All Comments on 'You Can Go Home Again'

My wife and I have been married for many years. We have had a few rough spots, but are still together in our old age. I found the story line and writing to be compelling. I read to be entertained. To be taken to a different place and time. To find emotion, joy, anger and sadness. I judge the characters, not the author. Wonderful job. I have a lot more of your stories to get thru. Thanks.

But you left out some compelling details. Did he ever let her drive the 442? Has he driven the Benz? Where was she hiding the keys to the boat?

Otherwise, great story about making a mistake in a relationship and working your ass off to overcome it.

Cheers.

While the story might not have been you cup of tea. At least if you are going to complain about it you should at least have the testicular fortitude to use your name. By using the anon tag you are just proving that your comments like your opinion mean very little to the rest of us.

@Blackrandi1958 Keep up the awesome work, your stories are great and an pleasure to read. Thank you for your submissions.

Mostly, I really like your work. This one is a bit out there, and I have to sympathize with the man in this story. It seems Ripley left him to find herself, but in three years she never was unfaithful to her ex-husband. I find that hard to swallow, and then through out the story, it seems to be all his fault, and even his family was in on the deception. Makes him look bad. I believe it should be the other way around.

Have you ever gone dancing when you’re in mid-argument with the person you love? I have and I bet you have to. This wonderful story is like that. Think of Ridley and Matt, dancing closely, then he walking off. She chases, catches him, puts her arms around him and slowly they’re back in step. As this story swept me off, I was doing the same thing, getting closer and stepping away from first Ridley, then Matt. Mom and Dad waltzed by to add context. Conley spiced things up with passion, jealousy and hate. The greatest thing an author can do is make you care and of course that’s what Randi does.

It’s a rainy New Year’s Eve night as I write this. But in my heart as I read this story, there was waxing moon reflected by the sea. I could smell the flowers. Ella Fitzgerald is singing “Let’s face the music and dance.”

So, I enter 2019 still a devout romantic and grateful to Randi for this gem. Happy New Year All!!

Me, I'd of gotten a restraining order against her, and if that didn't work, then I'd of packed my stuff and left, emailed my boss my resignation and disappeared. With no real proof that Makenna being mine, no regrets.

would have walked away from your own flesh and blood daughter?

this is my second or third read and it still leaves me with a warm glad heart.

The story is very nicely written, and I read it at one sitting. But, the plot had major holes. For example, first, I think very little of stories where the main, and unfortunately all too common, plot line is that a weak male runs away and hides, because most males would not abandon family and friends, jobs and homes just to pout. Second, I dislike the other unfortunately too-common plot line where people run away without giving other to talk or explain, and even more where there seems no reason to run. Third, I cannot believe that the grandparents would not tell their son that he has a daughter, as that is in non one's interest. Fourth, Ripley's "psycho-babble" was actually understandable, and I am not sure why no one seems to understand it. Although not a plot line error, I frankly think Ripley was too good for her

petulent childish ex.

My son was engaged to his high school sweetheart. They had dated others off and on but as a senior they got serious and even went to the same university. After graduation my son got a job about an hour away and they planned to move in together. That is when after 7 years together she decided she need to take a break so she could see if there was anything better. She loved our family (we vacationed together) and she said she loved him and felt this was the real deal but she wanted time to explore and then get married. But my son was to wait around and then take her back? He left but not for alaska. She tried to come back several times (after posting all kinds of slutty behavior on social media) but he said go to hell.

He is married and enjoying a great life and this girl is still screwing everything in site looking for mr right.

I think this guy in the story was right to leave. Not sure about taking her back. He is scared and when he finds out that after they were divorced there was more than one guy she was screwing he may again get insecure and they will fight.

A wonderful story! I think Kaine was right to go - his wife just left him, probably to find herself with another man. Could he believe she was faithful? I don't think so. An engrossing read - 5 *'s.

Yeah, the weak running man character is getting old, but one must suppose that he does exist.

A bit overdramatic in the end, but the one issue that does need fixing is the child talking like an eight year old. It became extremely tedious to read this type of thing. Didn't at one point the child say something like "...and who wants to know?" Sorry, but that type of thing really irks me.

Other than those complaints, this is a real nice story to read. Thank you for the effort.

Another enjoyable story. I would have probably divorced her as well after she left but not be did act like a little baby.

...gratefully for what it is. A well -written gentle tale of two lovers haphazardly finding their way back to each other. I gave it six*!

Great writing and decent characters. Still, this tale left me grasping.

An entitled “immature” married woman leaves to find herself and in the space of 3 years matures and changes quite a bit whike expecting the “ex” portion of her world to remain in stone. Nice. Unrealistic, but nice.

Now, how can she be in luv with her ex? The memory of him? Maybe. But, she doesn’t know him as she has changed and he now sees a new mature version of his ex.

To me, that is a missing piece that left me grasping for the “how” in this tale.

An interesgting reconciliation story but I'm sorry, Ripley is at fault from the begining. If you are going to kick your husband in his balls you should explain why you're doing it beforehand. Waiting to explain after you rip his world apart means that there is a good chance he will be heading for a safe place while you are finding yourself and becoming the new you. The kid might be his but all he gave was his sperm. He was just someone who was pushed aside until she needed his support; the support she didn't value before going to find herself.

I had some problems with the concept of the ex-wife being interested in getting together with ex-husband after 4 years. Seems pretty improbable. Likewise, the dangerous boyfriend certainly must have had more than a casual relationship with her. This aspect was not addressed sufficiently.

On the other side of the coin, Kaine was, throughout the novel an immature ass. His jumping to conclusions, the wrong ones, resulting in divorce was mainly a revelation of his immaturity too.

Ripley was a ditzy, entitled, self centered brat. Most guys are way too good for her. Once again, I’d take her back before I’d speak to my parents again. No chance his parents keep that news from him unless they are Jerry Springer rejects. Wonderful story but lots of thing that make you say wtf?

Liked the story

This is my favorite of blackrandl1956 stories. She has written better ones, but this one has a special attraction for me in the way the interaction between Kaine and Ripley played out.

Both are genuinely nice people who are good together and have problems simply communicating with each other. But she is a woman on a mission to get her man and she gets him to submit for his own good. Not as a slave, but a life partner.

This is a nice LW's story. This story tagged as "marital strife" is a 'break that refreshes' from most stories tagged, "infidelity".

I rate this a G: Gentle

This is the first one of your stories I have read. Certainly five stars.

I've already bookmarked your page as a favorite and look forward to reading them all.

This story shows how bad communication and immaturity can wreck everything. Well done.

What a poignant, beautiful story of immaturity, miscommunication, rash decisions, regret, awareness, and finally forgiveness and recommitment. Thank you!!

As one of those males that sometimes seems to be in touch with his feminine side I just can't understand how some women just constantly want to be with alpha assholes. The main character is such an immature self absorbed and self righteous dickhead that I really can't like him and therefore just don't understand why she should end up back with him... ah well... shit happens..

Second read. Great story. Bravos.

I know it is just fiction but I wish this couple all the best in the world. May they grow old together.

And enjoyed as much as on the first time around. A couple of points, at one point Ripley says that she kept herself chaste during the four years, then she says that she did not have other men until after McKenna was born, and finally the way Jeff was talking it sounded like he wanted to take her back home.(??) The other, is that I was

very worried about her wound opening when they started engaging in athletics.

Great Story!

and will always be on my favorite list! Five Stars!

Five Stars!

Totally agree with all Commenters, and took note of the points made reference to by Bruce 22, which were 'spot on' and which I had been in agreement with, as well. A wonderful ...if somewhat belabored.... read, and one which, curiously (for me), I enjoyed very much as 'literotica-literature', even in the absence of much in the way of explicit details about 'sex', per se. I usually like stories a lot more explicit....but in this case the reading of the story, itself, as it unfolded, was a pure joy. Just a great love story ! Keep up the great work !

I think that I read this a long time ago, it seems familiar in a good way. This is literature rather than just a story and should be appreciated as such. I love Allender's Hunt, but this is my new Randi favorite.

Your stories pulse with a super abundance of love. They are always very emotionally intense. Exceptionally well done. It makes me hope you are loved IRL to a significant degree like in your stories.

You describe loving your children so beautifully it makes me believe such a thing is real, even though I have never seen it anywhere in my real life. I know it must be real, but without direct experience of it, I'll just have to take your word for it.

Don't get me wrong overall the story is as good a story as always from Randi, but holy christ the mc was as dense as a loaf of soda bread. At one point I was yelling she told you 4 times you schmuck. After the running in circles was done, the meat of the story was enjoyable enough. Another good story

A person can 'growup' as quickly as Ripley did when her shit hits the fan, it does happen. Try being a 20 something father with two very little girls when the wife decides to run to one who turned out to be a child molester and she knew it. The only reason I made it through and eventually gained custody was support from her and my families. The the welfare of my girls are the only reason that as far as I know those two are still able to be walking around. I think some comments and sometimes Ripley were too hard on Kaine, how should he have felt and acted with what she pulled, she did it again by abandoning him at the fund raiser and should have told him about Jeff. Ripley herself admitted she hadn't done a very good job of explaining her self so I can't see any way to blame Kaine for jumping to the conclusions he did with what he saw and heard at the various times. But then I do have some hard earned bias there. I have read many stories by authors I greatly admire in multiple genres on different sites but none were any better than this one. Depending a lot on my own experiences of course and the skill of the author I can be the one to light the bonfire in a BTB and bury the ashes or happily bring the tissues with an earned Rec story. Mackenna and I'll carry the tissues this time, even being the second read. Signed: BTW

Very mixed feelings about this story. It well written but flawed in as much as the wife expected forgiveness for the incredibly stupid behaviour.

How on earth she expected any reaction other than the one she got is inconceivable.

She walks out on her husband, gets an apartment to “find herself”, which is female speak for “screw as many men as possible” and is surprised when he’s not sitting patiently at home, waiting for her to eventually come home.

Shame on his parents as well for being such two faced liars.

and so desperate to get him back that she fucked a half dozen men and lied to him about the existence of his daughter for four years?

Well, once trust is broken it is extremely hard to repair. I can’t see why he should ever trust this woman ever again.

Trust his ex wife, OH hell no. Lie detector test? Can be beat and not allowed in court. NO on this one. You just don't destroy someone and not expect consequences. Tell her go fuck yourself and walk.

It was a very well written story, and I'm one who likes a loving endings. Sorry these other comment writers don't know what is good writing, and don't know how to read a story correctly. Keep up the good writing.

But when she shows up three years later, I simply don't think he lets her in the door. And even if she can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's the Father, I STILL don't think he lets her in. Keep her out, contact his lawyer and see what his options are. Many, many men would simply never take responsibility. Let her sue for child support. And then maybe see the kid. Some men would pick up and move away. Of course any of these options ends your storyline. I get that. But in the end, he rewards her cheating. And uses a child that he has never seen and doesn't know he exists, to blackmail him. Not good.

Have you never noticed that most of your stories have one thing in common? No matter what she's done all your female characters have to do is give your males a little pussy and all their brain cells die and they put themselves right back into the position that got them hurt in the first place. Do you really believe that males are that simple??

Beautifully written, incredibly stupid story line.

This is obviously one of the most, if not the most, dynamic stories written in the last five years. More than 500 favorites, 300 comments and 250,000 views says this is among the best stories ever written here. It's a redemption story, facilitated by something unexpected, a little girl.

It's a story about two dumb young people, especially Ripley. She went off the rails, it cost her dearly and she paid the price. Her husband was very immature, as well, but they both grew up, found what they lost and it became something beautiful. An incredibly dramatic and heartwarming story. This is why I read this author, though I avoided this one for a long time. I'm sorry I can only give it five stars.

It was a nice story, but I agree with comments from some others that it makes no sense that Ripley could not have told Kaine about the baby during the three years. If Kaine divorced Ripley, then Ripley would have gotten word to Kaine through his lawyer -- there was no way that the information could not have gotten through. I also don't buy into the Kaine's parent not being able to tell him that they were grandparents. Sometimes these logical misses just throw off an otherwise very enjoyable story.

case of manipulation - well written and engaging but classic female behaviour. She certainly knew what buttons to push once she got him in range of her words and actions - all of which were to get what she wanted and to override what he wanted.

To use their daughter as a bargaining chip is pretty low. However unsurprising really, as most women will use each and every trick to get what they want & manipulate men. They will lie, cheat, steal, anything to gain advantage and of course men are so gullible, stupid and naive that they can be so easily led.

If I were Kaine, I would be curious about how slutty she had been while I was away living in ALASKA. Not that many single women in Alaska!!!

Very well written, great storytelling. I'm glad I started reading your work.

I agree with some of the comments that its pretty unbelievable that he wasn't notified that she had his baby. Hell she could have called child services and demanded child support that would have done it... that's how it is normally done. My main criticism is that as a female writer writing a story with a male protagonist you missed a big problem that almost all men struggle with when getting back together with an ex and that is the insecurity of knowing she slept with other men.

Regardless, it was excellent. 5 stars and can't wait to read you other stories.

I spent the last week reading all your stories. I found a couple of them at storiesonline and read them also. I gave them all 5 stars. Have you written anything else anywhere, I want to read more!

Keith

kwrendrag@aol.com

Re-reading this, one issue dawned on me (which may have been addressed by other commenters). That issue is the DNA proof of paternity. Sweetie coulda/shoulda had on done on Makeena and Hubby’s Mom when the grandparents expressed some doubt of her account of her pregnancy. If Hubby’s mother is clearly related to the newborn, then he is the father (unless Mom had more male children, then he could be Uncle!)

solid 5, loved the story, pacing was good and enjoy the writing.

I thought Makeena could've been a bit older, her speaking was a tad too advanced for a 3 year old. not a big deal though

Good story only problem to me was that you repeated so much so many times and not enough sex..

I admit throughout much of the story I did not like Ripley's attitude in the least. Until such time as she stepped into the razor attack I didn't really consider her to be a trustworthy character at all. Or at least not someone that I would want to be in a long-term relationship with.some of you may think my opinion is a bit harsh, but that's your call. That being said it was her truly redeeming moment.she had finally found within herself the strength of character necessary to make things right. Four stars.

Read some of the comments and whole some have justification I thoroughly enjoyed this and ignored any issues I thought / found. Def 5 stars from me.

Very well written story with an incredibly stupid premise.

She remained faithful up "until the divorce."

So she started her fucking around immediately after, and for the next 3 years.

If she was that hell bent to find "daddy", why wouldn't she have continued to be faithful?

Nope; she still ended up doing what her husband believed - she had left the marriage and was fucking other people. The timing was irrelevant.

That also means, she's still not trustworthy. Even more so with her failure to confess each and every fuck she had.

Hubby needs to kick her to the curb. The greater the beauty, the greater the burden to be open, honest, forthcoming, transparent. And now there's no more room of error. The next misstep is the last. So the failure to come clean about her fornication after the divorce is simply fatal. Say good-bye, forever......

This is a well written story.

But the plot is absolutely woeful.

The story should have ended on page 1 when Ripley asked him to look after the kid.

His response coulda shoulda been.

No. Its your kid. You said that you have matured. Behave like it and look after your own kid instead of abandoning it with a total stranger. Shall I ring Child Services?

Every time I read the name Ripley I automatically pictured a black, drooling alien behind her. Good story though. 5 Stars. At least the kid didn't have an alien pop out of her chest. Just Dad popping a woody for Mom.

Not sure why exactly. I do not always like reconciliations...but this story is so well written. And the characters grow on you as it goes along. And it just feels right for these two characters who obviously still love each other. Well done. 2nd time reading it.

On my third read. Really nicely done. Balanced.

Thank you for your writing.

Wayne (from FB)

Another best story. Just express what you want to your partner. Be patient. Just use the right words. Ask for help from your partner. Don't screw up. He/She is your soulmate. Don't rush anything. If you want a variation, getting away is not the solution. Just be with your partner and discuss it. Ask their opinion. Ask them they want something beyond regular life. You didn't want to move out. You could explain to your spouse about your stress. He/She will understand and will be your side for help. Discussion is the solution. Not to moveout. And face it. And don't cheat on your partner. Because his/her world is built around you. He/She has made plans for the future. Love your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/fiance for the rest of your life. And don't try to find happiness beyond your love life.

Probably my least favorite character you've written. She'd have had an easier time explaining things to a mud brick wall. Aside from his apparent inability to listen and communicate as well as his ongoing immaturity, I still for the most part enjoyed the story as a whole.

Good story. The only issue I have: he never brought up her sex life after the divorce. Yes, they were no longer legally married. They should have addressed that point. As jealous as he was, I kept expecting him to bring it up. Since it was never approached, it had a potential to cause strife in the future. The razor-wielding idiot was brought to center stage, but was he the only one? Were there others waiting in the wings to rear their ugly heads? This issue could bite them in their asses during a future crisis. In spite of this omission, I gave the story five stars. I feel it deserves that.

In between not told.

I can get her flaking out and taking a leave of absence to 'find herself' when she was young and naive, as dumb a decision as it was. But the first outing together on her quest to win him back, she puts him on the backburner to schmooze with others? If networking was still higher priority at that crucial moment, then I don't see him ever being more important to her than her job.

Still don't like it. Ripley never puts him first. It's always about her and what she wants. She hides things from him, she flaunts her success, she is completely selfish. She kept knowledge of his daughter secret. She said she changed but has not. She uses his daughter to manipulate. This is not an equal partnership.

The only thing she has going for her is that she is hot and she has his daughter, which of course she hid from him. Not exactly what it takes to have a committed relationship.

I guess some people like to be miserable. It's definitely not going to last. I feel sorry for anyone that thinks this is a good relationship and that they should be together.

she was the break, she's the one who looked fucked up even his parents though so. And his leaving has nothing to do with her because they were divorced. She asked for a separation and got what she asked for. Then her and his parents proved how fucked up they were. He has a kid and they say nothing, hell if it was me. My parent would die alone and I would go for custody.

Well, what to say ? First, I like happy endings although not sure if this will be one.

Secondly, she’s just too smug. Thirdly, the timings weren’t right..

Enough with the counting.

Just don’t trust her. Anyone who says to their husband “I’m leaving you, I want to find myself” it’s just women’s code for “ I’m bored and I’m going looking for some fresh meat. You sit here little boy & wait for me until I decide if I want you anymore”.

What did she realistically expect ?

For someone who claimed she would have do anything to get him back she sure fucked a lot of other guys

Finally a real life story.

Thank you or the great story.

I love the emotion of this story and if I had to pick one favorite, it would be this one.

It also has an example of what one finds in most of these tales, a not really credible part. I only point this out because these small “errors” are irrelevant to the stories, yet people seem to get so hung up on them.

In this one, our hero gets so crazy, he quits everything and moves to Alaska. His ex takes up with his parents, who help bring his daughter into the world. He moves back and is told by no one he has a daughter. BUT, it is a sentence or two of the backstory- who cares? The story is about the ex winning him back, using the girl to help.

It is sweet and told very well, that his mother didn’t tell him of his daughter is not worth mentioning (so why am I?). Great read, my all time favorite.

Sadly, though well written, expecting to pull out a “big gun” aka “it’s yours” aka child and poof you are back together in love killed this story on page one.

Frak her. Sue for custody and move on. After DNA. Screw the package deal bs. She will frak him over again.

btw - the parents would have been in my rear view after that. At best.

Like I said, great writing; crappy plot.

Great love story of 2nd chances with a happily ever after ending. Maybe I missed something but I didn't read anywhere that she slept around. She kept searching for him and he kept avoiding her. He was as much fault as her by running away, I like that they finally got back together.

5 stars.

One of the best and most enjoyable stories I've read.

Two love bird's who ran away from each other...romantic i like

I just love your work. You are the BEST!

She kept commenting on how she never slept with anyone else until the divorce was final implying she did sleep with others. And in the final confrontation with Jeff he was saying he was going to take her and Makenna back where they belong implying they were living together. So she did not spend the intervening years celibate, longing to get back together with him. So she did "sow her wild oats". Why?

I think secretsale has it right. Taking him to that function’ then ignoring him was crass & not conducive to getting back together

It was a fun read, but a few screwed up things on her part.

Bill

Razorbacks 🐗

Have by passed ur stories several times dont really kno why. But this is now the 2nd 1 i have read and would like to say i was really doing myself a diservice. I have enjoyed them both immensely. Thanks for the entertaining read.

Your stories and characters come alive when I read them. This story is the best.

Thank you

I have read this a few times. Ripley likes to throw that "run away" line just a little too quickly and Kaine has abandonment and trust issues. There is a lot of resentment between them. The plot and character development is so strong that I almost feel the story is unresolved because those two desperately need couples counseling to get it all out.

I liked your story ,and then they went fishing. Now, these two have a lot to work on- but communication is definitely top of the list, so I was intrigued by how it would turn out. THEN the idiot is more concerned with landing a trout than watching his daughter. I was all spooled up to give you a one ,or 0 because it had a sucky ending, when I realized before mommy showed up, that the DOG was there. If possible the dog loves the kid more than they do. So I knew it would turn out O.K. The Bear approves. 7 stars, because it was a good feel good story, and the dog saved the day. You won't see a cat do that.

The BEAR

What a beautiful, heart-warming story! I love a happy ending.

How long does it take for his parents to say "You have a daughter" during a dinner? Or demand child support during the divorce proceedings to force him to talk to her?

I understand that these stories need failed communication to work but that's just ridiculous...

A bit unrealistic but beautiful nonetheless.

She got married and realized how much she missed the C.C. If the kid is truly yours, raise it right, and not be a sloor like the mother. Send the ex packing, tell her to go back to the streets where she belongs.

of yours. I'm a sucker for cute little girls who steal the guys dog and wrap the guy around her little finger.

Loved it a second time.

Hooked

Good writhing but he's a trophy husband and baby sitter, fool

Went thru something similar DIVORCE never looked back

You can thank all the people you want but you have amazing talent. Thank you for another wonderful story. I think this is my third time reading it.

So love a story with a happy ending. Well written and a well executed story.

I should point out that this story doesn't belong in the Loving Wives category as they were exes. Having said my piece, it is a great story and the characters are terrific. Thre epilogue was really too brief. How long after Ripley came home did they wait to remarry ? How old is Makenna in the final setting?

So she loves him so much and wants to be his wife that she lied about him having a child for three years, and fucked other guys?

I don’t know what story the lujon2019 asshole read, but it wasn’t this one. This is a more than great story. The stories of yours I have liked the least are as good as the stories of other writers I like the most. This one, and your other great stories, Vagabonds, Someone to Love Us, Domestication, Turn the Page and others are the best around, by a lot, IMHO. I always give you five stars.

_ _ This story is shamelessly contrived. The ex-wife, near the end, still blames the ex-husband for 'running away' although, in greater truth, he distanced himself from her cruelty which she consistently and only describes as 'stupid.'

_ _ She routinely criticizes him without taking full responsibility for her own cowardice.

_ _ Two stars.

Good story, well written but highly unlikely. IRL if your mate tells you they "need space" it's already over.

I really like this story, very well written. But what I can’t get over is the betrayal of his parents. They knew he had a daughter but they kept it from him. So she asked them too, so what! Their loyalty should be to their son, not to her. And now, thanks to their betrayal he missed the first important part of his daughters life. Her first steps, her first words.

Some might say that it’s because he ran away. No that’s not the case. He didn’t run from his daughter, he ran from his wife who needed ‘to find herself’. And we all know that’s usually just slang for ‘I wanna fuck my brains out with other guys, please hold on until I’m done’. IF they would’ve have told him (either his wife or his parents) that there was a child on the way and he still ran, THEN he would have been an asshole who left his daughter. But he didn’t know she existed, nobody told him.

And that is what annoys me, the fact that the parental betrayal (that is the betrayal of his parents who cheated him out of the first three years of his daughters life) goes unpunished, even unmentioned. If that would have happened to me, I don’t think my relationship with my parents could have survived. Cheating me out of bonding with my child would be an absolute death sentence on any relationship.

Some might say that he brought it on to himself because he wouldn’t talk to his (ex-)wife but like I said before, that isn’t a valid argument. He didn’t want to talk to her because of what she did, you can agree or disagree with that, but that’s a different matter then having a child together. He should have been notified of that but his (ex-)wife and his parents fucked him over with the ‘we did not want to tell you this over the phone or via email but we are perfectly happy to cheat you out of the first three years of your daughters life’.

I think the story could benefit from adding the son-parents dynamic regarding this betrayal.

Ripley and Kaine? Shoulda named the kid Newt.

A lovely upbeat, sweet, story. Well written