Summerabbacat

My favourite of all of William Broad's material. He was very popular in Australia.

You guessed correctly, although I do like some of their songs when performed by other artists, with Got To Get You Into My Life by Earth, Wind & Fire my favourite cover.

I think I have made that "error" before with the "Grandpa" series @Tallguyct, although I may not have committed it to paper.

Short and sweet, like a dose of Kylie Minogue. Well done @Lee Wilson.

Totally agree @pvtguy; one of this story's most appealing features and greatest strengths for me.

Well colour me shocked, pleasantly so. Father Andrzej was not only not repulsed by Jose's revelation he is gay, he made the same revelation to Jose himself. He is certainly fortunate to be living and practising his faith in Massachusetts as in his birth nation he would not be welcome by the church or the nation itself, much like many Eastern European nations which are either Catholic or Orthodox. I think @Tallguyct may have set the scene or a romantic liaison between Jose and Walter, whom I assume are of a similar age. A romance between the two may be just what the doctor ordered.

I agree @VBlew. What I cannot work out though is why Jose would want to share this with a Catholic priest and feel comfortable about doing so, given that Church's attitude towards the LGBT community. I assume it is very likely that being Puerto Rican he would be Catholic, but the disclosure still puzzles me. I suppose it is possible Father Andrzej may be a little more liberal in his beliefs, but I certainly would not pin any hope on this being so.

Obviously Tony "heard" your comments from the previous chapter @centexhairysub and @CincyKris and decided not to "ambush" Aaron. Whilst Aaron's reception appeared somewhat frosty, I think you guys offered good "advice" (LOL). I have not been as harsh in my assessment of Aaron as my fellow readers as I think he has really struggled mentally with Tony's departure, as evidenced by his alcohol problems and his apparent reaching out to Justin, with whom he has a stronger affinity than anyone else. Whilst I will not be surprised if he "blames" Tony for leaving town, I equally will not be surprised if he does not. He well may blame himself, acknowledging to himself that fear stopped him from accompanying Tony, fear Tony would leave him behind in a world alien to him, fear Tony would meet someone more exciting, handsome and successful, fear he would embarrass himself and/or Tony with his provincial ways. I think Aaron has lived a lot of his life in fear; his parents indifference to him caused a lot of harm to his self-esteem. I am pleased to see that I am not alone in my sympathetic attitude to Aaron, as evidenced by @CincyKris's comment. I loved Luke's political comment "and not to mention how industry in this country has been crucified, all for the sake of free trade! Man, we’ve really got it made here!’. In my mind free trade has only further encouraged the transport of live animals to non-domestic markets, many of which have little or no respect for animals and the slaughter of them. Despicable scum whom I would like to see treated in the same manner. Marvellous chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters, even if Luke's comment riled me up. Well done Luke.

You could have left it as Wilson and had Denise or Deirdre named Rhonda or Barbara Ann.

Toby 'Attenborough' ? impressed those in attendance at the Wetland Centre with his presentation, and more importantly he seemed to enjoy himself. I tried to recall if Toby's family name has ever been mentioned, I even revisited chapter 1 of Brian:Taking Courage to try and find it. Have you ever given Brian and him a family name @Robert Hugill? Toby also impressed Noah with his performance of a less "academic" nature. I had completely forgotten Gabriel is also gay @Robert Hugill. This may be another reason for Val and Marina's recent hysteria regarding Noah's relationship with Toby. This recent concern is laughable though as Val and Marina have previously shown little interest in Noah's life, often being too busy with work or social commitments to accompany him here and there, as was shown again with his visit to the Wetland Centre. For this reason alone, I find their intrusive and frankly hysterical reaction to Noah's "interactions" with Toby ridiculous. Brian and Gordon take a much greater interest in Toby's life, have a much greater understanding of the type of boy their son is and what he can be trusted to do. Great work again Mr Hugill.

I am very pleased to read Chris is going to make a return appearance, at least, in this story @Ticklishboy30. Hopefully this may indicate you are contemplating having him play a bigger role in the story than first intended. Trans characters rarely feature in stories, and when they do they are often presented as a novelty, a figure of ridicule or tragic. Trans women sometimes get a look in, but I don't recall ever reading a story featuring a trans man. All the gushing, oohing and aahing in the moonlight, and the words of love and adoration between Rhett and Brandon, made me think of a certain song which was a massive hit in Australia in 1980 (and nowhere else in the world if I recall correctly). Is it romantic and sweet? Hell no. It is a disco song featuring a cast of beefcake models, the kind you would have seen in gay porn movies from Colt studios, lip synching to the song. The reason I thought of this song is because of its gay subtext, and the overtly gay video "starring" cowboys or cowboy wannabes.

"Why would you want to adopt me? Wouldn't you rather have a whole boy?" What a sad, but wholly believable, self-image Mateo has. His self-esteem will blossom from having parents who truly want him. I had these thoughts too @weinerdog as children, like many adults, are particularly nasty to those who are different, especially if that difference is a physical "imperfection" of some description. I doubt either Bart or Noah will tolerate any bullying of either Mateo or Krystof, whom I am certain will be living in the Hankins/Hamilton household before too much longer. Krystof in particular will likely need a lot of love and attention, having lost two sets of parents whom apparently loved him. This story is shaping as one where this great song from Hot Chocolate (my favourite of theirs) may be the outcome.

Another entertaining tale from a writer whose imagination never ceases to amaze me. A story based around the wrongful conviction of a young man and the impact it has not only on his life, but the lives of many others he comes into contact with, both within and outside the prison walls. To say much more regarding the plot would be a spoiler. As is usually the case with a story from @Lee Wilson, the characters are what drives the story, characters from many different walks of life, characters whom one would mostly describe as ordinary. The prisoners are not caricatures as is often the case in lesser works, but real people, some of whom are guilty of their crimes and admit to being so. Some of the lawyers are even human, actually most are very pleasant. Well done again Lee.

What a delightful story @Lee Wilson; I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once again your fertile imagination was to the fore, with a slight variation on the "prison inmate follows in love with someone on the outside, marries them whilst still in prison and once released disappears" story. In the Land of Wilson, a prison inmate fell in love with a fellow prison inmate, and once both were released after being wrongly imprisoned, they married and lived HEA. All loose ends were tied up neatly, with only Silas not improving his station in life. I had a good chuckle at the fate of Sebastian; deliciously ironic.

Sebastian wasn't the vengeful person I feared he may be. He acknowledged his employment termination was his own fault and is going to pay for his excessive drinking. I have to say the firm has shown poor judgment on a number of occasions with its recruitment, Sebastian being another. Fred and Mo are well matched in more than just the bedroom. We knew Fred was tender hearted and suspected Mo was, but he confirmed that without a shadow of a doubt in this chapter.

Sebastian's insistence Fred represent him may be because he thinks Fred can perform a miracle, but I think it is more likely a vendetta because it was Fred who inadvertently exposed Sebastian's omission of the full directions of the appellate court. I have a feeling Fred is going to raise Kyle's profile within the firm and also forge a strong friendship with him and his brother.

Sebastian's "omission" regarding Silas' pending disbarment was certainly done to cover his own arse, but surely he must have realised Conrad would become aware of it at some point in time. I have to wonder if Sebastian has also lied about his knowledge of Silas' less than average rate of defending the firm's clients successfully. Perhaps Sebastian is a closet homophobe and did not question Silas' performance because he was well aware of what it was Silas was doing, or as the case may more accurately be, not doing. I hope the fire station is located not too far from Fred's apartment as they well may need to put out a fire once he arrives home for some horizontal dancing with Mo. 🔥

I was frankly appalled not only by the choice of wording of the appellate court "..... have already resulted in the termination of the suspect", but also of Sebastian regarding Mo's release "You're welcome. I will call Wallingford Senior and have him come to the firm tomorrow. You will have to determine where St. Louis will need to be delivered." I know it is legalese but it is so callous (and I do it myself as I work with solicitors all the time). I am running out of superlative's for this work @Lee Wilson. I have but one superlative then for this chapter. It was ABBAlicious.

It appears Fred's appeals have a better chance of success than not. I suspect Karter underplayed the invitation to the appellate court and the reason for this. Fred is proving well liked by his colleagues even though he is somewhat shy and distant. His interaction with Kyle promises a new friendship, one which will hopefully be mutually beneficial. It just keeps getting better @Lee Wilson.

I have a good feeling regarding the appeals lodged by Fred. If he succeeds in having Burton Jr's sentence quashed on appeal his position in the firm will be virtually guaranteed I should think. Hopefully he will succeed in having Burton AND Mo's sentences quashed. Fred is NOT the spineless wuss his father accused him of being. He has proven himself a fierce advocate for two clients thus far and I anticipate will review Silas' three other fuck-ups with the same attention to detail and zeal. Fearless Fred. Yabba dabba doo @Lee Wilson.

Indeed. That muscular physique did not enter the equation at all I am sure (LOL).

His new mantra has been set - don't fuck with Fred. Fred has taken to his new position like a duck to water, finding facts that Silas overlooked because he was incompetent, a homophobe or a combination of both. I hope for Mo's case Fred finds at least one glaring oversight which might at least shorten Mo's stay in prison, or better still have him exonerated. Brilliant @Lee Wilson. Fred a 166cm pocket rocket.

Fred may be foolhardy in affairs of the heart and a little too trusting his fellow humans will do right by him, but he proved in the interview he is not stupid. The questions he asked about the reason for his suitability for the position of junior associate defence attorney and continued employment illustrated he has a sharp mind and is not the pushover he previously appeared to be. You have just ratcheted this story up several notches @Lee Wilson with Fred obtaining what appears to be a high-pressure job, one in which he apparently will come into contact again with Mo, but this time as his legal representative. Simply marvellous work. Missouri? It could have been worse - Mollenberg (shortened to Molly), Montevideo or Montana.

Fred is naive, complacent and desperate for love and affection. Fred trusted Mark Watson to represent him fairly and competently, and perhaps he did although it was insufficient. Based on Fred's complacent behaviour to date I could not see him suing the state of Texas for wrongful imprisonment or taking any civil action against Mark and/or the DA if that is even possible. His feelings for Mo seemingly developed very quickly and very deeply. Is this typical of the type of person he is generally, or did the circumstances in which he found himself foster this? Only time and @Lee Wilson will tell. Loving this story @Lee Wilson. Another beauty.

Bullard Williamson, serial rapist? I hope the DA and police conduct a more thorough investigation on this occasion to ensure there is no reasonable doubt. What a turn up for the books this chapter was @Lee Wilson. What did not surprise is the corruption which landed Fred in prison in the first place continues to flourish.