Bryan's Favorites - Stories

CJ Abello moves on from his involvement in the 2016 presidential campaign. Follow along with him, Ozzie, Brett, Cesar, and the supporting cast as he completes his freshman year at Georgetown University and circumnavigates the globe over the subsequent summer.

With a wedding on the horizon, CJ Abelló and Owen Liston are determined to make it a celebration their guests will not soon forget. The months leading up to it are full of emotional events and travel. Come join them as they share their journey with friends and family.

CJ Abelló and Owen Liston return from their honeymoon ready to tackle married life. CJ's last two years at Georgetown University are filled with family, friends, and adventure. The events carry the couple to new heights of happiness and depths of sadness. Their lives will never be the same afterward.

A Friday night conversation over pizza.

A college student puts his life at risk by standing up against hate.

CJ, Owen, and their daughter, Liebe spend Christmas down under. They trade the December Washington DC cold for the warmth of Australia's Hunter Valley. Surrounded by vineyards and family, it should be a stress-free vacation. Unless something goes wrong.

A little over a year after graduating from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, the State department posts CJ Abelló to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. CJ, his husband Owen Liston, and their daughter, Elizabeth Liston Abelló, immediately make themselves at home south of the Rio Grande.
Until disaster strikes and their lives are forever altered.

Following their departure from Mexico City, CJ, Owen, and Liebe stop in South Florida to rest and recover before returning to Washington, D.C.

In Key West, they return to Cypress House, the bed and breakfast they had previously visited. Between relaxing and spending time playing in the sun and water, CJ and Owen share their plans for the future with Ritch.

Returning to Washington, D.C. after the Mexican ordeal and time off in South Florida, CJ, Owen, and Liebe must adapt to their new reality. They are all celebrities and must navigate a sea of friends, well-wishers, and reporters. A meeting with President Biden in the White House could set the stage for CJ reentering the political arena.

In Newport for a wedding, CJ’s confronted from the right by a Donald Trump acolyte and from the left by an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fan. In both instances, he deftly refutes their arguments, impressing the groom’s father sufficiently he offers CJ a job.