Summerabbacat

One with an "obsession" to have a rescue cat (or 7) as a therapy companion?

Dylan's character growth in this story has been phenomenal. When he first married Lacy I could not have foreseen him not only acknowledging he needed help, but also seeking it. He is to be commended for acknowledging his vulnerability and breaking point has been reached. Salvatore is to be commended for being there to support him no questions asked. The break from Jackson needs to be permanent. He cannot be trusted. Jackson, one of your most frightening creations yet @Lee Wilson as he is an accomplished and very convincing liar. I fear not only for the safety of Dylan, but also the safety of Dominic. I suspect there is a very good reason for the facial burns, whether self-inflicted or inflicted by someone else.

What are you talking about @Cane23, it never happened, Owen did not deliberately out his supposed best friend Neil to their circle of friends, facilitate the whole school finding out, facilitate an assault on Neil by Lucas and finally shout at Neil when he attempted to confirm he was gay. No, never happened, capisce. I agree with you and @Al Norris, Owen, Ned and Robbie do not deserve Neil's acknowledgment of their existence, let alone his friendship after the bullshit they have carried on with in recent times. Neil has much better friends in Alex and Sammy, and perhaps Gerry if he loses some of his "attitude". Lucas' mental capacity appears to be deteriorating further. Any reasoning with him, which has always been limited at best, has now gone completely. It will not surprise me at all if he attempts self-harm and has to be hospitalised for his own safety.

The wee laddies have married in a simple but heartfelt ceremony. All who were important in their lives were present and the ceremony went off without a hitch. No homophobes attempted to gate crash the ceremony, no tornado appeared out of nowhere and struck the Hilton, the attendees were not suddenly overcome by a case of rabid food poisoning, and no one got intoxicated and pulled out a high-powered gun and started shooting. Phew, what a relief @Lee Wilson (LOL). Love Is In The Air everywhere the wee laddies look around. First marriage and now serious discussion about adoption. I applaud both Hammer and Nomes for their decision to adopt an older child(ren) and their (almost) decision to consider one with special needs. Bart's offer to give up work is also commendable, but they must, and I believe they will, give serious consideration as to what special needs they would rule out, if any. Tremendous chapter @Lee Wilson (almost as good as Before And After The Divorce). Go for it 'Squeak', you did Australia proud.

Jackson is trouble, big time trouble. I am beginning to wonder if anything he has disclosed is the truth. Have you created another psychopath @Lee Wilson? The hidden agenda comment you made above is very alarming.

I am still not convinced Jackson is telling the truth. Zach did not have a photograph of his Jackson Burben, so who is to say Jackson Burben and Jackson Tevron are not one and the same. When Jackson first disclosed his Zach Washington had hit him he described him as follows: "Washington, average height, a little stocky, black?" Now Jackson is claiming his Zach Washington is white. I don't think his colour is something which he would forget. Something does not ring true @Lee Wilson. Is this perhaps another sneaky Wilsonism?

You're a sneaky so and so (LOL). I have just started reading the next chapter and discovered your treachery. Kiss On My List may still be apropos after all, and eventually perhaps You Make My Dreams may be even more apropos.

All I can add to all the astute comments above is: FUCK! Does anyone Dylan is personally involved with tell the truth apart from Dominic and probably Salvatore? I was going to post Daryl Hall & John Oates Kiss On My List after what happened at the beginning of this chapter @Lee Wilson, with the hope that Dylan and Jackson's partnership was going to be a happier one. It seems I was premature in my thoughts, the imminent split between Dylan and Jackson will likely be more acrimonious.

It's 12.43am Saturday morning in Sydney, Australia. I rarely go to bed before midnight, even when working full-time, so it is not outrageously late for me.

"No worries. Strictly a hands-off evening. I feel the same way. After being burned by Zach, I'm taking... What" I am curious @Lee Wilson if Jackson was burned literally by Zach and it is this which has caused his disfigurement. I daresay this may be addressed in a future chapter. It certainly appears Dylan was lucky he did not become more involved with Zach as he is obviously a complete psychopath. Salvatore does need to be a little more discreet I think as Dominic is only 7 and 1/2 years of age. Mind you, Dominic is one very smart and witty boy. Is the "big game" baseball or gridiron?

Jackson is hot. Those nipples. Yum. Salvatore is delightful and very observant. Are you sure Dominic is only 7 and 1/2 years of age @Lee Wilson (LOL). I would caution Dominic outing his father to all and sundry though as this could invite unwanted attention from another Aunt Jessica clone. I have not been able to logout yet as I am totally rapt in this story, which seems like a good introduction to the posting of another great song. This time from my all-time favourite American band, second only to ABBA as my favourite band. The lead singer is also one of my favourite female soloists and a goddess to boot. It is still hard to believe she will be 80 years of age this year.

Binge reading your stories has been a comfort, along with my feline "daughters". Even my music has not been of comfort this week as my receiver needs "attention". I do not stream music or play it on my phone, I still listen to it on CD or vinyl.

Indeed I am, although I shall have to finish shortly. I have been sick this past week with an early season 'flu or something equivalent, which has given me more time to binge read.

Aunt Jessica. Bitch needs to die, and like now @Lee Wilson. What a hateful, malicious, ignorant, harpy. I hope Lacy did not leave her anything in her will. I daresay she will not appear in the story again, but I hope you at least reference her corpse, and sooner rather than later. Still a great story, one of your very best.

Hopefully Aunt Jessica got slammed by that out-of-control semi-trailer driven by a man who has had a heart "episode", the one I have suggested on several occasions to address homophobia in some of your stories @Lee Wilson. What a fucking bitch. I assume Simon is her husband; well bitch he is more likely to molest a child than Dylan you ignorant imbecile. Dylan's father was a wonderful surprise, and a far more suitable relative for Dominic to be exposed to than Jessica Muffmange from Minnesota. This story is superbly written @Lee Wilson.

I had no idea there was so much to be done when someone dies @Lee Wilson. This story, although now very sad, has been an effortless to read to date. The pacing and chapter lengths have been perfect. Unsurprisingly, this story seems to have generated more comments than any other from your back catalogue that I have read thus far.

Death was the kindest release for Lacy given the circumstances and prognosis had she "lived". I agree with those readers who felt Dominic knew his mother had passed away. He is as Dr Greene surmised, a very intelligent child. I believe Dylan's calm demeanour in a time of crisis also helped Dominic cope with his mother's passing. A very well written chapter @Lee Wilson. My eldest cat, Kiki, passed away 13 months ago from a suspected brain tumour which in hindsight I believe she had for 4-6 weeks beforehand. In the last 24 hours of life she had several seizures, one of which was scary to observe, and passed away relatively peacefully at the age of 17. The sensitivity with which you wrote this chapter was truly beautiful.

It certainly sounds as if Lacy has had a major seizure, although I think she may still be alive, but perhaps in a vegetative state. Dylan is extraordinary in that he has to date been able to forgive and forget. He has been a wonderful father to Dominic, and I suspect will soon become a sole parent. More good work @Lee Wilson.

How very true @Celian; often not done out of fear.

Lacy to Dylan "It is my turn to be Peaches tonight". Dylan to Lacy "No it's not. Just because you Shake Your Groove Thing at him every time he comes over to take you out on a date, does not mean you are his Roller-Skatin' Mate. And you can forget about us ever Getting Down, Getting Down or Reunited". No you did not telegraph the "twist" @Lee Wilson, which was hilarious. I wonder how many people have found themselves in such circumstances without knowing beforehand. At least Lacy did not blame Dylan (yet) for her misfortune on this occasion. A very humorous chapter @Lee Wilson which could have been anything but if Lacy had turned Miss Sourpuss or Psycho Bitch again. You are a deft hand with the unusual and have an appealing black sense of humour.

I think Lacy is operating on the belief that life for her will be all ha ha hee hee going forward. Whilst it is healthy (apparently) to have a positive attitude, I think she is being somewhat naive or unrealistic about the future. Like several of my fellow readers, I am suspicious about what is motivating her to be so accommodating to Dylan. I am not convinced she was only a bitch to Dylan because of her brain tumour. Call me heartless, but I, like @kbois, think Lacy is quite manipulative and has an ulterior motive for playing Miss Nice. Your high quality writing continues @Lee Wilson. Unlike Lacy, you are consistent.

Now that's what I call music @Lee Wilson. Marvin was a great singer and a looker too I thought. I for one don't care if the medical possibilities in this chapter are IRL medical impossibilities. As you rightly pointed out in the preface to this chapter, it is fiction. I was pleased to see Tommy got into trouble with his parents for the unkind remark he made about Lacy to Dominic. I had a great laugh at the explanation offered by Dr Greene as to why he may have said what he said: "No. Dr. Greene told me why he may have said that. She said that sometimes children just say things that they shouldn't. They don't always think before they speak. Kind of like you said about hitting." If there is truth in Dr Greene's pronouncement, then clearly many nations in the world are currently governed by children, as are many states or their equivalent within those nations.

As is often the case, a particular song or sometimes several songs suddenly make themselves heard in my head when reading your work @Robert Hugill. The lyrics of the following song struck a chord with me regarding the dilemma Vince finds himself in, particularly the last three lines of the chorus: "Not until I'm ready for you Not until I'm ready for you Can I have it all" Words of wisdom from one of your "quartet", Kate Bush. Hopefully, Vince is "listening" and pays them heed; proves he is NOT the man his father was.

“Not the fine detail, no. But I thought, can’t you take a step back from the practice, become an associate or something, do more of the work that you love, deserving stuff, people that won’t care who you’re seeing.” Yes, it may be easy for Gray to say as he is an out gay man, but he is trying to help his brother, the pig-headed Vince. Vince is right though, it is his decision to make. Does he want to potentially be happy with someone he obviously cares a great deal about otherwise the decision would be easy to make, or does he want to continue living what appears to be a somewhat lonely existence to maintain the status quo. I think Vince should speak to Freddie as Freddie is the only person other than Peter who may find himself significantly impacted if Vince decides Peter is what he wants and to be open about it. I cannot imagine Freddie will disapprove or make a fuss of any kind. If Vince is already a partner in the firm he works for, what can his fellow partners legally do. I cannot imagine Vince's behaviour in the workplace will change drastically if he decides Peter is what he wants. Being open about Peter will also have the benefit of ridding Vince of Venetia Murray and her insufferable attempts at matchmaking. I loved Gray's reference to the period when Vince was an "apprentice solicitor". I can only but imagine the offence this statement would cause to some with social ideals the opposite of Vince. An excellent chapter @Robert Hugill. This dilemma of Vince's will likely sorely test the developing relationship between the brothers. Vince appears to be going through his "Ralph, pre-Nolan period". At least Vince does not have overbearing parents or a demanding ex-wife to consider or listen to in making his decision.

Illness of any kind is I imagine difficult to write about. If you describe the illness in minute detail and its impact with an abundance of emotion, is it too maudlin for the reader or does it have the effect of trivialising the illness? if you describe the illness and its impact superficially, does it present as cold and detached? I think you have done a fine job @Lee Wilson, presenting sufficient facts for the reader to appreciate Lacy's erratic behaviour, and illustrating the impact it is having on both Dylan and Dominic, without relying exclusively upon melodrama.