Stories

A drive in the rain, a pick-up at a place that shouldn't be

A week’s trip to New York City has Owen and CJ mixing business and pleasure. Meetings with high-powered attorneys and financial high-rollers combine with Broadway, Sag Harbor, and Fire Island for a memorable vacation. The couple’s efforts to increase CJ’s name recognition moves forward with TV appearances on multiple networks.

A friend from Mexico visits, a Squad member moves south, a California teen prepares to start his freshman year at Georgetown University, and a local artist delivers a commission. From Cuban food at Abuela’s, to cocktails at The Alex, an excursion to the National Gallery of Art, and brunch at Everhope, the weekend is full of laughs, food, and fine art.

Meeting for the first time in Boarding school, Oscar Q Kingston settles down to life away from his country home town, until an incident with one of his friends, while at home on a boarders weekend had him ending up in a hospital and afterwards changing schools and living with his grandparents on the outer north-east suburbs, where he finds new friends.

Months later he bumps into two of his former friends from his old school and after a bumpy start, they form a close friendship that lasts for many years to come, where they go their own separate ways after school ends, and reunite later for a common cause.

Liebe, a young girl living in the Florida Keys with her two fathers, encounters a dolphin in distress while fishing. When one of her fathers helps save the animal, they make a friend for life.

In the summer of 1993, a group of high school friends in a small town are forced to grow up overnight when love, bigotry, betrayal and mystery rain down on them in equal amounts.

This is my second story. It is mostly nonfiction with a little fiction mixed in. It is based on an real-life experience of a close friend that I thought would make for a good short story. He provided the skeleton and I filled in the dialogue with his approval. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed hearing it recounted to me.

CJ Abelló returns to Georgetown in the fall of 2022 for an advanced degree. During the two years back on the Hilltop, his education is not limited to the classroom; his analytical mind and his ability to articulate complex matters in a way his audience could assimilate the matter helped. He was asked to write articles for professional journals, attend seminars by both liberal and conservative think tanks, and speak at schools and conferences.

Caleb lived on the streets for the past two years after being kicked out by his parents. Finding his estranged older brother Matt and his husband gives new hope to have a loving, supporting family.