Summerabbacat

My first exposure to the literary talents of @mastershakeme and what exposure. The two protagonists of this story, Colt and Noah, are each the polar opposite of the other. Colt, physically strong, fearless and brazen; Noah, physically fragile, fearful and unobtrusive. What develops between the two as the result of Colt’s observant nature and the horrific abuse of Noah, is a relationship where Colt the protector is drawn into Noah’s world of fear and resignation. A gripping tale which had me on the edge of my seat for its entirety. Full of surprises and some truly vile secondary characters, including Colt's hideous sister, Rylee, and several of her equally hideous "friends".

I suspect a hazing too drs. @drpaladin and @drsawzall (wow, consecutive comments from not one but two medics/academics). A hazing orchestrated by Anton and carried out by Ableard. If not a hazing, perhaps it was an escapee from Beyond The Veil, the evil black metallic seaweed, a distant "cousin" of the imposter Wisdom Tree, "leader" of the Black Forest. Whatever it was, it appears Ali knew or at least suspected it was likely to happen.

Although I think it an abhorrent practice on animals, I would not object if someone branded Rylee. She is a fucking idiot.

Quite the adventurous young Miss isn’t she? Are dachshunds good swimmers generally? Good gentle exercise I guess, which should keep her looking svelte and youthful.

I have to agree @mastershakeme, @SilentandBroken's suggestion to have the epilogue from Noah's POV was an excellent idea. It worked very well, after all, Noah was the motivation for the whole story. Off-screen George has made Bubba's acquaintance and he is not happy @weinerdog. Bubba likes his "prison bitches" in all shapes and sizes, but his absolute favourites are the cuddly ones, ones whose big booty's he can squeeze, pinch and smack hard, before ploughing them unmercifully. He likes to call George his "girl" and reminds him with a slap or two, that his "pussy" belongs to Daddy.

I like Ximo's sense of humour "Good evening Sergeant Major, Sir!" and he is a very quick thinker on his feet. I doubt Gerardo's friends thought Ximo’s connection with Gerardo was anything other than what he indicated. An enticing start to this continuation of what promises to be an interesting story yet again @Gary L.

Welcome back @Gary L. I look forward to the continuation of this story. Hopefully Almodóvar might be reading it and he will approach you to make it into a sprawling cinematic masterpiece. There might even be a part in the film for you, Paolo, Greta and Lilibeth (they could play themselves in the present day). Do you speak fluent Spanish? Does the language vary much depending on what part of Spain you live in?

Back in her kennel.

I begrudgingly agree. Brett has really surprised me; he is not a complete arsehole. Perhaps some of his arsehole behaviour has been a performance for one reason or another. Of his "friends" only Amy appears genuine. Christina and Tyler appear to only like him for his weed and alcohol supply, and Rylee likely the same.

Nah. Grandpa was into intellectual porn like Super Vixens and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

I still have a landline, which I never use anymore, only because I worry about losing my mobile phone and then having no phone (I have been known to lose wallets, keys etc in the past and fear losing my phone). I also think if I ever lose the plot completely I am more likely to remember how to use the landline than my mobile. I rarely watch TV (I have not turned it on this year) and when I do go to use it there is always a moment's hesitation when I look at the remote control and think how do I turn this fucking thing on again (and I am not blonde).

Such humility @Mark Ponyboy Peters. Maybe it is something in Armidale's drinking water or a "Paint" gene you have acquired via osmosis.

I like the colours of the paint.

The detaining of George in Briar Lake for a vehicle safety issue was almost an anti-climax @mastershakeme. I had myself all worked up for the liquefaction of George and for Noah's possible death. I imagine a liquified George would be a very large and putrescent mess, whereas Noah would have barely been a puddle. I must say I am pleasantly surprised how readily Bill and Brett accepted Colt's revelation of Noah's treatment by George as the truth. Brett was the one who surprised me the most, it was as if he had an epiphany, something I could never have imagined he would experience, when it was revealed what Noah has suffered. I could write so much more, but suffice to say, I am looking forward to the epilogue immensely.

"He set the photo carefully into the KEEP box. Nearby, his grandfather sat on the floor sorting through a stack of DVDs. ‘What do you reckon about these, mate? You don’t need to keep every movie, do you?’ Levi shrugged without looking at him. ‘Mum liked those.’ ‘I know she did. But the question is, did you? Are you going to want to watch them again?" I don't suppose there is any porn amongst the collection @Mark Ponyboy Peters? Little House On The Prairie, Lassie, The Sound Of Music, My Fair Lady, The Ten Commandments, Little Women and buried up the back, behind all the others, Debbie Does Dallas.

Given Levi's church is led by Father Michael I assume it must be a Catholic Church @Mark Ponyboy Peters. In small rural towns, particularly those which are inland, I imagine the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church are usually the only denominations available. None of those new fangled, peace-loving, liberal-thinking houses of equality, like the Thompsonville Community Church. Why those dens of iniquity even allow women to hold positions within the church and allow "those" kind of people (shirt lifters) to join the congregation. Next they will be saying animals have souls and women can be of equal intellectual capacity. Sacrilege, blasphemy.

"The first thing Levi discovered following his mother’s funeral, was that grief had weight. Not necessarily just the kind you carried in your chest – although there was certainly plenty of that – but actual weight, which made your back ache after carrying boxes to the car, or moving furniture. Cardboard boxes filled with clothes, books, old school papers, and everything else that had been collected in their ten years back in this town, were heavier than he thought they would be. Likewise, the kitchen drawers stuffed with odds and ends, receipts and takeaway menus, linen cupboards overflowing with towels that smelled faintly of fabric softener and the life they had lived together." Wow! Just wow @Mark Ponyboy Peters. What inspired this thought? This very insightful juxtaposition of the weight of grief as an emotional reaction and the physical ordeal of dealing with the life's evidence of the dead person's existence. Stone the flamin' crows Alf, next you'll be writing Shakespearean sonnets with an equine twist.

I think it almost a certainty his friends, if he had any, would have drifted away because he does not have a phone @weinerdog. He has also probably drifted away from any friends he may have had because he spent a considerable amount of time looking after Julie and himself. His strong religious beliefs are likely to have turned off a lot of kids too, as they do Toby initially. A payphone in Australia is about as common as an honest politician @weinerdog. Now if Deborah Harry was hanging out in the booth they would be popping up everywhere.

Hmmm . . . seems when I posted the last chapter, a few lines of text got missed . . . right at the very end. I've edited that chapter, and also included it here as a prelude to this chapter. Sorry for the stuff up! No, no, no. This will just not do @Mark Ponyboy Peters. It is not the "done thing" anymore. You must never accept blame for an error or oversight; it is always the fault of someone else or something beyond your control. You could Blame It On The Rain, but Milli Vanilli already did that back in 1990, and look how well that turned out. You could Blame It On The Boogie, but that would be copying the Jacksons. You could blame it on Pauline or Barnaby, but that may result in a visit from their good friend Gina HardFaced Bitch, which would be a very unpleasant and ugly ordeal at any time of the day. You could even blame it on MJC, but that may result in him lodging an application with the Fair Work Commission, and after all, he does a splendid job most of the time. When all is said and done, I think there is only one choice to lay the blame on; travel back to the year of our birth and Blame It On The Bossa Nova. Take it away Eydie.

In this case it might be not until the fat man sings. Hopefully the “song” will be him admitting the truth of what he did to Noah in the hope for a lighter jail sentence.

I would like some of that intensely flavoured Roasted Tomato Soup please @Andre Delport. I rather enjoy homemade roasted tomato soup during winter, although I don't put any sherry or cream in mine. Roasted roma tomatoes, roasted garlic, thyme, ground black pepper and tomato paste to thicken and strengthen the vivid red colour; served with crunchy sourdough baguette. Yummy. I do enjoy hearing of the Devlin-Majors travels. I have not travelled much myself as I am terrified of flying.

I think Noah is in the truck with George because he wants to die; he thinks nothing in life can ever release him from the pain George has inflicted on him for 9 years. I hope my thoughts are totally off base too @dboggs9700.

I think Jack, Vince and Thedore are just tripping @drpaladin. Maybe they ate some magic mushrooms on the way to Beyond The Veil. And now they are Upside Down. Clearly they need some help from the stunning Miss Ross. This chapter rocks @Laura S. Fox. It must be all that hot lava.

Anne needs a battery-operated super-powered vibrator/dildo, one with a remote control and the capacity to add liquid to it for that realistic pleasurable "filling" experience. She may name it Squirt. I assume Anne is in her mid-40's to mid 50's given the ages of Neil and Charlie. I imagine at her age she would be able to foster or perhaps even adopt an unwanted baby or younger child. I imagine there is no shortage of children available for adoption in the UK, and if there is, perhaps she may be able to do so abroad. Does it really matter if the child is not a "blood" relative? Perhaps she could adopt a dog or a cat, although a cat may not tolerate her suffocating behaviour. What about a pooch @Gary L? I think Neil has the right idea to just ignore his mother until she comes to her senses. I would be very wary if I was Margaret in visiting her as I imagine she could lash out and blame Alex for having "turned" Neil gay, and berate Margaret for not doing something to stop it. Progress in the relationship too @Robert Hugill, with Neil shyly asking if he could leave some of his clothes at Alex's place. I must confess that discussion had me a little "misty", quite a moving part of their discussion. I think you mentioned this one was a slow burn, summat like the relationship between Alex and Neil, a relationship whose growth has been a joy to witness. I expect another top 10 placing in the not too distant future.

Laser, waxing, shaving or removal cream should sort out any "hairy" problem(s) which remain.