"The Age of Innocence" by Cole Parker

[Rutabaga]

New story here.

Somehow it seems like the neighbors' Jack Russell should be the one named Scottie and the narrator should be Joe.  Just goes to show.

Oh -- and we'll have to wait to see the relevance of the reproduced page of music on the title page.  

We'll have to wait and see just how innocent our young protagonist is.

R

[Rutabaga]

Tangling with the tomboy may not be the wisest move . . .

R

[Oliver]

The tomboy can be a source of answers to a lot of questions he is struggling with.

On 5/23/2022 at 1:38 AM, Rutabaga said:

Oh -- and we'll have to wait to see the relevance of the reproduced page of music on the title page. 

Still a mystery. Probably will be for several chapters. 🙂

[Rutabaga]

“Yeah, but remember, I’m abnormal.”

Poor kid.  😊

R

 

[Rutabaga]

Maybe Troy was just different when it came to goo.

Interesting way to look at it.

R

[Rutabaga]

“Almost like a date.”

Ooh, the plot thickens, er, swells, er, stiffens . . .

R

 

 

[Rutabaga]

Join the dance team?

What boy wouldn’t want to do that?

R

 

 

[Rutabaga]

Angst, thy name is Scottie.

R

[Rutabaga]

And Scottie's mother is evil.

R

[Rutabaga]

At last!  It's about doggone time.

R

[Rutabaga]

Sure, Mom knew what we were doing, but that didn’t mean I wanted her looking on and making suggestions.

Ya think?

R

[Rutabaga]

Well, that didn't go so well.  

R

[Rutabaga]

No chapter 14 - just an error message. 

R

[Cole Parker]

Fixed now!  Thanks, John.

C

[Rutabaga]

We discover at last the pertinence of the music on the title page. 
 

Young Scottie seems to have a precocious knack for sussing out what makes certain adults tick, particularly where those adults stand as obstacles to his well-being. First his mother, then Micah’s dad. He has a great future in something. 
 

R

[Oliver]

Still can't open it, I'm still seeing an error massage.

Talking about cliffhangers: after reading part 13 and knowing 14 is the end..... This is really nagging. 😄

 

Edit: fixed it by refreshing the page again. Start reading now... 🙂

Edit-edit: great ending Cole. Thank you so much!

[Cole Parker]

Thanks, Oliver.  I liked that ending, too.  Made me happy!

C

[Gee Whillickers]

I waited until the last chapter was posted before reading this one. The wait was definitely worth it! This was great. I really liked how you wrote Scottie's first sighting of Micah, and his emotional and physical reactions to that. Well done. Of course, the bowling definitely should have been five pin, far more romantic.

Another excellent story, Cole! Thanks as always for writing it.

 

 

[Cole Parker]

So glad you liked it, Gee.  I love your writing and just wish there was more of it.  You're sense of humor shines.  Oh, wait, that should be 'humour', shouldn't it?

C

 

[Gee Whillickers]

3 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

You're sense of humor shines.  Oh, wait, that should be 'humour', shouldn't it?

Absolutely! It also should have been 'your,' not 'you're.' 😂

 

 

[Cole Parker]

If I didn't leave some typos, what would guys have to do?  It's a sop.

C