All Comments on 'The Angel from Psych'

A very melancholy story. Very well done and beautifully laid out - got a tear from me. But that ending... very quick to forgive. That sort of thing well, i think it takes more than bambi eyes and the emotional equivalent of a "whoops". Some more dialogue.

But the main character was at least consistent - kind and good. It ledt me wanting more and the premise is deserving of a deeper story. Or another similar setup.

Fantastic stuff, please keep it going!

Well, I now have tears dripping down my face, a snotty nose from the tear fall so I guess that your story suckered me.

Well done, not many do that to me. Thanks.

A very sweet story. Thank you.

Wonderful story. Very romantic, but the negative parts were just what is needed both for realism and to make the positives even stronger. And even some good life lessons woven in. Good flow. Good plot twists.

Good story

I thank you for sharing this wonderful story. You made an old man weep. That's not nice - but it was such a sweet story, and it echoed some aspects of my own life. I look forward to reading everything else you write.

Too bad it didn't come a few weeks earlier ... it would have done well in the 2019 holiday contest here.

Thank you for your warning at the beginning of your story. I am not a fan of the romance category.

Great story and as of now, my favorite. Will enjoy any and all continuations to this or not.

It's a good story, well written. But I can't get passed the fact he lost 30 years of being in his sons life. He might die in a year only having a very short time with him.

The speed he forgives her just didn't make any sense. Disappointed at the end. Glad he got the family he always wanted though.

U out should have entered this in the holiday contest, the next one is in a few weeks.

Wow! Thanks to everyone who’s commented and provided feedback with their favorites and follows. These are all greatly appreciated and they’re excellent encouragement for my future writing endeavors on this site.

Thank you, too, to those who suggested that this might have done well in the Holiday Contest. I’d originally hoped to complete it in time for that, but it wasn’t quite good enough by the deadline and I don’t like to give readers something that’s not up to my standards. If I don’t think I’d enjoy reading it, I’m not going to foist it off on our readers.

SPOILERS...

Finally, to those who’ve addressed the issue of forgiveness, thanks so much for your insight. That was the major problem that I had with the story, too. In the end, it was what I hoped would be a major revelation to Jason when he realized what Kristen had given back to him at great cost and embarrassment to herself. She could have continued to keep the secret of their son’s existence from Jason after discovering his location, but she was willing to reveal her past lies to him and risk his anger and possibly even hate in order to (hopefully!) allow him to share in their newfound family.

Therefore, as the story ends, there’s no guarantee that forgiveness will be enough and that they’ll be able to overcome their past, but it was a first step. With that in mind, I have a partial outline and almost a thousand words written for a sequel to address these issues. I hope to complete it for the Valentine’s Day contest, but only if I can convince myself that it stays true to this story.

Thanks again!

to deal with in a way that makes everyone happy. You gave it a good shot and gave it a chance to work. The ending wasn't bad but I can only imagine trying to figure out something that would work. I couldn't be that forgiving.

A well written story!

While not estranged from my girl friend, I went through the agony of having to give a child up for adoption and the nights of wondering of how she was doing. Was she in a good home? Was she happy? She found me years later by using a private detective. I met her on her 35th birthday. Later she took me out to lunch in her new Mercedes and I quit worrying about how she was doing. We still meet a couple of times a year and I'm known as BioDad by her friends. I met her adoptive parents and they were fine people, based on her success they did an excellent job of raising her. I can relate to the feelings here.

Great story and well written. Really hoping for a happy ending in the sequel. Well done!

The quick forgiveness near the end didn’t ring true for me. The angel was not angelic at all in the final analysis. Kristen and her mom lied for no other reason than to protect their future income potential? And she says she loved him then and still does? That also doesn’t ring true after denying him her presence and the joy of raising and loving their child for 30 years. She and her mom actually come off as totally inconsiderate people who had no compassion and didn’t care at all about Jason except that he be allowed to complete his degree and make a lot of money. Sad... and not very romantic at all.

There seems to be a recurring 30 year gap in this author's stories so there must be something autobiographical about it. I have a 30+ year issue in my family: a estranged daughter and brother who I hadn't seen for that kind of time gap. In my case it hasn't worked out too well. My daughter is in a world I can't get my head around and my brother is very ill and there's little likelihood of reconciliation. But these things happen and although the outcome in this story was indeed bittersweet it was sort of positive. The package was worth a composite 5*. There's lots of room for criticism of the plot, but that doesn't make any sense. A plot is the author's choice and what the reader does with it lies in his/her imagination and to try to reshape it to his/her preference is just plain silly. I hope to see more from this author.

Forgiveness...

It takes a man with a strong character to forgive wrongs committed so many years ago. Then there were the years (and possibly marriage) Jason and Kristen missed being together because of Kristen's mother. Would I have forgiven her? Hard to say, but for this story, all's well that ends well.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the twists and turns the plot took. A great holiday story.

Don’t know if forgiveness could be that quick coming but plausible

All smarts and no compassion.

Inconvence human being? (Unborn child)

Kill it!!!

More than once in this story.

And men have no rights to their own offspring conceived in love in this case.

There's a cost for this hubris.

Thanks again to all who are reading and leaving notes about this work. I know it’s a very touchy subject (it was even noted in the author’s note at the start of the work without being too specific to give away exactly what it was). To a few specific recent comments:

“The angel was not angelic at all in the final analysis.” To me, this is the point of the story (and she even admits it in Chapter 2, though in a different context). Jason was so infatuated with her in the old days that he saw her as an angel and couldn’t see her faults, including those the reviewer lists. Even in the “present day” in the story, there may still be a touch of that present, that “benefit of the doubt” that leads him to offer forgiveness more quickly than some feel is likely.

“The arrogance of the educated/All smarts and no compassion.” The mother character is a well-to-do scholar, was probably active in the feminist movement of the 60s and 70s (based on some of her statements and attitudes), and is particularly domineering. She cares deeply for Kristen and wants the best for her, socially and economically, but, in her way of thinking (where abortion is just an expensive method of birth control rather than what it actually is), she doesn’t extend that care to the next generation if it’s going to mess things up for her daughter in the process. That is the way many thought in the 70s and 80s, and how some still think today. Kristen isn’t strong enough to resist her mother's demands the first time and can only partially do so the second. However, Kristen’s story is one of growth over time; whether it is enough to overcome the past mistakes (despite Jason’s initial willingness to forgive her) is unresolved.

I wouldn't forgive her. Her choice to keep or not keep the baby, but should have told him the truth. If not her, then the professor should have.

And what about calling him after she gave the baby up for adoption - if she really loved him.

Must have felt guilty about his own family issues.

He’s also inconsistent. Usually he harangues about plot issues but here he just passes them off as the author’s choice. If he likes it, the plot is ok. If not, the criticism of the plot is severe.

I personally don’t like Jason’s behavior after they got together again.

4*

Well it would seem that previous comments hit some nerves with some. I enjoyed the story, but I would have been mad at her mother and protected what I loved. The abortion would never have been on the table. There are ways to make things work out, if love is there, true love, then it could have happened. In this story, I get that the mom was the control freak, daughter is scared and an inexperienced young guy doesn't want to incur that wrath of the control freak, even though she's feeding him a line of crap. The happy ending and the resurgence of the love between them makes it a good story.

I also enjoyed the story; it captivated me for several reasons. One, my teenage daughter became pregnant twice by the same young man in spite of her using birth control pills. The first pregnancy was aborted, but it was emotionally painful for everyone. The second pregnancy resulted in my first grandchild because my daughter refused to go through another abortion. At my daughter's subsequent wedding to the father I held my granddaughter. Secondly, my father was a college professor and seemed, to me, to have two personalities: one on campus and another at home.

There are some plot issues that detracted from the story. There were contraceptive devices available in the 80's and 90's. Aren't adoption records sealed so that the biological parents don't know the names of the adoptive parents and vice versa? Why couldn't Kristen contact Jason through his parents, whom she had met, a year or two after Steven's birth? Child support is not an issue for biological parents if they have placed their baby for adoption; there was no reason to list the father as unknown. How were 529's agreed to and created in the few days after Kristen and Jason reunited?

What a terrible thing she did to him. And her mother was even worse. I can't get behind how quickly she forgave him.

Wonderful.

What a poignant and moving story! You handled the transition from present to past and back again very well, and you have a great talent for writing dialog. I feel that Jason's behavior was reasonable and realistic when getting that kind of news 30 years later, but I was happy that he eventually forgave Kristen. I enjoyed how the story's end left the path open for them in the future.

Most of the female lead characters in your stories are not very likeable. The fact that the MC usually ends up with her always makes me give a lower rating then what I would normally have

Great story. Just finished it on 4th of January, 2022. This was a great after Christmas read!

I understand they were in love but after 30 years that is too quick of a reconciliation and forgiveness. I don't want him to be bitter but it just felt like he shrugged off the fact that she denied him the chance to watch his son grow up. As a dad I don't think I could let it go as easily as he does.

I really wanted to like this story, but I really did not enjoy it.

The story is well written but like others, I hate the conclusion. Basically no real punishment for either of those two evil lying women, for the pain and damage the main character had inflicted on him.

5 Stars..... I really enjoyed the story. Although I did feel Professor Sorenson was way too much of a bitch. I think she denied Jason and Kristen a lifetime of happiness.

Two psychopaths robbed a man of his son, after making him believe they'd killed him. Then thirty years later, one of the psychopaths says she's ever so sorry, won't he forgive her? After all, she was only protecting him from having to pay child support that he wouldn't have been liable for anyway, because his son was adopted, right? And he not only forgives her, he apologizes himself. And they have sex, and everything is just peachy. Kristen and her despicable mother are why pillories existed. But really this whole story/plotline makes no sense at all. I liked that Rhonda and Steven's children got help, despite my loathing of the "angel" and her vile, murderess mother, and my disdain for Jason's spineless behavior, which is why the story gets three instead of two stars from me. Well, that and excellent technical skill, regardless of my feelings about the actual content of the tale.

Note: perhaps psychopath is ungenerous for Kristen. Her mother was a monster. But she had thirty years to say something, anything, to Jason. Maybe not a psychopath. Certainly despicable and repulsive. Or perhaps despicable and nematode-level pathetic and pitiable, if I'm feeling generous.

Perhaps a Jason does exists somewhere, but I have the hardest time to believe he does.

Why would he heap accusations upon himself regarding the breakup thirty years before? He did everything he could to make them stay together. He did not have the necessary information to be even more persistent. It was the couple's mistake to have unprotected sex- but he was ready to accept the resulting responsibilities.

What Kristen and her mother did to him amounts to about the deepest level of betrayal I can think of. The reason for his forgiveness is supposed to be his insight, that a family doesn't work properly without it. BUT Kristen and he ARE NOT family, his son, daughter in law and grandchildren are. They can develop untainted relations, since neither of them did wrong by the other.

Thirty years have passed on. Jason, with the least little bit of reflection, would have recognized that he had put Kristen on pedestal, but that she didn't deserve that spot. Personally, as a sixty year old, I believe nobody does, including the heroes of modern popular culture, politicians and so on. As a non religious person I'd still like to draw the analogy to the biblical dance around the golden calf. To me it seems our time and age has produced more surrogates for religion and more idols (in the biblical sense) than any other epoch. The main characters of SC's stories are most often Christians. As such, if they take their beliefs halfway seriously, they should recognize that modern days fandom and idolizing people brings you into the realms of blasphemy.

However, Jason had to have realized Kristen's humanity, even before her confessions. To still pray at her altar, so to speak, almost makes him a satanist. Seriously, even after remembering the good times upon meeting her again, any sane person would act civilly, but nothing beyond that. This guy is well off not just financially, has every opportunity to socialize with different groups of people and would eventually fall in love with a lovely lady.

I'm ever so grateful for the stories SC entertains us with, because he is one of comparably few authors with a relatable stance on the roles of love, respect and sexuality in a relationship, how these depend on each other inseperably. That romantic love in the long run won't survive without respect, and how both love and respect will heavily influence every interaction including and especially sex.

Just to avoid misunderstandings. I'm not damning stories that evolve around sexual activities mostly and am comfortable with reading a few things I never really did and never felt the urge to do in real life. As long as kinks, obsessions and experimentations aren't equaled with or mistaken for the love for a person I'm good, otherwise it's just not for me, but I digress.

My conclusion is, the angelic person in this story is Jason. I do not believe in angels, surely not if they consist of flesh and blood.

Finally I want to give thanks to SC for replying to one or two of my comments. It was not my intention to rob you of your valuable time. My comments are mainly a comparison between your stories and my personal experiences, believes and certainties. I'm not dumb enough to ignore the fact that my percieved certainties are just believes either.

Good at first but the ending was rediculous. Threr

Sorry Mr. SouthernCrossfire, but I couldn't finish reading this story which seems too implausible (to be polite) or I completely missed the subject.

A few questions though regarding the differences in culture from across the ocean.

- in many stories in the USA, it is mentioned to resort to a vasectomy. Is it that common, because it is very very rare with us.

- Do you have the habit of using affectionate words of intimacy other than your very close entourage (spouse, partners, children....) because it made me feel strange that he called her, from the start, "sweetheart" a woman he knew and loved over 30 years ago.

- Similarly, I found the reactions, flat, without explosion, without anger, without resentment and with too easy forgiveness (style a sponge stroke, we erase everything). I cannot even imagine the pain and the feeling of loss, to learn that he has a 30 year old son when he always wanted to have children.

Just found your work, reading from oldest to newest.

Some will nit pick just because they can, forgetting this is a fantasy site. Here, everything is possible. I'm a firm unbeliever in the RAAC stories, but that doesn't stop people from writing and reading them. So take it with a grain of salt and move on with no worries.

That being said, the ending seemed a bit chopped off. Could have stood to be a bit longer or possibly a short second chapter.

Another gem! I don’t understand the negative comments from others. I thought the author did a fine job getting the message across.

Great story. I'm not an author and don't get wound-up about the technical issues or comments from folks who think they can do it better. Thanks.

PS: voila and viola are two different things. In Canada, we have to learn a bit of French (thank Quebec for that :) ).

Thank you. I was sorry that it wasn’t longer.

Marvelous story! A great handicap to the short-story format is the frequent need to compress time in order for the plot to work. In this case, Jason's forgiveness seems to happen too quickly, but there wasn't room in the plot for a slow acceptance. It worked for me because I have children and granchildren whom I love and understand the emotions that Jason and Kristen experienced. I must confess that I rather liked Kristen's mom, and I don't think she forced them apart because of money but rather the drastic changes raising a child would impose on their future lives. Kristen seems to have overcome that somehow, but SC doesn't explain that because it's a short story. Btw, I'm not quite as late to the party as it looks: This is my second go-round but for some reason I wasn't in a mood to leave a comment the first time.

We are soooo touched and very misty! We also understand the young couple - abortion - secret birth and adoption, and lifelong breakup; we just don't agree with controlling mom and probably hate her for it. Additionally, Kristen was eventually old enough to make her own decisions to track down Jase and fall in love with him. What a totally wasted 30 years that didn't need to be! Such is life and many peoples very stupid, inconsiderate and self-centered decisions thinking they are saving someone or they are better off. So much lost love that didn't need to be and shouldn't have!!!!!

A Part 2 follow-up is needed with full-disclosure of all the BS involved from the beginning, through and to the sunset years of our finally in-love and together couple.

Please

5* That was lovely. Thank you for posting it.

Pretty evil actually.

Damn you, I cried. You're forgiven though. Thank you for writing this. I really loved it.

Bittersweet! Don’t think I’d be able to forgive Kristen or even see her after 30 years. Betrayal to the max!

Forgiving the unforgivable doesn't make you a good person. The opposite actually. It makes you horribly cruel to the one person who's with you from the moment of your birth until your last breath. Yourself. Seems some kind of collective paranoia makes writers think characters who despise themselves are fun to write and readers like them. Maybe. I just wish they realized the characters they write for what they are instead of trying to sell them to us as something else. Fallen angel is an apt description for the female in this at least. A woman stealing someone's child for three decades belongs in hell with the worst sinners. Alongside others who cannot and should not be forgiven. Maybe for reflection, the writer should imagine they had their kid kidnapped by someone. If they found them 30 years later, would they forgive them and have sex with them?

Fortunately it seems that most readers understand the story by the high a verge rating.

The writing checks all the important boxes. Plot, style, character development, clarity, ... It is a five.

I am reminded of the Biblical injunction: Judge not lest ye be judged.

When one does not walk in another's shoes it is easy to condemn, and even easier when the character is fictitious.

I believe the author handled some difficult topics with care and sensitivity.

The Hoary Cleric

@most recent Anonymous. If you exist in a human society, you judge and are judged. Constantly. It's how the whole thing works really. And while this is fiction, we can only interpret it by our real life world standards. So if we see something that looks completely nonsensical by those standards, it has to be pointed out. Forgiveness has no place in a story like this where children got stolen from a parent. The fact a reconciliation happened on top of that, makes this a story so far removed from normal human interactions, that it might have been about the family drama of alien amoeba on Pluto. Cheated out of three decades of your child's life can only create certain emotions from a parent towards the one responsible. Hate, resentment, disgust, desire for retribution. Certainly not fondness and love...