Summerabbacat

@Tris, it appears this story is growing quickly in popularity, with many more viewing it and applying an emoticon. In celebration of this and to "honour" our author @Superpride, and particularly his selected nom de plume, I give you an ABBA song (of course) with glorious lead vocals by Frida (with "blood red" coloured hair). A huge hit in the UK but lesser so in Australia.

Well said Mr Norris; I could not agree with you more.

I believe I can see what you are up to @Superpride, very clever writing. With each chapter you have thrown a little trouble into the various interactions between the main five protagonists, Todd, Barrett, Anthony, Dillon and Channing, or six if you count Daddy dearest. Some of your readers, myself included, have speculated after various chapters that Channing may be the eponymous Troublemaker, or that it may be Anthony or Daddy dearest, and after this chapter it may be Dillon. Hell, at this rate, it may end up being Elvis or one or more of those Kardashian/Jenner creatures. I recall ranting in a prior chapter that Channing (who I initially thought was the eponymous Troublemaker) may have had a secret crush on Todd. It appears I was way off the mark, and it may be Dillon who has a secret crush on him, or is it really a "secret" after Mamma Picker's unwitting disclosure. Clearly Dillon was very uncomfortable at having been caught lying, maybe moreso because the lie is a reflection of what he wishes was the truth. I don't think there was any malice there, but then again he may be revealed to be a vindictive, manipulative psychopath who is gradually murdering the nursing home residents. I could have made the hot sex at the conclusion of this chapter the focus of my ABBA selection for you @Tris, but I decided to make the selection based on the awkward outcome of the discussion between Mamma Picker, Dillon and Todd. And whilst not an ABBA song, or a song whose lyrics depict what happened between Todd and Dillon, the song title alone is apropos. The most successful post-ABBA song by either Frida or Agnetha and its an absolute masterpiece, with Frida looking stunning with pink hair (and suitably pissed off). IMO only ABBA's The Day Before You Came bettered this song as the best song of the 1980's (and they were both released in the same year, 1982).

My dubiousness was not that such a thing could happen, but that it had happened to someone Channing knew. I did not trust him at all early on in this story and am still not completely convinced he is what he projects himself to be.

Alan's prior pronouncement "I'm not gay" is looking a little "shaky" after this chapter. Dare I say he introduced an element of intimacy with the post-coitus kissing, and the statement "Kiss me babe" appears inconsistent with his insistence he is not gay. He did not appear as arrogant in this chapter, less of the "I'm doing you a favour by even looking at you, let allowing you to please me" attitude which rankled me so in prior chapters. I perceived a slight shift in Alan's attitude in this chapter @KKirk, maybe even a slight shift in the dynamic of the Alan/Calvin relationship.

I think Dillon, with all good intentions, may smother Todd with concern sometimes. He has seen Todd at his lowest and feels very protective of him I think. ABBA were beloved in the UK just as they were in Australia. When they toured Australia in 1977 they recorded a made for TV "concert". More Australian's tuned in to watch that show than what did to watch the first moon landing. We Aussies have got our priorities right.

I remember Rank Arena and National were two popular brands and TV's were a big box on legs and had the wood panelling on them and the dial knob to change the channel. Imagine today's lot having to get off their arse to change the channel on the TV. The sheer horror of such an inconvenience.

The "hang" and all the hoo-ha that resulted from it before, during and after the event was a testing time for Vaughan's patience and sanity, and by default a testing time for his relationship with Dante. If ever Vaughan had any doubts about his relationship with Dante, the "hang" has seemingly quashed them. He has realised what a positive impact Dante has on so many aspects of his life in addition to "between the sheets". Amanda and Mae in particularly were a riot at the "hang" with both commenting on the phallic impressiveness of many of the artworks. It will, I imagine, prove very interesting to say the least, what is left of the Heyward "empire" once he has buggered off to the Caribbean or wherever else he may venture. How many disgruntled creditors and employees, and former or current lovers, will emerge from the woodwork. Francis' name may be mud after "The Last Party", which has an almost biblical ring to it. Another ace in the Hugillverse.

So he did have an ounce of decency after all. I don't think the incubator did. Not too real, just brilliantly written. Many of our species are truly despicable and vile and sometimes I just need to vent to retain even an iota of sanity.

Cynthia did not make a good first impression, F-bombing and spilling coffee on multiple occasions, but as noted by @Cane23 she understands Barrett desire to be reunited with his birth mother as she is adopted too. The revelation he is Barrett Jones II may be a false lead, but if not it could prove invaluable. It is interesting Barrett has no recollection of his father playing any part in his life. I wonder if he was a married man or from a well-to-do family (which might explain the II suffix) who considered Barrett's mother unsuitable for their son. The disagreement between Dillon and Todd is troubling as it is not the first time it has happened. Todd and Barrett are openly flirting with each other now and revelling in it, moving closer to a bedroom rendezvous. And the moment you have been waiting for @Tris, after thoroughly enjoying another delightful chapter from @Superpride. Very early ABBA (from 1974), lyrically simple, cute and flirtatious, wearing the same outfits as they wore in the video for Ring Ring. Bjorn has a vocal in this one too and it is quite good, and Benny is cute (check out his and Bjorn's boots). Gorgeous song.

I totally agree @Paladin that Brad is more comfortable in the role of stepfather than Danny is in the role of stepson, or at least Brad enjoys the "power" he believes he is entitled to with the role. I get the sense Danny feels like an alien in his own home though, so it may not be entirely due to his stepfather that Danny is uncomfortable in the role of stepson. He is a teenager after all, so by default he also terribly "misunderstood". I was really "uncomfortable" with Danny referring to Brad as "sir". In hindsight this may be out of fear as you speculated, given he has been on the receiving end of physical punishment in the past. I don't much like Danny's mother at this stage to be honest. She appears to be somewhat "disconnected" from Danny. This may be another reason why he appears to want to be away from his home as much as possible. You may well be right about Brad not believing the story about Jake. I get the sense Brad has likely been a "lad" growing up. I suspect he got into all types of trouble, but may have charmed his way out of many of them. It will be interesting to see what his reaction is if he ever learns of Danny's lack of interest in the "fairer" sex. Given he drives trucks and is often away for a week or more at a time he may have had some same-sex experiences of his own.

Damn it @drsawzall, just as I finally got my eyes to stop watering and my nose to stop streaming from the very strong end-of-winter winds we have had in Sydney for the past 4 or 5 days, I read this chapter and it started all over again. "There was no mistaking that the older of the two boys had been badly hurt as he lay prone as his companion, his brother most likely, cradled his head. Their clothing, while serviceable, was filthy, tattered, and torn in places. The look the younger of the two had on his face broke me. It was all there, desperation, abject fear, and a willingness to do anything to protect his brother. I tried moving closer, and he snarled at me, bearing his teeth, his arms reaching out as if his hands were claws. Unseen at first was a smaller dog who had been hiding behind the front wheel of the Volvo. The mutt was a Wire Terrier or an Airedale mix; there wasn't much to go on at first. The dog also appeared to have been injured, but it didn't stop him from joining in the snarling and his obvious willingness to join the fray". These two paragraphs had me bawling like I had just watched a marathon of The Way We Were, Beaches, The Normal Heart, Angels In America, Parting Glances and Torch Song Trilogy back to back, without so much as a pee break. The injuries to the little dog is what brought about my complete undoing as I could just imagine such a scenario, with a dog enduring unspeakable pain in an attempt to protect his or her human. I was glad to see no stone left unturned to punish the corporate thieves aka gluttonous Glendin and his father-in-law. I detest those who are the principles in business who behave in an entirely unprincipled manner to the benefit of themselves and the detriment of any or all of those who work for them. Eryk, Mikey, Uncle Pete and Aunt Sally once again triumphed over Tommy Johnson. A stint in prison as Big Bad Bubba's bitch might teach him some manners. And now to lighten the mood, a travesty direct from France in 1977/1978, a song which was a moderate hit in Australia, but was rather successful in continental Europe. It will likely appal many as it is a disco version of Singing In The Rain as sung by Sheila and B. Devotion (the black male dancers).

We read this situation quite differently in some respects @Paladin. I did not sense the word "son" was used by Brad in the familial sense, more in the sense of an older male referring to a younger male as "son". It is possible Brad used it in the familial sense, however because their relationship is tenuous and awkward at best on both their parts, particularly now that Danny is a teenager, I don't think either would be comfortable with it being used in the familial sense. You appear to be right about the physical disciplining and the impact it has apparently had on Danny in the past. I must say I was very surprised Danny would even think at the age of 16/17 he would still be subject to a "strap". Once again you are far more observant than I and it would appear @Al Norris was too. I did not pick up on the fact Brad had apparently been watching Danny masturbate but did not make his presence known until the piece de resistance, for both parties it would seem. This changes the whole dynamic of their relationship in my opinion and I expect Danny is as unaware of it as I was. If true, it is more than just a little "creepy". The little wink at the end may have had a sexual connotation, although I sensed it was more just Brad trying to convince Danny (and perhaps even himself) that he, Brad, is cool and that he and Danny could be mates, a drastically overused word in the Aussie vocabulary. As for the beer, I have to say it was probably the done thing then (and still is in some quarters). Every problem could be resolved over a beer or twenty.

I promise I will deliver more delights from Sweden via Australia after the next chapter.

Love it, love it, love it @Superpride. The Bedside Cafe was perhaps a "risky" first date restaurant to take Todd to, but fortunately it appealed to his social conscience and he seemed to enjoy the food. I would certainly have been very impressed with such a wide selection of vegan options. Todd's account of his "disaster date" was hilarious. It is testament to him he was able to laugh about it and realise his behaviour contributed to the "disaster". It also helped put Barrett at ease. I was surprised by their respective nervousness, I thought Todd would be far the more nervous of the two on this, their first date. Perhaps his virgin status as it relates to men was at the back of his mind, or perhaps because it was he who initiated the date, therefore, he felt more under pressure to impress Todd. Whatever the reason, it was comical and endearing to observe. The "kiss" topped the evening off very nicely for both Todd and Barrett. I have no doubt there will be further dates. And now, to illustrate I am not just a "disco bunny" @Cane23, an appropriate song for this chapter from a female recording artist from the 1980's whose work I admired greatly. I have 5 of her albums on CD.

Nate and Danny's story regarding the purpose of Jake's visit to the town had enough in common with reality that the embellishments could be explained if need be. The "bush telegraph" certainly proved very effective with the "fogeys" and their brethren the "fuddy duddies" spreading the news like wildfire. Suddenly the "dope smoking homo" was a respectable man whose presence in town was not only welcome, but should perhaps be courted. Next thing we know Jake will have mother's trying to "line him up" as a potential suitor for their daughters. I loved the reference to black and white TV @Mark Ponyboy Peters. For the benefit of our more "worldly" and "advanced" readers, colour TV was only introduced into Australia in 1974. In rural Australia we had two TV stations only, a commercial one and the ABC, which was ad free and predominantly showed TV shows from Australia and the UK. I don't think it will be long before Nate is alerted to Danny's interest in Jake for reasons in addition to his artistic talents. I don't believe he will be perturbed. Brad, Danny's stepdad is a conundrum. One has to admire him for having raised a child who is not his biologically, and perhaps this has affected his ability to be closer to him, but I don't think this is the case. This was Australia in the 1970's when men of Anglo-Saxon descent openly showing affection for their sons was "not the done thing". Gender roles were still very prescriptive and no-fault divorce was relatively new. My parents divorced in January 1977 and it was still to many an anathema.

Abel had me fooled (momentarily) @Lee Wilson when he shouted at Langston to stop badgering Jill. I thought "he does have some sense of decency after all". What kind of fool was I (you don't need to respond to that )? Was it he or Langston who was clever enough to realise by admitting his crimes a mistrial would be declared and he would avoid the death penalty, although I imagine it must have been a bit of a risk to take. Others have expressed sadness that of the three children, Nick was the one who did not, to date, have his HEA. That's life, it's unfair, it's tough, but I too would have relished HEA for him as he was indeed the catalyst who brought about the downfall of spermie and the incubator. I have to say to the very end I thought the incubator was far more evil than spermie. Although a story, I found the murder of little Joey Keys, particularly upsetting as it was so callous. You gave us little detail of the murder, which I believe made it even more horrendous. I woke up one night even thinking about it, wondering how many other children have been murdered in a similar fashion, and thinking of all the non-human animals who are murdered in a similar fashion every fucking day of the year by fucking vile scum humans. A very effective story very well told @Lee Wilson.

I have found the alliterative names frequently used by John Waters in his films to be very amusing, far more so than those who have no imagination and name their children such as Glen Glenn, Michael Michaels, David Davidson and the like. It may happen here in Australia too, but it is not common. We also don't generally saddle children with the suffix Jr or II, III or IV.

I have no idea what this is @weinerdog but it is very colourful.

Perhaps Jessica was the "inspiration" for the remix team of Chris Cox and Barry Harris aka Thunderpuss or drag queen extraordinaire Alaska Thunderfuck.

Given his horrendous diet @drsawzall they may be encased in a thick layer of lard or it maybe you are correct and he is suffering from what in Latin is known as ballus notdropuluss.

OMG @Tris I forgot Luther Vandross. When his weight was under control and he was looking his finest, he was one very sexy MF.

I assumed it was the former @Tris, the latter never occurred to me, but in some respects the latter is even funnier.

I suspect she will be suitably appalled @CincyKris, although I did speculate that it may encourage her to "come out" too. She may not be as strait-laced as she has appeared to date. In fact, if she did come out as a dyke, I think Jane and Alisa would be delighted. Grandma and Grandpa would be pissed as, which would make the irony even more delicious.

I have to admit @Tris I did not find either Benny or Bjorn sexy, but have to agree with you that Bjorn has improved greatly with age. I always thought Frida was more beautiful than Agnetha, that is not to say Agnetha was not attractive too, and Frida's lead performances were nearly always my favourite on each of ABBA's albums. I was never confused by my orientation, although I found more female pop stars attractive than male in the 1970's, which were my formative years. Donna Summer and Deborah Harry were for me the ultimate goddesses. As far as male pop stars were concerned from the 1970's I thought David Essex from the UK, George Benson and Keith Strickland from The B-52's were very handsome, and KC from KC & The Sunshine Band was cute. As I have "matured" and my tastes have changed I now find from the 1970's, Isaac Hayes, Teddy Pendergrass and Marvin Gaye (all of whom are dead) very handsome. The 1980's are a very different kettle of fish as there are so many pop stars, male and female, whom I thought attractive.