Summerabbacat

Me either, but I have friends who have acquired it.

The male ego can be a "delicate" thing at times @Paladin, although both Justin and Lachlan appear quite secure in their relationships with Benjamin and Maria, at least for now.

She is nothing if not persistent @Paladin. A bit like gonorrhoea.

What a devastatingly sad chapter @mastershakeme. Cole's "let down" of Owen whilst perfectly reasonable and understandable was very disappointing, but on a positive note it means he is still available @drsawzall and @Tris. Thankfully there are people like Eric who have a passion for working with dead people, although there was something a little disturbing about how excited he became when talking about doing their makeup. I had to laugh when he talked about the cosmetic work required to restore some to their natural and most presentable self. I imagine he will be having to do less and less of this work in time to come as more of the dead will already have had at least some cosmetic refreshment whilst still alive. I wonder if Theo felt a certain kinship with Owen?

She seemingly has diminishing respect for them too @Paladin, and consequently they for her. It will be interesting to observe her parents at Maria and Benjamin's birthday party. Is she a product of her upbringing or is her selfishness, nastiness and general unpleasantness not indicative of how she was raised? Martin said nothing negative about them when he was challenging Benjamin's decision to not attend his party, suggesting perhaps they are nothing like their daughter.

"By Tuesday of the second week, the English contingent had completed all they had flown to Australia to do and were ready to return home. Bertrand offered Carol passage to Adelaide on the company jet their way back to London. Of course she accepted." Bertrand certainly knows how to woo a woman in style. I wonder if he will be paying further visits to Adelaide in the not too distant future, or perhaps extending an invitation to Carol to visit him in the UK. She won't ever have to worry about flying Economy. Maria's "big" reveal was somewhat of an anti-climax. She is not pregnant and she and Lachlan are not getting married. What a sensible young couple, and yet Natasha spat the dummy. What is her objection to the arrangement I wonder. Is it because they will be "living in sin", and if so, is she having sex with her boyfriend or are they just engaging in heavy petting? Hypocritical bitch much Natasha? Although it was not stated, I got the distinct impression Lachlan's parents, Shane and Lisa, do not care for Natasha. I have to wonder why, LOL. Perhaps she has been rude to them and/or to Lachlan. It would certainly not be out of character if she has been. I assume the Australian security company Bertrand intends to buy is KYS Security. Something akin to six degrees of separation one might say, LOL. If it is, Martin will have a first hand experience in dealing with one of their subcontractors. Although Benjamin joked about dumping Justin for someone with more money, it did raise a serious point I think. A substantial increase in the wealth of Benjamin and Maria could challenge their relationships with Justin and Lachlan. The saving grace is perhaps that the relationships have been well established before either Benjamin or Maria will reap the benefit of their wealth. It may still cause issues though, particularly if either Benjamin or Maria become ostentatious. They will I believe have to remain vigilant with their expenditure, especially if they start spending big on their partners. Then again, I may be being overly cautious. Another very enjoyable chapter @Paladin. I wouldn't mind some of Lisa's apple crumble with ice cream. I also enjoy rhubarb and apple crumble, and blueberries and apple crumble.

We call them "happy clappers" in Australia @CincyKris, akin to Pentecostals if my understanding of Pentecostals is correct.

Now that Tony and Aaron own Avalon (at least I think they do) perhaps @Mark Ponyboy Peters could arrange for them to invite you for a visit @Charles26. If I remember correctly Avalon is a large home so there should be enough room.

As many of "the faithful" (no pun intended) have stated @Mark Ponyboy Peters, the prayer offered by Levi at the dinner table was beautiful in its simplicity, and its heartfelt expression of gratitude and dare I say it yet, love. The clincher for me was "Oh, and thank You for Luke . . . for showing me that it would take time to understand everything." This statement and his subsequent behaviour indicate that whilst Levi may still have doubts about Matt and Luke's relationship because of what he has been taught, he is beginning to question the veracity of those teachings based on his observations and experiences with Matt and his extended family. Matt's plea that Levi open his mind and question his beliefs has seemingly not fallen on deaf ears. I must say Mark, Levi's prayer was quite possibly one of the most Christian-observant statements I have read in a very long time. Levi's character growth in this chapter was extraordinary, but not so much that it was unbelievable. I think his prayer and his rejoicing in the beauty of Thompsonville augur well for his future with Matt and Luke and the rest of the guys.

Initially Levi will largely be living amongst gay men on a daily basis, with regular visits from Tony and Aaron and Scott and Justin I assume. This may be a little overwhelming for Levi to begin with, such that I wonder if a visit from Samantha and Ben and their twin boys and daughter might be on the cards. The boys would be somewhere near Levi's age I imagine and could become friends with him. A visit from them would further demonstrate to Levi that gay men are not all that different, they have straight friends with children and all seem to get along without any reservations. I also think a visit and soon, to the beloved Mrs Hamilton would be a good idea. She could recount to Levi when she first met Matt and Luke and how much she has come to admire them in the intervening years.

I don't think @Mark Ponyboy Peters has detailed Levi's educational background @weinerdog, but I assume he went to a Catholic School attached to the Church he attended, as Father Michael seemed to know him quite well when Levi visited to chat to him after Julie's death. Levi's understanding of the joke surprised me greatly. He is clearly an intelligent and observant teenager, perhaps moreso than his peers because he has had to entertain himself without the aid of a mobile phone and/or computer/laptop and/or video games, and grow up fast to look after his mother, particularly as her health declined.

Tearing up you say @dboggs9700. I was sobbing (bloody hay fever again), but unlike Levi, I did not have Matt to console me. 😭😭😭😭

You don’t need it @drsawzall. Just show him your old Volvo station wagon (with a new mattress in the back) and you’re in like Flynn. Play him some ABBA too; he has some Swedish and Australian descendants i.e. ABBA-worshipping genes.

Cole aka Ryder @weinerdog, mild-mannered, golden-retriever loving insurance agent by day (Cole), leather-clad, motorcycle-riding, Raging Stallion wannabe supermodel by night (Ryder). Probably not, but Cole may prove to be a good friend. It is somewhat spooky how often your thoughts mirror mine @weinerdog, particularly given you are a “dog” and I am a “cat”. As soon as Owen’s mother “volunteered” him for V.B.S. and @drpaladin informed me what this was, I envisaged a scenario where someone involved in the organising of V.B.S. or the parent(s) of one of the children becomes aware of Owen’s sexuality, and makes a false accusation against him because of this. The only “good” I could see coming of this is I think Aunt Beth may lend him her support, as I have a suspicion she may know he is pretending to be something he is not.

Thank you @pvtguy; you are usually so mild-mannered and non-judgmental. I am glad I am not the only one who did not like Nora, even though she is only 8 (going on 15 I think).

Such is the power of @mastershakeme’s writing, especially her characterisations @weinerdog. Fertile ground for an overactive speculative mind like mine. And you are right, Nora did fix Max’s fish, but what was her motive for doing so? She has already shown she knows how to manipulate, so did she do it for him or herself? I know she is only 8, but she is beyond that age intellectually.

Like I have said before - very bad shit.

It appears Cole is a winner @mastershakeme.

I had no idea you could buy a mobile phone for $200.00. I bought my i-Phone 16 when it was on sale. I am useless with technology and find Apple products more intuitive for dummies like me. I also had a very good experience with my first Apple Mac laptop which was still going strong after 12.5 years, and only got replaced because it no longer updated. When I was unable to pay my council rates because they had obviously updated their system and I could no longer access their website, I bit the bullet and bought a new one. I am like this with white-goods too. I have a Miele washing machine and dryer which I bought nearly 25 years ago I think and both are still going strong. I paid nearly $6,000.00 for the two of them, but I have certainly had my moneys worth.

So the "non-traditional Mystery" will essentially be solved by chapter 13, after which I assume (and I know what that may do) Levi will start living with Matt and Luke as his parents in Thompsonville. I cannot remember if it has been stated if Matt is listed as Levi's father on his birth certificate. If not, I hope Julie's will attested to this otherwise Matt may have to adopt Levi. It is apparent Levi has no other relatives, but it would only take one busybody or self-righteous zealot like the Monolith, to question Matt's, and by extension Luke's, suitability as parents for Levi, to cause further disruption to Levi's life. I am by nature a glass half-empty person, but it has been my experience that our species often cannot be trusted, and too often causes mischief for no other reason than it pleases them to do so. Matt has already experienced this kind of bullshit before courtesy of the Monolith, so he certainly does not need it again.

I hate Nora; she is 8 years of age and has already graduated from brat to bitch. A future young Republican and president of her local chapter of Moms For Liberty. Levi needs to be sedated before he breaks something or someone. Cole is promising, a safe option for Owen for a first time encounter. Too bad he already has @drsawzall on his radar. Better beware though @drsawzall, he may not be at all like he has stated in his profile. He may be something entirely different, 50 years of age, a heavily tattooed member of an outlawed motor cycle gang, a self-loathing gay man who likes to beat up other gay man due to his repressed sexuality, and he hates Volvos.

"Don't look so worried, Levi. Matt tends to get like this sometimes . . . a little over enthusiastic, so to speak,’ Luke said, which elicited a chuckle from the boy. ‘But you probably should have a computer – for school – so just leave that one to me, mate. We don’t want you missing out . . . assuming, of course, that you do want us to help you with catching up when it comes to all the things you’ve missed out on so far.’ Levi reached for the gold cross that hung around his neck, as if seeking reassurance. ‘I . . . I’m not sure . . .’ he nervously replied. ‘Well, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the bible about not being able to use computers, mate,’ Luke offered. ‘So just think about it, okay? Now that you’re getting a little older, having a computer at school would be quite useful, I would think." Having a tech-savvy stepfather will be helpful to Levi when he first starts using a computer/laptop for his school work, and for watching porn when he is released from the burden of his piety. "Hey, I don’t know about you, but I reckon it’s time for a break. What’s say we blow this joint and go do something else for a bit? We can grab an early lunch, just the two of us, and share some stories?’ ‘W-what about Luke?’ ‘I’ll call him and tell him we just need some time to ourselves. He’ll understand.’ ‘I . . . I don’t want him to be mad at me . . .’ Levi said quietly. ‘He won’t ever think that way, mate. You can trust me on that." With this one comment I felt Levi made a giant step forward in his acceptance of Matt and Luke as his future parents, and perhaps some concession as to the nature of their relationship. Even if he is still uncomfortable with their relationship, he is at least respectful, which is more than can usually be said for zealots.

I wonder @Mark Ponyboy Peters if you could have placed this story into the Mystery genre as well as the General Fiction genre. Certainly Levi's first 15 years of life are at present a Mystery and Matt as his Dad remains a Mystery for Levi at present too, or am I interpreting the word Mystery too literally?

She will want to have a damn good "excuse" for holding such views. If it is solely because Luke "stole" Matt from her, it will be somewhat disappointing that she behaved so.

I did not get one until I was 50 @Lynx003, but I only used it randomly for a few months. When COVID hit and I had to start working from home in March 2020 I had to get another one, an i-Phone 6. Last year I replaced my i-Phone 6 with an i-Phone 16. I tend to only use it now but still have a landline in case I lose the mobile.