Summerabbacat

No, I don't think Caleb murdered Ira @Seraph28, and I still cannot believe Ira was not beating Caleb either, but if he wasn't, who was? I cannot imagine Caleb was able to harm himself in such a manner that it appeared his father had beaten him. I have to say, @Josh Aterovis, the Baltimore Bamboozler has struck again. When all is revealed we will likely kick ourselves (figuratively of course), and wonder how we did not notice the clues he had given us as to the identity of the murderer.

And they are far more interesting than those two horrid families who cannot be named, who appeared in TV programmes about themselves and have made millions/billions from self-promotion.

I guess it helps to be the author AND have an exceptional memory (or some type of e-record of all these important facts at your fingertips).

I don't recall that Marie-Louise had asthma @Lee Wilson, so I assume she may have had some type of cancer which made her immune to the chemical leak which killed millions. If she has had cancer then she may have been rendered infertile. Given her careless attitude towards sex, this would be highly desirable as she is clearly unfit to have children, at least at present.

You have forgotten @Seraph28 that it was Killian who ended their relationship, not Arsehair. I must say I had not thought Killian was trying to hurt Arsehair in any way, I thought he was as he stated to Seth, trying to keep Arsehair informed of progress made in the case that he, Arsehair, had begged him to take on. It appears after the revelations of the last two chapters that Caleb has perhaps been stringing Arsehair, Marco and Finnegan along, and may have orchestrated the biggest con of all, faking his father was beating him. This I still find very hard to believe, unless he was harming himself.

Well colour me surprised? Is it possible Caleb had everyone fooled into thinking his father was beating him? If he was not beaten by Ira, how did he manage to fool neighbours such as Todd and Paige Haynes? And for what reason would he pretend he was being beaten by his father? Rachel and Nadine both confirmed Ira was a mean sonofabitch and his parents did not think favourably of him, so it is certainly believable he was beating Caleb. If he was not beating Caleb, I wonder if he was sexually abusing him? If neither, is it possible Caleb is the murderer after all? A single red herring has become a school, and not just one school @Josh Aterovis, but what I believe you Americans refer to as elementary, middle and high school. Mud is clearer than my brain after this chapter, my speculation(s) lay in tatters, discarded like Caleb's used condoms.

His time has not necessarily been wasted @Seraph28 if he learns something from it. He has already expressed to himself all the doubts he had which he realises he should have paid heed to instead of dismissing. If he learns to trust himself more he will have learned a valuable lesson.

I must say I finally lost my patience with Nick in this chapter even before he accused Jack of not inviting Noah to his party. After the accusation was made and Nick was on his way to Noah's room I suspected, and sincerely hoped, Nick would find Noah in the compromising position he found him in. I am glad Nick has been hurt by Noah as it is the only way he was ever going to believe what many of us thought, Noah is smarmy and not to be trusted (and you don't have egg on your face @Seraph28, you clearly are a person who likes to give your fellow humans the benefit of the doubt and believe they are essentially good, whilst I am invariably the polar opposite). I foolishly thought, as did many of my fellow readers, Nick had realised Jack was the one who treasured him, but clearly he was still wearing his rose coloured blinkers (not glasses in his case, but fucking blinkers). It seems Mama Kincaid's wise words meant something entirely different to Nick than what they did to me and many of my fellow readers. It is time for Nick to put his big boy pants on now he has "celebrated" his 15th birthday (and if he moans one more time about his friends caring enough about him to organise a surprise birthday party for him I hope someone slaps him). He needs to apologise to Jack in particular, grovel and beg his forgiveness, not go running home to Mummy and Mr Bojangles, but seriously grovel. As for Noah, Nick needs to ERASE him from his life completely. A riveting chapter @LittleBuddhaTW, one which will have devastating after effects, one which will set the tone for the duration of the story I sense.

Perhaps Vince could donate some of the furniture, if suitable and with Gray's agreement, to the Horniman Centre or Sandra and Matt may be able to use some. There is some merit in what Peter said that there may be some valuable, or perhaps some embarrassing, furniture or personal items buried in amongst the junk in the two rooms upstairs. Maybe some love letters from MacDonald Philpott to a secret lover, or from his father to a secret lover. Who knows MacDonald or his father may not have been as straight as thought, maybe Gray and now Vince aren't the only gay male Philpott family members. Or perhaps there is information about Aunt Marjorie, a scandalous affair or mistreatment by MacDonald or his father. Intriguing chapter @Robert Hugill. I cannot help but feel that something scandalous or unpleasant will be revealed about MacDonald Philpott or his father when the two rooms upstairs are cleared of their surplus furniture and assorted bric-a-brac.

Sweet, innocent, demure Calvin? Was that just an act or has he undergone significant and rapid character growth, his sexual assertiveness increasing with an increase in confidence of his desirability? I am beginning to think he may have "used" Jordan, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to make Alan jealous, which appears to have worked. His flirtation with Brady is likely to ramp up Alan's jealousy and possessiveness even more, unless Alan partakes of a little or more "beef" at the party. The party appears to be very well organised and regulated, with health checks of both the workers and the party attendees, payment of workers regulated, and a police presence in Brady. Trevor's warning about not engaging in any activities which could be construed as prostitution and Brady's warning about taking illegal drugs, further indication of a well organised and regulated event. I have looked at a USA map online @KKirk and note New Mexico and Arizona are neighbouring states. Am I correct in assuming Albuquerque must be within a couple of hours drive of the Arizona border given both Billy and Brady work for the Arizona Public Service and Arizona Police Department (?) respectively?

If I were a betting man I would bet you are "on the money" @Philippe, but I think he will do it for himself more than anyone else, or is that my wishful thinking.

My learned fellow readers have already offered their "two bobs worth" or more in some instances, and raised some very salient points. The only comment I can offer which I don't believe anyone else has raised is that, I do not think we should underestimate Dallas' mother. It appears his father is not going to take the news of a relationship between his son and JJ well at all, in contrast to his mother who is not only unfazed by the prospect of a relationship, but is fully supportive of it, is rather delighted in fact. She strikes me thus far as a woman who is capable of holding her own, and if need be will not shy from challenging her husband's beliefs if they are at odds with hers. If push comes to shove, I strongly suspect Dallas' mother will support him, even if it costs her her marriage. Another sterling effort @Mark Ponyboy Peters. I sense a relationship between JJ and Dallas may have an impact on the relationship between Dallas' parents, perhaps lending another interpretation of Beyond Salvation.

Agreed @pvtguy and this may prove invaluable if Dallas' father is as opposed to a relationship of any kind between Dallas and JJ as what Dallas and his mother believe will likely be the case. If he is vehemently opposed to it, Dallas' mother may be able to persuade him to at least be civil, even if he never accepts a relationship between Dallas and JJ. 🤞🤞🤞🤞

I fucked it up again @Al Norris, and forgot to quote you before making the comment below, and GA is so unforgiving of idiots like me who make this mistake. Spot on @Al Norris, which is why I think Dallas has tried to subdue JJ's excitement about a relationship between he and JJ. I think it very likely Dallas' father has made negative comments about gay men previously, in fact, he may have done so when the boys were younger and very close friends. Daddy dearest may have been concerned then the boys were developing "unnatural" feelings for each other. The comments made by Dallas' mother to JJ about her husband's reaction to a renewed friendship between Dallas and JJ, and Dallas' belief his father will go ballistic when he finds out that he and JJ are more than friends, does not bode well for their relationship, even if it is to be limited to friendship. JJ's father is totally unfazed, so perhaps a word from him in Dallas' father's ear may be of benefit.

Some idiots also think all vegetarian males are gay and vegetarian females are butch dykes, or at least left-wing communists @weinerdog. I am not a fan of men having long hair generally, but Brad Pitt was smokin' hot in Interview With A Vampire with long hair, but then we are talking about Brad Pitt. Johnny Depp had that emo-esque look in Edward Scissorhands and he looked hot, but then when is Johnny Depp not hot.

I have read several of @Dabeagle's works and enjoyed them immensely. A collaboration between the two of you sounds like a match "made in Baltimore".

"Ryan left to get his bag from the car. Amy waited to let Ryan back in. She wasn't sure, but had a feeling Ryan was gay. She liked him, but wasn't going to try anything right away, in case her suspicions were confirmed. She did question Dr. D, out of concern for the boys. "Dr. D, I, um, don't know exactly how to say this. I, um, I think Ryan might be, um, gay." "It's not for me to confirm or deny, but I will say, regardless, I trust Ryan. He spent a lot of time with them when they were at his father's hotel. The boys confided in me that they used the pool naked, and that's probably why Larry mentioned it about the hot tub. If Ryan was like that, he would have had plenty of opportunities to do something, and he didn't." "OK. I just wasn't sure." Have I read this conversation correctly @Lee Wilson in that both Amy and George Sr equate being gay with being a paedophile? Billy and Todd both have loose lips, loose lips that are going to sink ships, the ships being The Billy, The Todd and The Marie-Louise. The Ross' may be able to contain the fall out so the police do not become involved, but it is going to be a struggle for them to manage the situation. All three children need to be punished severely. Regardless of whether Ryan is gay or not, he deserves someone better than Amy if he is heterosexual and if she equates being gay with being a paedophile.

Some of your mother's have not had given names that I can recall e.g. Mrs Hamilton, and for those that have, you have always given them an ordinary name spelt in the usual manner, thereby making them believable rather than some ridiculous caricature. The only mother's names I recall with certainty are Catherine (Rafael's mother), Pamela (Grayson's mother?), and of course Margaret, the hideous Monolith. The only father's names names I recall with certainty are Peter (Justin's father) and that was because he was an arsehole, and Phillip (Rafael's father). I am surprised I cannot recall off the top of my head what Grayson's father's name was given he played a more significant role in the story than what your father's tend to. The only way I could remember the names of the secondary characters would be to record them on a spreadsheet. How do you remember the names of all your characters when you are writing a new story?

I think you stated somewhere @Mark Ponyboy Peters that you wrote and published this story elsewhere some time ago. If my memory serves me correctly, I am glad you did not change JJ's mother's name from Karen to something else, or if my memory is crap and it is a recently written story, I am glad you named her Karen and refused to bow to the court of "popular opinion" that all women named Karen must be middle-aged, selfish, right-wing nutters. If her name had been Nancy, Lauren or Marjorie that would have been quite a different matter (LOL). In all seriousness, I know several women named Karen who are in their 50's and 60's who are all pleasant women.

For the cost of the underwear I would want them to do a little more than just be "better for balls" @Philippe. Perhaps an inbuilt "tongue"? They are very appealing though, and organic cotton does feel very soft and soothing to the skin.

Timmy may have feared the reception he would receive from Dallas if he visited, and rightly so, but it is indicative of the depth of their "friendship" that not one of them visited Dallas. There has been nothing to date to suggest Dallas "rules" the goons by fear either, they are merely hangers on. @Mark Ponyboy Peters has allowed us "free rein" to wander where, and how far, our minds would like to wander contemplating the dreams JJ had @weinerdog. I am sure they were very wholesome, and not fit to be repeated only because they were so wholesome. JJ lovingly tending to Dallas' wounds, fully clothed and in a very professional manner. JJ picking fresh vegetables from the garden and cooking Dallas highly nutritious meals, tofu stir fries, plant-based bolognese, beetroot and black bean burgers on sourdough with fresh salad, to restore him to full health. Then again, maybe JJ had a "purple" moment. I wonder if he was similarly attired in his dreams to his "Royal Purpleness". I think if Dallas were similarly attired, the climax of JJ's dreams would have been explosive.

"Becky? What happened to Charlotte, and Crystal, and Samantha?’ I teased". No Miranda or Carrie @Mark Ponyboy Peters? Thank Felix for that. Miranda was just a little too career-minded and cold-hearted, and Carrie was a self-centred pain in the arse. Charlotte was delightful (most of the time) and Samantha was a gay man in a woman's body (and utterly fabulous).

The orange Brillo pad has some support in Australia too. Our saving grace is we are a much less religious nation by and large, abortion is not illegal and has widespread community support, marriage equality is widely accepted (even by some prominent members of the major religions) and gun laws are tighter. It is not perfect by any means, our environmental laws and animal rights laws still leave much to be desired, but it is better than many others.

I understand and wholeheartedly agree with your statement regarding the current climate in the USA. We had a Federal election in Australia in May 2025 which I greatly feared was going to result in a shift to the right as your leader inspired similar sentiments in Australia, including a brand new party which even "honoured" him in its name, Trumpet of Patriots. Much to my surprise and relief, there was a huge backlash against such sentiments and the Labor Party (the more left leaning of the two major parties) won in a landslide, with the Trumpet of Patriots winning no seats. It was a very comforting moment.

If he is as unkempt as what has been stated on a few occasions now @drsawzall, pruning shears may be needed to trim the thicket before the razor and shaving cream can even be contemplated for deployment.