Summerabbacat

Congratulations on your first top 10 hit @Paladin, #8 in the Most Read Mystery genre for the month ending 27/12/2024. Molly Meldrum would be very proud of you.

I know I did many stupid things in my teens @Philippe, binge drinking being the worst, which did not cease until I was well past my teens. By comparison, Joshua's "quirk" is relatively harmless thus far, with trespass and underwear theft being the worst of his crimes.

Beautiful words @Cane23, especially those in bold.

The lead singer's moniker would certainly give the band The Edge in names befitting the occasion. I am not fond of them as a whole, but have 2 of their albums, one which contains one of my favourite songs by them, a song which is a colour, a citrus fruit and also a product which is faulty, more often than not because it is poorly designed or poorly manufactured. That particular song may also be an appropriate one to choose for the funeral, solely for its title though.

I have had another thought @weinerdog. In recognition of the significant contribution said bone(r) has made to society, well at least to a certain demographic within society as a whole although only you know how significant, should said bone not be honoured or recognised formally by admission into the Dead Boners Society. If it is good enough for dead poets to have their own society, then surely dead boners deserve something equally prestigious.

Will there be a wake held for @weinerdog's bone and should a donation in lieu of flowers be made to a "suitable" charity such as BEDUSA (Boner Erectile Dysfunction USA)? Given your apparent fondness for metal music @Lee Wilson, perhaps a song by Limp Bizkit might be apropos. I don't know any of their songs, but their name would seem fitting for the death of a boner.

I am curious @empath if you deliberately omitted the word "La" from the chapter title?

Maybe Scott acquired the cock ring to keep him very hard for extended periods of time without ejaculating, potentially increasing his endurance and maintaining his qi, both of which would likely help him in his swimming. Then again, maybe he just likes being very hard for extended periods of time because it makes him feel abbasolutely fabulous, which also would likely help him in his swimming. The question which remains is, will Joshua find a butt-plug, dildo or anal beads, or maybe a bottle of amyl nitrate amongst Scott's accoutrements, and if so, will he use them to "bring him closer to Scott"?

Have the green P plates only been introduced since 1981 @Mark Ponyboy Peters as I don't remember having them, mind you I have not driven a car since January 1985 and rarely am even a passenger in a car?

"Joshua dragged himself off to his first class and removed his badge before entering. He dropped it into the waste bin, then sat at the back of the class where he would get the usual amount of attention he expected - none." I had a great deal of sympathy for Joshua when I read this sentence. He went and spoiled it though with this appalling thought "Scott’s music collection was given the tick of approval, except the ABBA albums. He could not reconcile why someone of his age would like this music." Joshua may have good taste in men, but his taste in music clearly leaves much to be desired (LOL). Joshua's invasion of Scott's home whilst not done with any intent of theft or destruction, is indicative of his low-self esteem. Joshua clearly understands what he is doing is essentially breaking and entering which could result in charges being laid against him, but his obsession with Scott appears to nullify his commonsense and sense of propriety. An interesting premise @Wombat Bill, but Joshua has done himself no favours by questioning Scott's tase in music, which in some respects is clearly vastly superior to Joshua's.

I am very pleased Dominic De Luca's intentions to "take care of" Roger Cicero (or words to that effect) were noble, there was no intent of malice or harm of any kind. I am somewhat surprised he has sought to entrust the care of his great-grandsons to Roger, but I am not shocked he has done so. Dominic is clearly no fool and his request to Roger is further vindication of Roger's suitability as a parent and protector. In return, Dominic will engage Santino and I imagine any other mafioso connections he has to identify those who are the despicable Deck of Cards and hopefully find more boys to rescue in the process. Given Dominic's disgust at the boyflesh trade I doubt he will do anything to jeopardise the rescue of the boys e.g. eliminate anyone identified as being one of the Deck of Cards, at least whilst any boys remain missing. “I’m coming, Oli,” the boy whispered out the small window as the plane lifted off the tarmac and into the sky." With that one simple sentence my tears erupted @empath. Jasper may be the key to restoring Oliver to the boy he once was, even if only in part. There were so many other moving statements or events in this chapter, but none moreso than this. Extraordinarily powerful writing @empath, this chapter maintaining, even surpassing the last chapter which I thought could not be bettered.

The word is out, and the word is ...... GAY. No more dancing around the issue, sidestepping the mutual attraction, misinterpreting the other's words or actions. Calvin and Jeremy have taken that step and confided in each other and sealed the declaration of "boyfriend" with some light kisses. Jeremy's final thought brought tears to my tired eyes "I can hardly wait to tell Mom—and Dad." I daresay Ken may shed a tear too when Jeremy addresses him as Dad for the first time, which I believe will be relatively soon. An action-packed chapter with several milestone events. Very well written @ChromedOutCortex, completely believable with just the right amount of teenage angst.

My office is the dining room table too, which is also "shared" by the two felines, who particularly like to lay on it beside the monitor or better still virtually on top of the laptop, especially when it is open. I have had the same "hirsute" home laptop for 12 years (a MacBook Pro), but the "hirsute" work laptop which is not yet 2 years old is struggling under the constant "veneer" of feline shedding. Suffice to say the work laptop is crap.

Grayson appears to be fairly level headed @Al Norris and if encouraged by Uncle Bryan, perhaps with assistance from Rafael who may have already been down the same path, he will do it sooner rather than later I think.

I suppose your neglect of your faithful readers can be forgiven on this occasion @Mark Ponyboy Peters given we have had Christmas Day and Boxing Day since you last posted a chapter of this story, but don't let it happen again otherwise there may be a revolt (LOL). Clearly you did not go to the Boxing Day sales as you are still alive, or if by chance you did go and you were merely crushed in the rush by the throng of normally placid women to get those bargain shoes, handbags and all assortment of other items, you have had time to recover from the concussion. Richard surprised me by at least being civil to Uncle Bryan. Grayson's observation of his father frowning when Uncle Bryan hugged Oliver suggests Richard is of the mindset which still equates homosexuality with paedophilia, a mindset which has always puzzled me. If this is his mindset I shudder to think what his reaction to Grayson being gay will be. Will he forbid his own son from showing affection to his brother? If he does react in such a manner it may be the time when Felicity will finally hit the roof and give him an ultimatum, one which appears to be long overdue. Uncle Bryan's encouragement to Grayson for full disclosure of recent events was as @Al Norris has described like having a ton of bricks lifted off his shoulder. I suspect Uncle Bryan may be a good resource to discuss blood testing with too.

I changed my comment to reflect his capture and conviction before possible demise, probably whilst you were preparing your comment @Paladin.

I must say you look nothing like I expected you to. You do not look old enough to have adult children (LOL). Who is your doppleganger?

Brilliant commentary @Cane23, the perfect testament to @empath's literary skills. I had not consciously thought this, but you are so right in that one cannot help but be invested in all the characters, even the scum like the Jack of Spades whose capture, conviction and possible demise I look forward to with great anticipation.

I well believe you as I am reading quite a few and I think virtually all I notice you are reading too.

Liberty Academy needs tradesman and building materials pronto to realise its full potential. Is this an opportunity for Dominic De Luca to reach out to Roger Cicero? I hope I am not wrong in thinking Dominic's "taking care" of Roger was not a statement of malice and/or of ill intent, but rather a statement of someone wanting to right the wrongs he knows were committed by a fellow mafioso, wrongs he was and is repulsed by. I imagine the mafia may have many tradesman "on its books" who might be encouraged to "volunteer" to assist in the rapid repurposing and refurbishment of a building to provide a home for the boys NOW and for their ongoing care and the care of other unwanted boys. Jennifer and Travis White are an unknown quantity at this stage, but their religious fervour is of great concern if they are not prepared to put aside their beliefs or at least recognise their son will need more than God to help him deal with what he has been through. I hope for Oliver's sake they can, but if not they should stay away as God is not the only answer to everything. Thomas, Brendon and Oliver are the key "stakeholders" in helping the boys who have been rescued and those we readers hope are yet to be rescued. Even if Oliver's parents prove to be more than I anticipate, I think he will want to stay to help his brothers heal, and if his parents truly espouse Christian principles they should not only be proud of their son in this endeavour, but encourage him too. A tremendous chapter @empath, with Roger and Thomas poised to implement something wonderful and meaningful for not only the rescued boys but more boys going forward. So many moving moments in this chapter as one expects in this story, but the one which moved me the most was Sandra's recognition of the beauty of her son's love for Thomas and he for Brendon, and the profound impact it had on Roger. “Look at our boys, Roger. I never thought I would find two men in love with each other so beautiful, but just look. They are a light, even in this old, sad place." "He had avoided his own sexuality, even after his controlling lover was sent away, because he was afraid of the monster he believed himself to be. The love on display before him was pure and enviable. Sandra’s words forced Roger to likewise accept that the men who had reaped so much destruction in their lust represented an evil extreme rather than the norm. Roger had assumed that he, like Eddie, would become a ravenous and destructive beast in the presence of sexual temptation, but the past week had shown him his fears were unfounded. Two extremely handsome young men were living with Roger in his condo, and he felt nothing beyond a deep platonic love for either of them."

With all this talk of @weinerdog's bone, the "health" of his bone and the laying of "healing hands" on his bone if the need arises, where is @Cane23? I am sure he will have a few witty remarks in response to this discussion. Perhaps he may even be able to offer some suggestions or words of wisdom.

Joshua's obsession with Scott is charting new and potentially dangerous territory, with an impending break into Scott's home a risky proposition even though Joshua has "cased the joint" beforehand to minimise the risk. His wearing and parading around in Scott's clothing at the pool is at least invasive and something which I imagine, if discovered, would result in Joshua being in some kind of trouble with the pool management and/or police and/or his parents or facing personal consequences if discovered by Scott. Joshua's invisibility has been to his benefit thus far, but one has to ask if he were not invisible would he be engaging in such "risky" behaviour. I suspect not. A quirky little story thus far @Wombat Bill. Joshua is a paradox; part of me has a great deal of sympathy for him, and part of me thinks he is "stalkerish" and needs a stern talking to at least.

A divination from the doctor. I believe your prognosis will come to fruition sooner or later @drsawzall. "When I turned back to my guests, Bert had an odd expression on his face but Mr. Norris was taking his first chug of his Coke". I believe Bert may have had an epiphany and realised or at least suspects there is more to Calvin and Alan's friendship than Calvin has disclosed. A well-written chapter @KKirk capturing well the emotions associated with the isolation COVID brought to so many at its height.

This one is going to be a tearjerker @Lee Wilson, and well may be one of your best and most popular works published to date. Madeline's gift is one that if it becomes widely known, and it almost certainly will, may leave her vulnerable to exploitation, experimentation, kidnapping and all manner of unsavoury actions by others with ill intent. I assume she will emerge unscathed to adulthood though given the story title identifies her as a doctor. I note the story title also identifies her as Dr Noonan-Martin so I assume she must either marry Colin or Erik. I am hoping at this early stage it is Colin, without any sense of eternal gratitude on his part though.

I suspected Daddy dearest may have beaten his wife and that she feared his retribution after comments made in the last chapter. That he beat her so brazenly and with such ferocity in Tanner's presence surprised me somewhat. I have to say I am a little tired of Tanner's excuses as to why he cannot stand up for himself, particularly after witnessing his mother's beating. I am also puzzled as to why she felt it necessary to disclose to her husband what she discovered Tanner and Jon engaged in. Did she not have some idea that he was likely to react as he did. Robby is right to cut off all contact with his family. He cannot fight their battles for them. His sisters have no principles and I have no sympathy for either of them and whatever becomes of them so be it. I have some sympathy for Tanner and his mother, but at some point they have to stand up to the tyrant that is their father and husband respectively, even if it means killing him. It would be nothing less than he deserves.