So, did you see it? Within this chapter was the title of the
book, spoken by Logan during the session.
Click here to read Say Goodbye to Sparkleland,
Chapter 21.
Having finished all of Mitchell’s previous lovers, his black book
is now obsolete and his path lies ahead. Or will any of them come back???
We do have a few glimpses into the future.
Just a few months from where we are in this chapter, we know
that Mitchell will be at Laramie’s birthday party.
See it in Laramie, Chapter 20.
It was a touching scene that I wrote almost a year ago. I knew that I was going to put Mitchell in therapy before I started writing Sparkleland, and that chapter was the right time and place, even though it wasn't Mitchell's book.
Further on in Laramie, we hear for the first time
that Mitchell has found someone.
In the following chapter, we know Mitchell is back in the
lives of Cooper and Corey because he is at Corey’s high school graduation.
Find Laramie, Chapter 24 here.
Had that been all I ever wrote about Mitchell, it would have served its purpose that the two former lovers were able to reconcile a friendship. But telling it from Mitchell's point of you is much richer in detail.
The first mention of “L.B.” was found in A Bed, A Desk
and My Unfortunate Soulmate, Chapter 3.
Click to find Soulmate, Chapter 3.
L.B. was also at Cooper’s and Laramie’s wedding. I loved
writing that scene.
It is a lot for any reader to keep up with — as it is for
me! — but it is kind of fun to go back and see how it all gets woven together.
I’m trying to make sure it all fits as it should.
More than anything, there is optimism in Mitch’s life as
seen in these flash forwards from the other books.
It was so easy for us to hate Mitch for cheating. If Laramie's story (and even Cooper's) was for the character to accept who they were as a person, then Mitchell's narrative is he has to allow himself to be human — and that goes for the reader too. It's easy to hate the cheater, but to find the human being under the mistake demands more of us.
Hope on the horizon is a good thing ... for all of us.
I commented that I knew these three guys where the same thing that is in the story happened. I've since found out even though the cheating guy has a husband now, the former partner and his new partner had slept with him. I referred them to this story. What I liked about this chapter was that despite the cheating, it seems both Cooper and Laramie want Mitch in their lives. Nothing to do with sex at all, just simply Cooper has two loves (his son is not in the same context but he is a love of his life) and although he shares the love bond now with Laramie, clearly Cooper is in love with Mitch just differently. We must not condemn Cooper for his choice, but even more so Laramie for not saying to Cooper you cannot see Mitch ever again. The complexity of human relationships is a reality captured well in this chapter. I think if you are cheated on and break up or not and you decide to forgive and change the relationship to open or insist on monogamy, others should not judge one's choice. I know plenty of couples who are together even for decades who see no issue with their partner going out and getting any man for sex. If it's wrong for you don't do it, but it's right for them so don't judge. It's not our business.
ReplyDeleteLoved it, got to understand more about Mitch. I never condemned him for the affair but understood how it motivated Cooper to change. Good chapter.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the last chapter of "Sparkleland"!
ReplyDeleteHow could any reader have missed the title in the chapter?!
As for my reaction to Mitchell, which for long was overwhelmingly negative, perhaps it reflected some only semiconscious internalized homophobia? In that sense, the therapy sessions with Logan have had a healthy, therapeutic if you will, effect on me too.
I do hope you will continue writing, but at the same time I appreciate your care about a real story.
gb
Wow, kudos on the story as it progresses. You are doing an excellent job of portraying the characters. I actually am liking Mitchell more each chapter.
ReplyDeletem.y.
I think that tossing that book is about the healthiest thing he could've done. It's cliche, and very much a line from a movie, but "Keep moving forward" is a truth we all need to follow sometimes. I try to, and yes sometimes I fail, but for the most part, it's so much easier to move forward if you don't drag your past along behind you.
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