The Memory of Place

Thank you for the drama and the suspense and the lust and, mostly, the love. But I would have preferred a bit more logic. OK, a lot more logic.

Why did Liz divorce Tom? If you think you told us, you didn't. Why did Liz want to reconcile with Tom? Why didn't Tom and Liz talk about it where we could listen, or did they even discuss the dissolution of their lives together? Seems kind of cold, or that it somehow became irrelevant to them. Must have been a pretty shallow and tepid relationship.

Why did Tom rely on the baby's blood test, rather than a definitive DNA test? We know Lisa was capable of lying, and would do whatever she could get away with to guarantee her child's welfare. Did Lisa not have any family that wanted to raise her child, or at least wanted to be in her life? Is that why Lisa was buried in a foreign country, because she had no family? Since Tom was not her husband I don't see how he had any say in where Lisa was to be buried. And why did Tom name his daughter after his ex-wife, rather than her own mother, or maybe Tom's mother? That was weird. Will Liz continue to have some connection with Tom, and Elizabeth? Wonder how Madeleine feels about that?

So many questions, that I hope do not bother you. But they occurred to me, so I thought I would ask.

Thank you for your time and effort.

This is one of those contemplative sagas that tugs at the emotional boundaries we live within. Liz experienced (sellers?) remorse after the divorce. Lisa stepped over the ethical line while granting a colloquial form of "mercy". It was almost jarringly abrupt when our narrator sailed the Atlantic to discover a family we knew nothing about. All the while Liz and Lisa are altering his future in his absence and without his knowledge or involvement.

In an over simplified way I wish we had been an observer during the decision making process.

Thanks Aa for another marvellous tale.

Definitely an outstanding story. The plot was unusual to say the least. As it meandered along I felt carried by the story and although I was somewhat put out by the outlook of a 9 page story I decided to go through with it in installments.

I did think that Liz's defection from the marriage was somewhat abrupt. After 25 years she gets into a tight affair based on sex? Can a relationship go by the boards because the wife is enamored of a big cock? I'd like to think that reasonable people don't do that. I have experienced two relationships that lost their luster with time, but not through unfaithfulness. I recognized after both ended (one in divorce and one from Cancer) that the secret is hard work and communication. I was not really good at either, but I know that a relationship like Liz and Thomas had should have been good enough to withstand a bit of weather.

I thought the ending was a little trite. He does turn out to be Lisa's child's father and Lisa conveniently steps out of the story with Cancer. There's nothing that says that people can't wrestle with next steps and new directions and make mistakes in the process. Thomas made his share, but I think I agree with most of his steps. Certainly a 5* performance and I will go back and read some other (hopefully shorter) stories by this author.

I was amazed to see the phrase: "likety-split". Haven't seen that in ages!

Good story as always! I, however, had some trouble following at times. The fine line between clever prose and wordiness seemed to be crossed at times. This seemed to have too much literary detail and imagery at times. For me, it distracted rather enhanced the experience.

Like the other commentors, these places: New Zealand, Charleston, France, California, etc are an important part of this southerner's life experience. It is nice to see them featured. Maybe throw in a whale spotting experience near Kaikoura next time!

As always, I was lost on your story. Thank You again!