by Duleigh
This is such a lovely and loving story. Truly enjoying yor tale. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Nice as usual, though the dream sequence was rather distracting and didn't really seem to add much to the story. It seemed more a writerly thing -- especially the dream within a dream thing -- than a necessary plot aspect. The whole suicide implication seemed overdramatic as well. I also (and I write this as a recovered Catholic who has far less than zero love for the church) found the bashing of Catholicism to be self-congratulatory and provincial at best and annoyingly sanctimonious at worst. Being christian with a capital C works a lot better when demonstrating actions than when taking dogmatic shots. Still, I continue to look forward to your next installment!
Wondered what was happening when the dream sequences ran. A great instalment, well writ ten and thoroughly enjoyable.
I don't know how you continue to put forth a story that takes despair and turns it into joy, I hope you never get tired of these characters as you have a legion of followers who wait with baited (pun intended) breath for the next installment. Also you integrate new people into the story which allows offshoots to become part of the next tale. The dream sequences were a bit disconcerting, but were explained well enough. I continue to be enthralled.
I can only reiterate what the other commenters have said. Once again a story that keeps the reader engaged and pulls at the heartstrings and adds in enough smiles and laughs to have us wait eagerly for the next installment! Five *!