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    Diogenes
  • Diogenes
  • Author
  • 02/24/2016
  • 520 Words
  • 2,489 Views
  • 7 Comments
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

About Carl - 13. Epilogue: The Butterfly Effect

That song “Goodbye” was playing on the car radio. It was the song I listened to after I saw Carl for the last time. Almost eight years have gone by, and now I don't think about him very often, about how he's moving down a separate path from me, without me. But every now and then a smell, a photograph, or a song triggers something in me, and the memories come flooding back.

I remember holdin' on to you,

All them long and lonely nights I put you through,

Somewhere in there I'm sure I made you cry,

But I can't remember if we said goodbye.

I pulled my truck to the side of the road. I sat, teary-eyed, watching the windshield wipers clear away the snow. I thought sadly about my time with Carl, about the years I had waited for him, hoping somehow to build a life with him, always to be hurt and disappointed. I thought about how my relationship with him had delayed my own growth and had diverted me for so long from the path to an emotionally fulfilling life. I thought about how much I had loved him. These were memories that I had successfully packed away years ago, but they reappeared unbidden at times like this, like an uninvited guest at a party. I wondered what he was doing now.

My cell phone buzzed in my coat pocket. I pulled it out and thumbed open the screen; it was a text message. I touched the icon: Dan.

Hi babe: @ the house - ur out of cream - can u pick some up on ur way home?

I smiled; he was waiting for me at home. I could imagine him in the kitchen making a pot of coffee, feeding the dog, putting the bottle of wine he always brought with him in the fridge. He had driven up from Toronto for the weekend, like he did most weeks when I wasn't joining him in the city. It was a pattern we had settled into years ago, and, despite the physical distance between us, balancing his demanding job in the city with my career in Selkirk County somehow worked. We had nothing planned for the weekend other than cooking meals together, walking the dog, curling up on the sofa in front of the TV, and making passionate, wonderful love to each other.

I love Dan. His presence in my life makes me unbelievably happy in a way I never thought was possible. It occurs to me that life is contingent on so many unpredictable random events. I never would have met Dan if it hadn't been for my tumultuous relationship with Carl all those years. That meeting with Carl so long ago at a summer job when I was a university student sent me down a path that led eventually to Dan. It was like the Butterfly Effect, the flap of a butterfly's wing in China causing a cascade of connected events that creates a storm in the Caribbean. Or, in this case, a beautiful sunrise.

For that, Carl, I thank you.

This is the final chapter of About Carl. Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the feedback and comments. I started this story as a "creative non-fiction" way to clear out some mental clutter in my own personal life, but by the time I finished, the characters had grown on me. I'm not finished with Mark, Dan and Carl. I have some ideas for a completely fictional sequel percolating away in my mind; when I get them sorted out, I'll share them with you.
Thanks to Drak who edited the early chapters, and to rec and Parker Owens for beta reading. A big thank you to rec for taking me on and acting as my editor. I've learned so much about writing by working with all of you.
Copyright © 2016 Diogenes; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

Timothy M.

It's interesting how my fears about his life from the very first chapter finally got laid to rest with this epilogue and for that I thank you. It was a huge relief after the emotional rollercoaster ride. But I have to admit I feel a little bit cheated beacuse I wanted to see their first weekend together, making love to each other and becoming a couple. This epilogue felt rather abrupt and I wish you would consider expanding the story with another feel good chapter. Otherwise I'm totally awed by the way you kept the suspense going and made us engage ourselved in Mark and his struggles.

  • Like 1
Diogenes
On 04/06/2016 04:05 AM, Timothy M. said:

It's interesting how my fears about his life from the very first chapter finally got laid to rest with this epilogue and for that I thank you. It was a huge relief after the emotional rollercoaster ride. But I have to admit I feel a little bit cheated beacuse I wanted to see their first weekend together, making love to each other and becoming a couple. This epilogue felt rather abrupt and I wish you would consider expanding the story with another feel good chapter. Otherwise I'm totally awed by the way you kept the suspense going and made us engage ourselved in Mark and his struggles.

Thanks for the comment, Timothy. I had the same thoughts about expanding the story to include more about Dan & Mark, but decided to leave that for another time. I agree that the ending was a little abrupt, but I have more planned for Mark and Dan (and Carl). Stay tuned.

  • Like 1
Diogenes
On 10/19/2016 12:11 AM, mayday said:

not exactly a chapter review. I have just finished reading your story for the first time - it has moved me deeply and I felt happy with Mark and Dan at their luck and happiness with each other. Beautifully written, too. Thank you for such a great story. I do hope that it resolved what you wanted to resolve for you too.

Thanks for your kind words - I`m glad you enjoyed the story. And yes, things have worked out well for me in my own life too.

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