by chasten
This was really great. Took a lot of twists and turns I didn't expect. This story will stay with me, I think.
You got your dates mixed up though. The novels, Priestdaddy and All the Light were released around 2017, but in the bar they're still discussing Obama-Romney, and you call the Summer of Love as '12.
I wasn't sure if I was in the mood for 11 pages but once I started, I read to the end. Very well crafted story. Interesting cast of characters - even outside of the main folks. Very enjoyable.
An excellent story,well written,both sentimental and hot!
You my friend have a talent in storytelling!
More please!
Just an excellent story that one occasionally finds on these virtual pages. Great characters, nice plot turns and a happy ending, what more can one want? Easily a "5".
Dammit! I woke up this morning ready to dig in to book two of Michael Pronko’s Tokyo Detective Hiroshi series! But I got hijacked by ‘Coming Back Home’. A quick peek, I told myself, just a paragraph or two, and I’d set it aside for later, maybe tomorrow. But I couldn’t put it down - not even for lunch - just a fresh cup of coffee and a handful of nuts. Needless to say, an excellent story, multidimensional primary and secondary characters, and I’m always a sucker for a ‘happy ever after’. Oh, and by the way, my favorite descriptive quote: “...my even keel of existence had just gotten rocked by a rogue-wave bitch of an ex...” Thanks for a very pleasurable Sunday morning/afternoon read.
I am older than dirt and i met my life. This is a story that has touched me. Thank you.
What an outstanding tale! There is so much depth in your characters! This is certainly another 5-star effort. Thanks for sharing it with us.
As sweet, spicy and complex as the Balvenie 21 Year Old ( Madeira or Portwood?) you mentioned. Very nice.
Well thought out story. I'm not usually into long stories unless they are exceptional, and this is one of them. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful story wasn't sure about 11 pages but couldn't stop reading it and didn't see the ending coming !!
A great read!!!
I consider this literature with some sex here and there.
Well done!
I don't normally read in this category but today I was board. You held me thru 11 pages and it was a great job, but (you know there always has to be a but) you need to do a better job on your dates and time. You claimed that Anne, Patrick and Will all went to school together. You didn't say Patrick was older or the same age as them but you wrote that Anne only had thirteen years of working in small town retail jobs and the Will and her had only been married six years, that didn't match up with Patrick having a seventeen year old son. From there on it went down hill.
Still I will give you a five for a good tale.
Yes, it’s long,but very well crafted. Everything you said to expect and a little more. Enjoyed it.PcQ!ku
Will and I have way too much in common. Triggering!!! LOL Still gets a 5 because my love story also has a similar ending.
Usually have an idea where they are going, but was pleasantly surprised with it - thanks
Gave you 5* because that's all they allow. You already have raves from two of the best authors on Lit. One quibble... the first Summer of Love was 1967 not '69.
Chas, that was fantastic. A deep story with 3-dimensional characters & a pile of background and detail. This was a gift I didn't know that I needed. Thank you!
Crisply drawn, totally believable characters, and a very well thought-out story. I didn’t want it to end!!!
I mean that thanks! A very nice and well written story. I truly appreciate your gift to all of us who really enjoyed it.
For those who pointed out the anachronism of his reading, thank you. I moved the story in time for character reasons and forgot to re-check cultural references. My apologies I've submitted an edit ... though those take a while to get posted.
Good story. Enjoyed it. Glad you made it one story instead of breaking it apart.
This was such a pleasure to read. The characters gave real life to the story and it was so easy to let myself fall into it. This was like the outline of a real life novel...just missing all the extra details that create a book. So very well done. For once, (as you mentioned at the beginning) the sex wasn't the purpose of the story...it was actually a minor part of it.
Loved the way your characters could be SO frustrating ... and appealing, at the same time. It is a lovely story.
> The doorbell rang, and when I looked through the sidelight, the devil incarnate stood there.
I am not a woman, and I did no such thing. Ring a doorbell? Pish posh, if I were to be bothered to manifest in rural Pennsylvania, it would be more grandiose than waiting on a stoop to be let in.
But the rest was ok. Avery is my kinda gal. She'll cause some grief for sure.
Excellent story and a very enjoyable read. Thanks for the offering ..
“If you love something set it free. If it comes back it’s yours. If not, it was never meant to be.”
"But, if it just sits in your living room,
messes up your stuff, eats your food,
uses your telephone, takes your money,
and doesn’t appear to realize that you had set it free…..
You either married it or gave birth to it.'
Enjoyed the story but the quote below by Anon made my day.
"But, if it just sits in your living room,
messes up your stuff, eats your food,
uses your telephone, takes your money,
and doesn’t appear to realize that you had set it free…..
You either married it or gave birth to it.'
Remarkable. Couldn't stop reading. It was well thought out and presented in great form.
Beautifully written, rich, complicated, and entirely worth the time. Thanks so much for a story so full of feeling, and one in which the reader can't already see everywhere it's going miles ahead of time.
Thanks, ohio
Looks like I found myself another author. I hope all your stories are this good.
But if he was going to run her off, he probably shouldn’t have fucked her first. He should also invest in some martial arts training. Clearly his return punch to big boy should have been to the balls. Duh.
It was a good story, but Will made a terrible mistake breaking up with her. He chased Madison away for no good reason at all and they spent 7+ unhappy years apart, with her dealing with the heartache by screwing a bunch of college guys.
Also, if they're now about to start a family together, then why waste all that time, money, and effort on forcing Madison to go to college? She can't exactly pursue a career if she's focused on being a good mother to their children. That means going to college was pointless, especially as he already earned enough to provide for their family.
Will is now going to be a first-time father at 44... Which means he'll be a pensioner by the time their youngest graduates (if they have at least 2 kids). For the sake of their children having an active father, they would've been far better off starting a family at least 6 years earlier.
...You are a master Chas and that was, quite frankly, phenomenal.
I was a little daunted when you said it was 12 pages but you had me hooked from the beginning all the way to the end. Well thought out and well written story.
Great story couldn't stop reading until I finished . Keep them coming !
OUTSTANDING! Very well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you for sharing it.
I enjoyed it a lot.
What happens when Madison gets promoted into her next international traveling job?
A journey of growth and life in general, with a mix of both bitter and sweet experiences. I liked it, 5 stars!
Loved the genuine feeling of this story. Well done 5*
Interesting from start to finish, good character development, enough twists in the plot to keep us amused but not so over done to get disjointed. Thanks for a good read.
Wow. Just wonderful. A story with twists but familiar paths and characters you care about. Really well done.
Loved the story and at risk of sounding overly excited it was written extremely well! Thank you.
Very enjoyable for me. Hope you still read posts because 1) I love it that you posted it all at once!! Oh yes, lets me decide when and how much to read. I'm not good at trying to wait on the next part of a good story to emerge. Your comments at the beginning were helpful. Nice. Now I will need to read more of you and see where this 'friendship' goes.
God, I loved this story! The ending was especially heart warming. Good job!
I enjoyed this. The plot was obvious but not cliche; the characters were believable. I could of done with fewer cheesy monologues of righteous indignation but that's a personal gripe.
Overall, well done!
Your character development with the imperfections that make humanity interesting is outstanding. Congratulations.
I like the small town setting with the resident lifers forming the stable core. This was just a good and well written story.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Your best work since the Tangerine series! (And that was very good) thanks again!
Yep, it's a long story, but well worth the time spent reading it. At first it read just like another story I've read. Wasn't sure if it was a rip-off or not but decided to keep reading. So glad I did and it was soon evident that there was much more to the story.
Will seems like kind of a push over at times but when Anne came to his door looking to reconnect I just held my breath until it was "Time for you to go, Anne. I don't feel like talking to you". End of her story with Will. Will may be a soft touch but don't try to fuck him over because he does react when pushed far enough.
There were enough twists and turns to keep the interest up and continue reading. So glad it worked out in the end and there was a happy ending for Will and Madison. Thanks for a great love story.
Great job! Waif on the run meets grouch has been done so many times, I assumed the story couldn't be very good. But somehow you found paths for your characters that kept me locked in the whole way. Thanks!
I truly enjoyed this story. The characters were very realistic and the development of them and the story was really quite good--and I LOVED the "happy ending". (no pun intended! LOL)
Although long and I don’t normally read long stories, this is the best I’ve ever read on this website by far. I got sucked in early and could t stop. Great story and great characters. Just a percent mix of sexiness and story. More !!!
One of the best things I've read here - thank you so much for writing it. Great characters, good story development; I thought the length was just fine, definitely not too long. Just so good!
Superb writing, you held my attention throughout and I loved the twists and turns. A thoroughly authentic story and you crafted it perfectly, thank you.
This was great, a wonderfully crafted world with interesting characters all with their own personal hang ups and quirks.
This should be made into a film! It's infinitely better that 99.999999% of the crap NETFLIX pays millions for! Damn, damn fine read!!!! Fifty stars if I could!!!
There's a lot of crap on this site, some mediocre writing and every once in awhile a gem of a story. This is one of those. A gem of a story.
Reading your preface, I groaned 🤦♂️ Then I gave you the benefit of the doubt, glad I did. Excellent story, very well written and the characters in and out had me guessing “Is this the one?” Damn, dude you teased more than my high school prom date. Great job
"Coming Back Home", finally it hits *who* comes back. Excellent. Richard Bach [“Jonathan Livingston Seagull”]: If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were.
So touching to have this ending. Now for their lifetime, Madison will have a lover, a friend, and, a husband and Will gets the complete woman to be his lover, friend and wife. What a story.
5 STARS, no doubt about it.
This was a captivating story..Love reading about randonm act of kindness,,bravo.
This is a wonderfully put together story, thoroughly enjoyed.
I do wish there was a bit more sex in it but that's just me looking for a stroke story, once I started I couldn't put it down.
I was rooting for Will and Madison and thought he'd blown it.
Well crafted and written throughout but I found the ending a little rushed although how you can cover a time line of 5 years or so is very difficult.
5 stars
Brilliant read never saw the ending coming let's have more please
Butch
This is one of those few great works. There's not much i can say other than, wow. Thank you, and that was a great ending.
The best written story I’ve read here. There’s proper character development and believable dialogue.Meant that the erotic stuff was even stronger because a) it wasn’t just wall-to-wall and b) I actually cared about the two of them. Wonderful!
An outstanding, very human story with real people saying and doing real things. Looking forward to reading more for this author.
I like that the ending the story's title gives away could still be a surprise. I like that the narrator and the people around him all have flaws and various ways of dealing with them. I don't yet know whether I'll remember this story fondly and want to re-read it, but the odds are good. You've written real fiction here. Congratulations.
What a great story! Really enjoyed the characters and the development. And the fact I didn't guess what was going to happen next, although I was hoping for a happy ending!
A very enjoyable and well written story with interesting characters. The small town atmosphere mixed with a worldly protagonist is fascinating. I wonder if they will have a fifth generation living in the house!