Summerabbacat

I have thought of sending you a DM or is it a PM a few times, but thought if life was not good it might be too upsetting for you. I am very pleased to learn you are presumably in good health.

Travelling to Russia, particularly as a gay man, is a foolhardy venture for any reason. Throw in possible Russian criminal connections and you are asking for trouble. Ethan did not strike me as stupid in the first chapter, but he certainly has in this chapter. Surely he cannot be as naive as he appears to be. His only saving grace may be that Eliott is likely having him "watched" as well as having his telephone tapped.

A very impressive opening chapter @E K Stokes. I am making no judgment of Helios, but because he is likely a witness to the crime and the criminal connections Damien had forged, I was reminded of the old adage "if you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas". Helios very well may hold the key to solving the crime as he will likely be able to identify the murderer(s) by their scent if nothing else. If Ethan was actively involved in the antiquity smuggling he very well may be in grave danger himself. He would do well to reveal anything he knows to Eliott, regardless of how trivial it may seem.

I do believe you might be onto something with this comment @pvtguy. Ralph is very involved in the lives of the twins, a real "hands on" Dad. I expect they will give their approval of Nolan, in fact, to a certain extent, they already have.

I was born the same year as @Mark Ponyboy Peters @Talo Segura which put us both at 12 years of age when this story takes place, about 4 years younger than Danny and Nate. I lived on the north coast of NSW very close to the fictional town of Thompsonville where Mark has set many of his stories. I am certainly familiar with the surfing culture, although I was not a surfer myself (my brother 3 years younger than me was and still is a surfer). The beach played a big part in our life as children and I have always loved summer and swimming. My parents were both what would now be referred to as "helicopter parents", particularly my mother. They were stricter with me as the eldest and when they divorced (I was 13 years of age) I took on more responsibility (I did not resent this at all though). My teenage years were certainly not as carefree as Danny's and Nate's, although like many of my fellow Aussie teens, when I discovered alcohol at the age of 16 I started to rebel and began to give my mother some "grief".

They are like dog shit you step in and no matter how hard you scrape your shoe on a rough surface or wipe it on grass, some of it will not come off and the smell will remain. The only way to remove it is to hose the shoe. Perhaps Ralph can turn a hose on both his parents, literally @Cane23.

Unfortunately for Ralph his mother is no more reasonable than his father. Her prior appearance where she appeared to be reasonable belied her true nature, she is just as much a social-climbing, status-symbol obsessed bigot as his father. "Yes. She's single. Divorced, like you, no children though." His Mother looked at him, "We thought it would be so nice to invite them over next weekend, just for drinks. If you could join us?" I was so hoping, but not expecting, Ralph would respond with a statement akin to "unless she has a big cock and a pair of huge balls, I am not interested". I suspect if he had responded with such a statement he would have been banished from the family home immediately. Jane and Alisa have clearly picked up on Ralph's burgeoning relationship with Nolan and as expected it worried them not. Perhaps they can tell Grandma and Grandpa "whatever" or "get over it". Nolan is proving to be adept at calming Ralph. There is nothing like the aroma of those heady pheromones to help soothe a troubled mind and/or body. Ivor's advice surprised and delighted. Although not actively supportive, his indifference to Ralph's announcement he is dating a man was as good as. Very positive chapter @Robert Hugill. Ralph has "broken the seal" on his heterosexual facade to his mother at least, whom I am sure will discuss it with his father. No doubt both will be highly unsupportive and disapproving, but Ralph is 35 and will hopefully follow Ivor's sage advice.

‘He’s growing up,’ she said to herself softly. ‘He’s right, of course, he’s not a little boy anymore, but I still can’t bear the thought of losing him.’ The overall tone of the chapter was one of joy with friends being together and a sense of accomplishment, particularly for Danny who showed his surfing prowess. The final sentence I found overwhelming though, such that it "coloured" or "clouded" the rest of the chapter. The sad 'emoticon' is not wholly representative of how it made me feel, melancholic would be more appropriate. Danny is severing the ties with his family and his youth, ties which he may or may not ever revisit, dependant on the acceptance of his family when the "real" Danny is finally revealed. A beautifully written chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters, one which resonated strongly, in part, with my own life experience.

Nick's account of many of the events in this chapter appear to confirm what I thought at the conclusion of the first story i.e. the incubator was a bigger c&*% than spermie. "We agreed, because what else could we do? We walked into the house, and all of our furniture was there. Mom continued her questioning why there. Quietly, but we still heard. “We can’t live in this town. HE lives here.” “We don’t have a choice after what happened. If you had kept your hands off the neighbor’s kid, we wouldn’t be here at all.” I assume this overheard conversation related to Joey Keys. I have to wonder now if the incubator was blowing him like she was Steve. She also appears to have inflicted far greater pain on Nick than what spermie did. And this incident showed spermie had some sense of decency, unlike her: "Time went by, I turned six, and that summer, I broke a clock. Mom got mad like she always did. Except, I didn’t have to hold a piece of it or get locked in the bathroom right away. She took me out back. We were allowed to go out there by then, but had to stay away from the hole dad had dug, saying he was going to put in a pool. It was only ever a pool after it rained a lot. I guess that made it a lake. When I walked up to it, there was a ladder down into the bottom of the hole. Mom made me climb down and took the ladder up. After a little while, dad walked out the back door, screaming. “Damn it, Kathy. You can’t put him in there.” He put the ladder back in and told me to climb out. I got inside and mom locked me in the bathroom. It was the first time I didn’t have to squeeze what I broke."

What an eloquent description @pvtguy. Glorious.

It is early days yet. Perhaps I am mellowing? No, I don't think so.

Me too @Gary L, and delighted to have another character, Jackie, to detest. Ludo should follow the sage advice of one of Gordy's fellow Scots, Billy Connolly, and get those D-I-V-O-R-C-E papers ready. Mind you, I suspect Jackie is shtupping Herr Schmidt, or perhaps Fraulein Schmidt, or perhaps Herr and Fraulein Schmidt, so she may be preparing to file papers of her own on Ludo. For all intents and purposes, for the contribution she makes to Ludo and Damian's life she may as well be like Arthur's wife, dead. I am likely being a totally unreasonable and uncharitable bitch (rather like Jackie herself appears to be), but Jackie does not seem to have much interest in Damian. What was the purpose of having a son, was he some kind of status symbol or proof that she could breed? She clearly has little time or desire to "play" wife and/or mother, or at least wants Ludo to think this, so why bother with the charade. Great start to another tale from the Hugillverse. Thank goodness for the internet as I was able to confirm that, as I vaguely recalled, Ludo is a board game.

Like several of my fellow readers I found Nate's observation that Danny's stepfather is creepy concerning. I strongly suspect Danny's mother is oblivious and unless he does something unlawful, it is probably better for all concerned that she remains so. Frank may suspect Jake as having damaged his precious red Valiant, but would he be stupid enough to do something in retaliation? Only the Ponyboy knows (and those who have read the story before and can recall if such retaliation takes place). I too am counting on Sergeant Bailey's apathy to investigate anything requiring even a modicum of paperwork to enforce the law, to ensure the damage to Frank's car remains a mystery. Sergeant Frank Gilroy he ain't. I too was disappointed that only Frank's car was damaged, but realistically what could Lachlan have done to physically harm Frank without being caught. Danny's dummy spit to his mother was understandable and he did express remorse. It appears she recognises Danny is "drawing away" from her and his family as he continues to mature and understandably she is not happy about this. And Danny's burgeoning appreciation for the beauty of youth and the beauty of nature, a gift given by Jake. The white Datsun station wagon and the Victa lawn mower; symbols of our youth in the 1970's @Mark Ponyboy Peters.

There may be many things Danny's Mum wants to discuss with him, but I sense it may be his "relationship" with Jake. The old cliche "a mother always knows" may be about to be revealed. I presume Danny's sibling(s) are half-siblings and I believe his mother may know he feels like an "outsider" in his family and may want to reassure him he will always be her "little Danny", regardless of the direction his life takes. I still wonder if his father, if known, may also have been gay. Nate may be a little naive at times but I think he is at least beginning to suspect there is more than friendship between Danny and Jake. As I have pondered before, I don't think it will make an iota of difference to him. The "L" word came easily to the lips of both Danny and Jake. Danny's comment that Jake was beautiful brought to mind the beautiful soul classic 'Lovin' You' by Minnie Riperton, which was rather appropriate as it was a substantial hit in 1975, even in Australia. A beautiful chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters. I sense the next chapter is going to be a real tearjerker. I don't think Danny's mother is going to chide him for anything.

Indeed @Gary L. A wonderful song akin to Rhiannon.

A good example of why retrospective abortion should be "a thing".

I did not intentionally quote myself, I just wanted to continue the same thread of conversation without editing for the umpteenth time. I did notice the vegetarian options at the BBQ and was very impressed. Although it was held at Andre, Chris and Ollie's home, the catering was largely Carol so the following comment is relevant to the BBQ. Lachlan has come full circle, specifically welcoming his gay and lesbian employees AND their partners, and now vegetarians too. A conservative party supporter's worst nightmare, poofs, dykes and bloody vegetarians, and even worse bloody gay vegetarians. I did notice recently Arnotts are now manufacturing kosher Tim Tams.

Thank you @Paladin. The more I thought about my comments, the more it disturbed me as to why Ruby has deliberately frightened her mother that Toby could be taken from her if she were to seek any financial assistance for his care. She is a truly horrible person who has not only harmed and deprived her mother but also her nephew.

He is 79 and loaded. I doubt he lacks "company" when desired.

That has a nice ring to it @Paladin for the name of a UK police show or comedy duo. Dalziel & Pascoe, Rosemary & Thyme, French & Saunders, Morecambe & Wise, Trouble & Tears.

May I suggest a visit to Cell Block H in Wentworth Detention Centre or a very severe dose of the clap or 24 hours of non-stop Adele, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande featuring Beyonce and Jiggy Butt Ho or all of the aforementioned. Aaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhh.

He is long separated from his second wife to whom he was married for 41 years, so he is most likely straight. I do like to watch. Have you not noticed me occasionally reference some of the porn stars of the mid to late 1980's and some of the young internet-based porn stars?

We could treat it as an "intervention", a race to save Ralph's sanity. By the time I arrived I would not even get "sloppy seconds", travelling all the way from Australia. For you @Tris it would be like "coming home". Bjorn loves London, perhaps you could pick him up on the way.

Ralph needs to chill. Perhaps a good hard fucking from Nolan will make him see sense and realise it is nobody else's business but his and Nolan's if they are fuck buddies or in a relationship. And as much as I like the twins, he needs to give them a talking too and tell them to zip their lips and not talk about his private life to their friends. He also needs to deliver the age-old message to the twins that I am sure most readers heard as children "money does not grow on trees". A fun chapter @Robert Hugill, but please organise an emergency fucking for Ralph before his brain does him harm. He is thinking waaaaaayyyyyyy too much about the "concept" of being gay and what it will mean in his life. I do believe once Nolan has "broken the seal" Ralph will be insatiable. Let's hope Nolan has plenty of stamina and juice and that he survives their first fuck. The flood gates will be released and Nolan may "drown", just like Sara, drowning in the sea of love, where everyone would love to drown.

A very fulfilling chapter for Calvin and readers alike @KKirk. I suspect Dillon the dildo is going to receive regular workouts initiated by both Alan and Calvin. If Alan is completely straight then I am Brad Pitt. For someone who professes this Alan seems to derive a great deal of pleasure for not only himself but also for Calvin from male to male sex.