Summerabbacat

My thoughts exactly @drsawzall. The champagne will be flowing, love (and perhaps the smell of weed) will be in the air, and Noah's parents will be too busy schmoozing to notice he is in a "deep" conversation with Leo. The wedding may present a golden opportunity for Noah to repair his relationship with Leo, unless Leo has an even bigger surprise for Noah and he is the groom. If this be the case, Noah may have to release his inner fighter, channel the extraordinary talent of the late, great and criminally underrated, Yvonne Fair.

I am trying to be less curmudgeonly so no comments today about odious Olivia. Rodney certainly seems keen on Gran. I am still not convinced he understands the true nature of the partnership between Craig and Justin. If he has any distaste for it he will be out the door quicker than you can say Dancing With The Stars, in fact, he may find himself Arse Down Looking Up At The Stars if Gran's boot makes a connection with his wazoo. I think there is an innate sadness to Francesco. I do think a rekindled friendship at the very least would serve him well.

Getting a judgment against Sam would likely be a "moral" victory only, unless he has money stashed away somewhere and has bled his parents for some other reason. Whilst a "moral" victory should feel wonderful, is it worth it in the long run. It would certainly disrupt Sam's life and may piss him off which would be a bonus, but is it economically feasible. Personally, I hope a civil suit is filed against Sam as I imagine the banks will be ruthless in denying liability, and Sam deserves to have his life ruined by someone other than himself. Of course, much of this hinges on Margaret, James and Evan being able to find the bastard, which could prove very difficult. I will not be surprised if the next time all three see him it will be in the morgue, and frankly good riddance. He is the scum of the earth who deserves no sympathy at all.

"Then it was Addison’s turn. “Thwack!” “Geez, Addison, you missed the fairway by a mile.” “I hate having a spice I can’t control.” “I told you before, while we were practicing, it’s a slice. And so does that cow you hit.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I thought Addison must have farted upon hitting the ball or worse still, soiled his underwear. The interactions between Stanley and Addison made me think if Statler and Waldorf from The Muppets, albeit with a sense of humour. Rather witty and whimsical @Lee Wilson.

Methinks Caleb may have had a "shower" of a different kind before having his shower. Perhaps for this evening the water polo team would have been more accurately named the Bukkake Barracudas. Gran and Rodney appear to have a similar sense of humour, although I think she may be a little more sophisticated than he. I wonder if their afternoon of dancing led to an evening of horizontal dancing? Seniors' sex - slow, saucy and scorching.

Egotistical bitch much? Perhaps she is related to Natasha.

Prior to the cruise Caleb always appeared so mature and resolute in upholding his beliefs and immune to peer pressure. He now appears to be very susceptible to peer pressure and easy to manipulate. Dare I say he is behaving more like a teenager, albeit still more cautious than the average teenager I suspect. I wonder if it is Francesco who will offer an apology to Caleb in the next chapter. We saw a different side of Francesco in this chapter, the meek and mild circus performer showing an assertiveness which certainly surprised Caleb. Caleb dancing with the Barracudas is something to look forward to. I hope he maintains a friendship with them post-cruise as he appears to enjoy playing water polo.

Self-cetntred millennial princess bitch?

Is there a Myrtle Dee and a Gay Bar King in your family tree?

It must be all that healthy country air and your "equine" stamina. I daresay you have Star Kingdom in your bloodlines a few generations back.

I was sick for about 9 months after the last COVID vaccine. Within 12 hours of having it my blood pressure shot up to 170/120 and I had to double my medication from 5mg to 10mg per day, I had debilitating fevers, oedema in both legs, blinding headaches and extreme fatigue. This lasted for about 9 months, then in one day I had to halve my medication as my blood pressure suddenly plummeted. I vowed never to have another COVID vaccine after that. Mind you, I usually get sick after the 'flu vaccine too. I had that vaccine last Friday and am still under the weather from it.

I wonder if there is such a thing as a vegetarian or vegan wolf @Laura S. Fox? I cannot think of eating anything more disgusting than meat, especially if it is still raw, so I guess I will have to remain wholly human if given the opportunity to shift. Even as a 10 year old pup Theo was already a cocky and somewhat petulant creature, bound to alienate others as he aged. Jack is closer to him in age and retains a childlike innocence and lack of cynicism which is likely to resonate more with young Theo than Vince's more adult behaviour. Jack's exclamation "Liar, liar, pants on fire" had me rolling on the floor with laughter. Just as he has done with the adult Theo, Jack has managed to confuse, infuriate and charm the young pup, Theo, sometimes all at the same time.

Very considerate of you. I have mild asthma and a somewhat limited immune system and pick up anything going around. I am one of the few people I know who has not had COVID, although the last vaccine I had may as well have been COVID itself given how sick I got when I had it.

"He was wearing dark sunglasses and a mauve coloured tracksuit, and looking every bit the showman – even in lockdown. ‘Darlings! I couldn’t let this little reunion happen without popping in to pay my respects,’ he announced, sweeping Kevin into a theatrical hug. ‘And I come bearing plans! Now, where are your parents?’" I had an immediate image of Patrick aka Trinity de la Creme resembling Bob Downe in the outfit he arrived in. It is hard to imagine @Mark Ponyboy Peters that Mark Trevorrow aka Bob Downe is 67 years of age now. The Prince of Polyester direct from Murwillumbah is now old enough to receive the Age Pension. It appeared neither Kevin's sister, Pippa, nor his mother, Trish, cared much for Ruth. I wonder if they knew or suspected something about her which Kevin did not, or if maybe they have a little gaydar of their own and suspected Kevin might be more interested in Ruth's brother if she had one. We are well past the worst of the 'COVID years', but I still wear a mask on public transport in Sydney. There are so many other viruses doing the rounds at any given time, and so many filthy, disgusting, inconsiderate "humans" who delight in sharing their toxicity with everyone else, that I feel it quite necessary to continue to do so. One of my cats was in an emergency hospital twice during the 'COVID years' and on the second occasion I was not allowed to visit her. This for me was very upsetting and challenging. This story continues to charm, delight and entertain Mark. A bloody little ripper.

"As Francesco left, Olivia said “You’re not such a dork afterall, you know some cool dudes” “I’ll take that as a compliment” Olivia went back to her cabin to freshen up and Caleb went for snacks." I will admit I can be a snarky bitch at times, but I am disliking Olivia a little more each time she makes an appearance and opens her mouth. Her behaviour is far more akin to a de Havilland than a Newton-John. I wonder if she has a sister named Joan. Rodney seems very pleasant, but I have to wonder if he might find a more suitable companion with an older version of Maz, Raz or Shaz. Francesco learned a hard lesson when he returned to the circus. He had previously thought of Jack, Candy, Wanda and the other circus performers as his family. To Jack at least, he was nothing more than an employee, a product to attract prospective buyers, the audience. To his "gentlemen" callers, whom Jack apparently knew about, he was a cumdump. He was fortunate to have already made Ruby's acquaintance prior to leaving the circus; had he not done so he could have been in dire straits. I hope he reaches out to James, even if only for friendship.

Wow! Sam is an even bigger c u next Tuesday than what we readers could possibly have imagined. I think for what they are worth, Margaret should have taken out a restraining order preventing Sam from coming near the family home. She would not have done it, but at least James, Evan or the police should have planted the idea in her mind. I have no doubt Sam will become violent once he learns the money tree has been cut down. I doubt Margaret has a "digital footprint" which in the circumstances is a good thing as the fraud could have been worse. Sam's father has a lot to answer for, which he of course can no longer do. I cannot believe that he did not know what was going on, although he may not have been aware of the full extent of Sam's nefarious activities.

Martin once again displayed his generosity with lending his car to Justin so he can drive to Albury to see his mother and sister to celebrate his birthday. Would he have been so generous if Benjamin was not accompanying Justin? I believe it is likely he would. I imagine his generosity in the past was used and abused by Natasha. The situation with Ray has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. The root cause for Ray's behaviour, an abusive uncle. For a moment @Paladin I thought we may have another story cross over. The role reversal with the "talk" was amusing. It reminded me of an acquaintance, long deceased, who at one time had a boyfriend whose father and his boyfriend used to accompany them regularly to a gay sauna.

I think Caleb was very lucky Gran did not rip him a new one. She may have been angry, but she certainly restrained herself, particularly when Caleb disclosed the real reason as to why he was late. Gran's speculation regarding Philippe was likely well founded too. I think her speculation took Caleb by surprise, which is a little concerning as he appears to believe whatever he is told as being the truth. Perhaps when Gran reveals to him what Kevin spiked his hydrating water with he may become a little more circumspect.

"He made to pick up the towel, which gave me a view of his nice smooth, shapely and definitely very-ample bum. I put my hand on his back. "Leave that. I want to enjoy the view a bit longer." Mmmmm, delicious. It appears the baker's buns weren't the only ones which appealed to Alex. I do so hope he enjoyed feasting on all. I daresay Neil would have responded positively to being feasted upon too, a tantalising tongue removing any shyness or reservations he may have had about man sex. Clearly he was hoping for an evening of homoeroticism having lied about his motorbike being in for repairs. The restrained writing was titillating @Gary L, Robert's method for getting we readers to use our imagination. The conversation about buns, subtle but provocative, or is it just me because winter is approaching and it is damn cold (it is only 18°C at the moment so I have the heater on). I agree with @Gary L @Robert Hugill, the restrained writing matches the slow burn of the "relationship" between Alex and Neil to date. Now that Neil has experienced man sex he may be voracious for more, and given his statement he does not do one-night stands, Alex may find himself "putting out" frequently.

This is my concern @mayday. If she was merely playing the dutiful wife all these years, not daring to disobey her husband's rejection of their son, I could perhaps understand, but I am inclined to think this was not the case. I still do not trust her as she is still making excuses for Sam, when even blind Freddie could see Sam is an aggressive, self-centred, dishonest leech. Time will tell, but I am still very sceptical about James' mother's "real" motives for her apparent change of heart.

I think the "real" Caleb has been kidnapped by aliens, perhaps those who kidnapped Fallon Carrington Colby back in the 1980's in the Mojave Desert, California. Caleb has to date always been such a responsible, sensible and thoughtful teenager, with nary a sign of rebellion. Suddenly he is behaving like a normal teenager, without a care for anyone but himself. I blame that hussy, Olivia, putting her hand on his knee, it has released a deluge of hormones into his body, confusing his brain and convincing him he should be drinking, fucking anything which moves and bugger the consequences. In all seriousness though, this is the second time Caleb has shown extraordinary naïveté in going off somewhere with someone he does not know. I would have thought his unpleasant encounter with Kevin might would made him a little more wary, but seemingly it has not. I assume he will return in time and Gran will read him the riot act. It may be the first time she and her Sonny boy have a serious argument. If anything good does come of this latest incident, it will be that he is NOT interested in Olivia and anything she may have on offer.

COVID in the early days of 2020 was terrifying and it came so shortly after the catastrophic bushfires of summer 2019/2020. In NSW alone it is estimated approximately 800 million animals died, with the NSW, VIC and QLD total being estimated in excess of 1 billion. They are the forgotten victims by and large, with many only remembering how many people died or lost their homes. No further comments from @Summerabbacat on this issue. I echo the sentiments expressed by my fellow readers; Kieran's discussion with Toby could not have gone any better. "We sat together as the afternoon light shifted across the room. Toby slowly relaxed again, asking a few more careful questions. I answered every one of them without judgement. This was my little brother, my Tobes, growing up right in front of me. It wasn’t always easy, but it was moments like this that reminded me why I took the big brother role so seriously." Some of your most moving prose yet @Mark Ponyboy Peters. It reminded me of The Seventeenth Summer, which for me remains your magnum opus. I "see" a lot of similarities between it and Traditions, which is one of the reasons I am enjoying Traditions so much. And I am very, very, very pleased Toby has made a reappearance. I hope this chapter heralds an expanding role for him in future chapters.

Who ever would have thunk it, a lemon-scented Gran, engaging in sapphic pleasures with her high school friend, Marie. There is more to Gran than meets the eye, it seems she has possessed cunning linguist skills since her teens. Caleb is in a little dilemma, he appears to have enjoyed Olivia's wandering hands during the movie they attended together. Gran's wise counsel to essentially go with the flow will hopefully resolve his dilemma.

Anton von Strassberg. Another nazi in Lawrence's book of suspects. Anton with a severely bloated opinion of his intelligence and importance, buoyed by the sycophantic Ableard, a "fluffer" for all Anton's needs. Apart from Bastien, the only other member of the Golden Circle who has shown any degree of pleasantry is Felix, Ali's alleged twin. The rest appear to be in awe of Bastien, perhaps threatened by his wealth and apparent beauty, and intimidated by Anton's cold, supercilious manner. Even if he is not the murderer, Anton needs to be brought down a peg or two as he is an arrogant sonofabitch.

Never be concerned about any similarities in your creations @Robert Hugill as most are so very likeable. Even the horrid ones such as Venetia and Deirdre provide entertainment value because we can enjoy detesting them. I think of all your creations the only ones who were truly loathsome and without any redeeming features at all were Nathan, Jasper, Jackie, Norman and Sheila, and Rory's father Lachlan.