was adopted out at birth. Before coming to the meeting Julia had been determined to just tell her story and leave immediately afterwards; but now that she had unburdened herself of a thirty year old secret she felt freer and closer to Jessica and Justin. A sense of calmness

The Sydney Daily News Your Independent Newspaper ===================== Convicted Murderer Found Dead in Prison. Brendan Haynes, who confessed to the murder of Sam Hiscock in 2017 was found, last week, hanging in the exercise yard of Long Bay Prison. Police are investigating but at this point are treating it as suicide. The body was discovered by a prison guard during a search prompted by Haynes’ failure to check in after his exercise period. It is believed the hang

This is the third book in the “Catering With Benefits” series. All the characters from the previous books return and continue their efforts to succeed in business and love. Jared meets his birth mother and Craig and Justin expand their business into a new venture. Dean, Juanito, Thomas, Jared and Snowy all get new jobs. Tristan has exciting news about a new dance project and The Prices also set off in new directions. Raj is still in search of love while Brett and Jeremy take on a new project and Andy makes an investment.

Are you a winner in the CWB Groupie Awards? https://gayauthors.org/blogs/entry/19233-welcome-to-the-cwb-groupie-awards/

The “Most Promising Newcomer” award - @CaJu The “Hercule Poirot” award for Best Deduction Skills - @ReaderPaul The “Sigmund Freud” award for Best Character Analysis Skills - @NimirRaj The “Awesome” award for Best Distillation Skills - @chris191070 The “Ghandi” award for Patience - @Summerabbacat The "Best Supporting Award" All those who registered their reaction to the story.

Just think of the threesome possibilities, or more.

My comment today is simply - Enjoy the early release of the final chapter, and those that got it right - congratulations! Thank you all for staying till the end. I love you all. PS - The story is now marked Complete, so you can right that review.

A few days after the family dinner, Julia called Justin and asked if they could meet somewhere private. Justin suggested his mother’s place and Julia agreed. Justin called his Mum to advise her and the meeting was set. Justin arrived early so he and his mum could discuss the matter, but soon realised there was nothing more to discuss. Everything relied on Julia’s explanation. Jessica prepared sandwiches in advance so that she did not have to be in the kitchen or delay the meeting when Julia

Romel had gone to bed, as he was on an early shift, but Edward was still trying to watch TV while occasionally nodding off. He really wanted to know whodunit, but was not good at working it out in advance. Edward knew the most dangerous town in the world to live in or more correctly to die in is Causton UK and this episode of Midsomer Murders was living up to its title. Already three people had met a grizzly end involving a sword, a vat of wine and a cheese needle. But Barnaby and Winter were cl

@CaJu - Welcome to the CWB groupies page, with an insightful first entry. @ReaderPaul - @Summerabbacat - @chris191070 - and maybe @NimirRaj - You guys are so into this story that you are now outguessing me. There are some correct assumptions among your speculations. That's all I'm saying today. Oh, there is one more thing. Next chapter was intended to be the final reveal BUT you will have to wait one more day BECAUSE Raj has something to say.

In early March Justin called Jared to follow up on the mystery of their fathers’ sharing a name. “Sorry to be so long getting back to you Jared, but it’s just been manic lately with big functions”. “That’s OK, did you find out anything?” “Not really, my aunt doesn’t know of any other Brendans in the family so I guess we’re at a dead end”. “Well I’ve been busy researching at the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages. I found out my birth father’s birthday is 19 September 19

Once again, your in depth analysis is superb. Your imaginations breath even more life into the characters than I can. @Summerabbacat - I did not think Juanito could disgust me any more than what he previously has, but once again he has proven me wrong. - I have tried several times to "rescue" Juanito, but he keeps getting into more trouble and it seems to be out of my control. @ReaderPaul - But the alcohol, it seems to me, might seriously "burn" the bladder and the urethra from the inside. - I did some research on this and could not find a definitive answer. The nearest I got was this, following on from a statement about the rectum's ability to absorb fluid. " The bladder on the other hand, is made for storing fluid waste, but it does not reabsorb water from that waste. So it has evolved thicker, less vessel-filled lining which can't be penetrated easily. The side effect of a bladder impermeable to water is that it's also impermeable to alcohol." @chris191070 - It's great to see Max and Charles, - Yes the ever popular septuagenarians are back. @NimirRaj - Your checklist is pretty spot on. - but where does he get these ideas? From the head of a demented writer, perhaps. I won't say any more as there will be some resolution to the Juanito/Raj matter in chapter 41. Chapters 40 and 42 will resolve the Jared/Justin mystery. You can tell we're nearing the end of a season?

“But why can’t I come over and stay the night? You know I can’t invite you over here with Mum and Dad watching every move and I know Romel wouldn’t have a problem with it.” “It’s not that, but I will be away tonight, Raj.” “Oh, where are you going?” “Just staying overnight with a friend.” “Anyone I know?” “No.” “I don’t want to sound pushy, but if we’re boyfriends and you’re going away why am I not invited?” “Raj, there’s something I need to tell you.” “Yo

@NimirRaj - Does he do birthday parties? There is an Australian rock band (perhaps before your time) whose name will answer your question. Weddings Parties Anything @Summerabbacat - Was this perhaps a reference to the wonderful ABC TV series of the same name, or merely an apt coincidence? Would I miss a chance to reference one of my all time fave TV shows? My favourite line from this chapter "Have a close look while you’re down there. It’s some of my best work. Mine too I also noted in the previous chapter you referred to the GLBTIQ community (you naughty radical you). I cheered (privately of course) your audacity. In this chapter you have reverted to the "acceptable PC" LGBTIQ community. You are a rabble rouser. Well done. - The history in this chapter was compiled from research and the two forms were used in different references. @ReaderPaul - I hope we learn about the get-together with Max and Charles at some time in the future. That meeting was originally part of this story and was lifted to include in the short story “Max and Charles” https://gayauthors.org/story/wombat-bill/max-and-charles/ It might seem a bit repetitive to some, but now you have raised it, I will put it back for today’s chapter. Sounds like Brett and Edward have some traits in common. - I only realised that when writing this chapter and it seemed like a good idea to have the ‘meeting of minds’ (or tongues) scene. @chris191070 - Some great and thought provoking stories - Nice try, but you have some way to go to compete with Thomas for short sentences. Thank you all for your beautiful comments about the inclusions in ‘Cocktales’. I enjoyed researching and tried to include the facts in such a way as not to sound like a history lecture. When I was working at the Australian Museum Sydney in 1994, I was privileged to be invited to join the project team curating the exhibition “Prejudice and Pride” a history of Mardi Gras. We expanded our original brief to include more than Mardi Gras and it became a study of gay and lesbian rights in Australia. One of the proudest and happiest times of my working life. Some of the research collected for this project, I saved and used for these two chapters. There are only 3 more chapters in this story. Yes, @Summerabbacat all will be revealed about Jared's heritage. I may then take a short break to catch up on writing, as I only have 6 chapters of "An Appetite for More" ready to go. I had intended to be further ahead with this story but have been distracted by adding to "Second Course".