Summerabbacat

I thought it was you who had previously made disparaging comments about Margot @TimeTraveller, but did not want to offend you if it was not. I must agree with you as noted in my comments above.

Margot showed her true colours, colours I seem to recall several readers commented on in a prior chapter. Margot is a calculating, selfish bitch, who "buried" Owen to protect herself first and foremost. She may genuinely care for Owen and the predicament he finds himself in, the same predicament she finds herself in, but at the first sign her elaborate charade may come under scrutiny, she, without hesitation or a thought for Owen, moves into self-protection mode. Jules was not impressed and called her out on it. Margot's response was to put a spin on it, in which she argued she did it as much for Owen as she did for herself. Jules called bullshit on her response, which opened Owen's eyes somewhat to Margot's real motives. Margot has lost me, I do not trust her at all now. Jules is very perceptive and direct, two qualities I admire. I am not suggesting her relationship with Margot is in trouble, but she showed she is wise to Margot's motivations and won't hesitate to challenge her. "The Brennan house felt loved. There were framed family photos on every surface, crosses in every room, and a decorative sign in the kitchen that said “Faith, Family, Love” in cursive, which was either inspiring or ironic depending on how much you knew about the people who lived here." What is it with these people, crucifixes and crosses in every room. There is something disturbing about this. I had a bizarre thought when reading this chapter, one prompted partially by a comment @drpaladin made about the Donnelly's being strict Catholics and yet having only one child, Owen. What if the Donnelly and Brennan families are not just "united" because of the sham relationship between Owen and Margot. What if there is a relationship between Owen's mother (whose name I have forgotten because she is so bland) and Kathleen Brennan, and between Thomas Donnelly and Kevin Brennan. Unlikely very, impossible no.

"Levi woke slowly the next morning, the dream still lingering like a soft blanket around his heart." Very poetic @Mark Ponyboy Peters. Because it described the dream Levi had it made me think of Stevie Nicks. I daresay Stevie's blanket would have been a soft velvet one though.

I have been pleasantly surprised Levi’s mind has either not been poisoned with the age-old nonsense that all gay men are paedophiles, or if this was instilled in him by his former church, he appears to have either rejected it outright or come to realise it is without a basis. Not once have his reservations regarding Matt, Luke and the rest of the “tribe” included the fear they were going to attempt to have sex with him, or the other age-old nonsense, recruit him into the “gay lifestyle”. As commented by @Charles26, Levi seeks reassurance from Luke when he feels uncomfortable or unsure. Luke’s nurturing nature has time and again soothed Matt’s worries, and he appears to have slipped effortlessly into that same role now with Levi. Like father like son. With time I hope Levi will become better acquainted with all the members of the tribe. I think he would be well served to talk frankly with Justin and Aaron in particular, as both have a history of having struggled with their identity, which may resonate with Levi and his struggles to reconcile his religious teachings with the reality of Matt and Luke’s relationship, and the relationships of the other tribe members. It may not have been planned as so, but I believe introducing Levi firstly to Scott and Justin, and then to Tony and Aaron, in an everyday setting was the best way to make the introduction. If a party had been held to achieve this I believe it would have been too overwhelming for Levi. Seeing the guys in an ordinary everyday setting reinforces the fact that all the gay couples do many of the same things as heterosexual couples do. A very rewarding read this chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters.

Perhaps one or the other or both is infertile. Or maybe they have got sexual secrets of their own. Maybe they have maintained a lavender marriage for the same reasons as Owen and Margot. All that piety cannot be good for one. Thomas Donnelly may be suffering from DSB. What do you think @drsawzall?

There is?

Or Nora’s father.

Or Luke.

Vince is back in the cave with the lava. Hopefully he has Kate, Cindy, Fred, Keith and the spirit of Ricky with him. Jack is accompanied by a talking skeleton. I am not sure who that might be, it may be any number of deceased or living supermodels. And Theo has stepped back in time and has one friendly talking tree as his confidant. Maybe it is the real DSB @drsawzall. Another marvellous display of your inchipuire @Laura S. Fox

Do you speak Spanish fluently like a Spaniard or like an Englishman In Valencia?

My "product" would barely be enough to moisturise the little finger @Paladin.

With overexposure to all that hot water @Paladin, Martin and Nathan are going to dry out their skin something shocking. I suggest they start a nightly regimen of moisturising each other from head to toe, particularly those difficult to reach spots. Soothing balms of cocoa butter, aloe vera and manjuice.

All the surviving adult male wolves were restored to their youthful years and found themselves in attendance at Veridien Academy or as members of various bands e.g. Laura & The Foxes, Theo Erotique, Xuran Xuran and The Glasstone Gang. All the surviving female wolves found themselves in a multitude of careers e.g dominatrixes, biologists, sporting stars, stars of The Real Housewives Of Bucharest and contestants on Romania's Got Talent.

Methinks you are probably spot-on @mayday. Natasha in particular has been absent for quite a few chapters now, apart from being referred to by Maria. Given her prior behaviour, she must be devising another scheme or schemes to cause trouble for Martin, Justin and possibly Benjamin too. I suspect she does not know about Nathan yet, but when she finds out all hell will break loose. If she finds out he also has an ex-wife she well may contact her fellow harridan, Amelia, to concoct a scheme to hurt them both. "Awesome! Well, we came over to invite you to a late breakfast at our place but it looks like it will be more brunch and it looks like we have some family stuff to celebrate so I'll organize the champagne." Simon added, "When you're ready come over. I've got everything organised for you to do one of your ‘all day breakfasts'." "So I'm being invited over to your place to cook breakfast for everyone?" "Well of course." Rick responded. "You do it better than anyone else just like I open champagne better than anyone else." They all laughed." Rick has a talent which should not be overlooked. I doubt he is serving an inexpensive pinot noir chardonnay either, its Krug or Dom Pérignon by the magnum at Chez Simon. A quiet jovial gathering of the six men in this chapter @Paladin. The calm before the storm perhaps. I suspect the brown stuff may hit the fan at the twins birthday party.

Perhaps a "relapse" on Charlie's part @Gary L, or more dramatically, a major hissy fit thrown by their mother resulting in both lads having to visit to console her. Charlie may have slapped her silly resulting in her shrieking like a banshee and having to be sedated for her own health, as well as that of Neil and Charlie. I had a good laugh at the following statement "There was a festival each autumn—the Sternbacher Festtage—focusing on chamber music and song, and unusually they seemed to enjoy contemporary music." I wonder what is regarded as "contemporary" music by aficionados of chamber music and song. Although not contemporary, I know some of my favourite English acts from the 1970's were enormously popular in Germany (as they were in Australia too) e.g. Suzi Quatro, Gary Glitter, Sweet and Smokie. Kraftwerk are still active so perhaps they may be considered contemporary, or maybe it really is contemporary music e.g. Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Adele, Olivia Dean or the fabulous Jessie Ware. I am not familiar with any contemporary German music, most of the German music I like is also from the 1970's through to the 1990's and, with one exception was disco, the exception being Kraftwerk. A bit of a cliffie there @Robert Hugill. You've got @Gary L preocupado.

I don't @dboggs9700 as I don't have a Facebook account or any other social media account(s). Well that did not go at all well. I don't think it would have mattered what Owen wore, it would have made no difference to the outcome. Ryder is understandably aggrieved by the extent of Owen's deception, which although intentional, was not done with any sense of malice. I must confess I had forgotten about the fake engagement ring, which I daresay is the omission which upset Ryder the most. Methinks Ryder is far more sensitive than what Owen perceived him to be. The carefree tough guy construction worker is his "performance". I think you may be right @dboggs9700; it will be Ryder who extends an olive branch and reconnects first. I suspect any relationship between the two will be conditional. I doubt Ryder will agree to play it on the down low like Jules has with Margot, which will be a real test for Owen and Margot's friendship. As has been commented upon before by several readers, Margot has called all the shots to date on the lavender relationship she and Owen have and she may not be prepared to relinquish any of that control. Did you know this was going to be the outcome of the first meeting @weinerdog?

Andrew Ridgeley and a George Michael impersonator lip-synching Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go?

And a little something for Owen from Ryder (tongue in cheek) from a legendary Aussie rock group from the 1970's.

A little something for Aunt Beth for being so observant of both Owen and Ellie. Something for her to wear to the next Ohio Funeral Directors Association annual dinner.

I almost rated this chapter with the 'ha ha' emoticon @mastershakeme for the swifty (an Aussie slang term for trick not a Taylor groupie) you pulled on we readers at the end. A cliffhanger to rival 'who shot JR?'. "I stood in front of my closet for twenty minutes. This was unusual because I’d never once in my life cared about what I was wearing. I owned jeans and t-shirts and one suit for funeral home events and that was the entire Owen Donnelly wardrobe. Fashion was not a thing I’d ever developed opinions about. Margot had opinions about fashion. I had a closet." Billy has his work out, but at least he will be starting with a clean slate, no bad habits to correct, other than Owen not caring how he dresses. It will be interesting to see what Billy is dressed in and what Owen and Ryder's reactions will be. I have a sense Ryder may have been raised in either a single parent household where money was tight, or by parents who were drug addicts or alcoholics where money was tight, or in foster care where he was not well treated. I don't know why I think this and it is terribly cliched, but it is my gut instinct. I think both Ryder and Owen are going to be pleased when they meet the other in person.

Yes he was in Ice Castles. I have not seen it (it was released when we were in Year 9 in high school), but was familiar with its name, probably because of the theme song by Melissa Manchester.

Fantastic song and suitably fantastic video @Philippe. I very much like Nancy as a singer, and she looked hot in those boots.

I remembered him and thought he was cute back in the day. I don't recall ever seeing him in a movie or TV show, so must only be familiar with him from magazines. I just Googled him and I think he is way hotter now, a very handsome Silver Daddy, who has aged very well. He has two children, a daughter, Lyric, and a son, Zephyr. He has had serious heart problems since his early 20's so it is a miracle he is alive and still looks so fine.

And I forgot to comment on Jeannie's (C. Riley not Barbara Eden) outfit and those Nancy Sinatra boots @Mark Ponyboy Peters and @weinerdog. She must have caused quite a stir herself, she was not dressed modestly like a "good" country female singer should have. She was dressed more like a hipster 60's chick. Looking at the entire ensemble and Jeannie's big ironed hair, I have to wonder if she may have inspired or influenced the early look the fabulous Kate Pierson from The B-52's adopted.

Unlike @Mark Ponyboy Peters I did not know this @weinerdog. I checked Barbara Eden's Wikipedia entry and noted it was also made into a TV series Harper Valley PTA , in which she also starred, which ran for two seasons in 1981-1982. I was aware of the song (I am not sure how) and have just played the Youtube clip. I am very surprised in that I am not sure I have ever heard the song before. I certainly like the message it sends.