The Young and The Beautiful

This story is a tale about a young, shy, Sinatra loving, man who takes a chance to be a part of a LGBT counseling group as a sponsor as a favor for a friend of his.

The Young and The Beautiful 

For Aiden, Mac, Kyle, and Kayden, who influenced me to write this story 

Kyle Johnson was not usually a man not be found in public. He always liked to stay in his home. Kyle liked his home it was comfortable, or at least to him it was. Kyle didn't have very many friends except for some people who lived in the apartment he lived in. He knew a eccentric old man named Mr. Berry, who Kyle often avoided due to Mr. Berry's oddness, Eva, a lady who lived upstairs who often turned on her vacuum which bothered Kyle a lot, Sean, a younger man who liked to talk to Kyle a lot. Kyle also had a girlfriend named Samantha, or Sam she usually went by. She had been with Kyle for about a month and she really liked him, Kyle really liked Sam as well, she was just right for him. Kyle really liked to talk to Chris, his neighbor. She was a nice woman who liked to talk to Kyle. She was a lesbian, and she had a girlfriend named Miranda who came to her place a lot. She was also very nice to Kyle and they got along very well with each other. Kyle had walked home from the store one day when he came by to Chris' house and ran into her on the way.

" Hello Kyle." she said

" Hello Chris." Kyle replied " what are you doing? " 

" oh nothing. " she said " I'm going to get Miranda. " 

" Ok " he said and walked back to his house 

" wait " Chris said " I need to ask you a question." 

" yes " Kyle said as he came back

Chris said " Kyle can you help me with something?" 

Kyle said " sure, what do you want me to help with? " 

Chris replied " Kyle I have a counseling group for people like me, people who are gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transexuals. I needed to know if you could lead it. " 

Kyle had never never led a counseling group or anything in that context before. He gave it some thought and told Chris 

" I'll think about it, I've never led a counseling group before. " 

" Ok " Chris said " I'll help you if you want to do it. " 

" Ok " said Kyle " I'll think about it. "

Chris left and Kyle went into his house. Later, Kyle was cooking dinner while listening to Frank Sinatra's song I Got the World on a String. Kyle was a huge Sinatra fan. A call came from his phone and he answered it, it was Sam.

" Hello Sam. " Kyle said 

" Hello Kyle. " Sam said " how are you doing Kyle. " 

" I'm good. " Kyle said " I'm cooking some dinner. "

" Oh " Sam said " I thought I could come over. Can I come over? " 

" sure " Kyle said " I'd love that. "

The phone call ended and Kyle prepared extra meat for Sam so they could both eat. About 15 minutes after the call Sam showed up at the house and heard the loud music and then said 

" are you listening to Sinatra again? " 

Kyle nodded and turned it down

" How are you doing. " Sam asked 

" I'm fine. " Kyle said 

Kyle served Sam dinner and the two began to eat, while eating Kyle asked 

" Sam you know Chris right? " he said 

" your neighbor. " Sam said, remembering 

" yes " Kyle said " I wanted to tell you something about her." 

" what is it. " Sam said 

" well she asked me if I could help her with her counseling group. " Kyle said 

"counseling group? " asked Sam 

" for people like her gay, bisexual, lesbian, transsexuals. " Kyle said 

" oh. " Sam said " thats good, you can talk to more people. " 

" I do talk to you. " Kyle said " and Chris, and the neighbors. " 

" you need to talk to more people. " Sam said " it's good for you. " 

" ok. " Kyle said " I'll think about it. " 

Kyle went to bed that night, Sam slept on the couch. Kyle woke up the next morning, he heard a loud noise in the living room.

" Stealer Wheel. " Kyle thought " I guess that Chris is here. "

Chris really liked Stealer Wheel, the song Stuck in the Middle with You was playing. Kyle walked in and saw Chris and Sam together cooking breakfast, Miranda was there as well. The next song that came on was Lover by Kesha, Sam smiled and started to sing to it. Kyle had forgotten that Kesha was Sam's favorite singer, a voice interrupted his thoughts 

" come join us!! " it was Sam's voice 

" I prefer the old stuff!! " Kyle said 

" come on!! " Sam said 

Kyle couldn't help but join them, they all danced joyously 

Kyle and Sam were once again both on the couch, talking. Sam was reading a book. Kyle made sure that Sam got home safe. Kyle then knocked on Chris' door and she answered 

" hello Kyle. " Chris said 

" hello Chris " Kyle said " well I thought about your request and I'll do it. "

Chris smiled and said " Thank you, your a good friend Kyle. "

Kyle left the apartment and went back to his home 

Kyle was once again listening to Sinatra's song As Time Goes By from Casablanca. He was about to take a bite when he heard a knock at his door, he went and answered. It was Chris 

" Kyle the meetings are at 4pm every day." Chris said 

" ok. " Kyle said " I'll be there. " 

Chris left the apartment and Kyle ate his dinner. The next day was Monday. Kyle got to his car and then heard a voice behind him. 

" Kyle!! Kyle!! " It was Chris 

" Chris hello, whats up? " Kyle asked 

" my car broke down and I need to get to work. " she said

" I've told you to check your engine light. " Kyle said 

" I know, I know. " she said " can you please drive me to work. " 

" sure. " Kyle said 

the two got in the car and left the apartment, not long after Chris turned and asked 

" do you wanna listen to some tunes? " she asked 

" sure. " Kyle said 

Chris put on the Steve Miller Band song Take the Money and Run and sang along with it 

" This is the story of Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue. " 

" Two young lovers with nothing better to do. " 

" Sittin around the house, getting high, and watch the tube

" And here's what happened when they decided to cut loose . " 

Kyle then dropped off Chris at work and went to his job at Charleston's as a cook. He really enjoyed cooking, it was a passion for Kyle. Also he really liked croissants. His boss Mr. Margano came up and asked him 

" you like to cook? " Mr. Margano asked 

" yes, I'm just doing my job. " Kyle said 

Mr. Margano peered at him and then asked

" What do you want to be. " 

" I like to cook. " Kyle said " as I said before. " 

" ok. " Mr. Margano said, and he then left 

Kyle got off work at 3pm, an hour before the first meeting, so that was good. He got a call, it was Chris. 

" Hello Chris. " Kyle said 

" I need to be picked up again. " Chris said

" ok. " Kyle said " you really need to check your engine light. " 

" I know. " Chris said " I will. " 

Kyle hung up and picked up Chris at her job, she worked a job at the Apple store. She really liked electronics. She then reminded him of the meeting at 4pm.

" ok. " Kyle said " I'll be there. "

Kyle ate lunch at his house and then checked the time, it was 3:41. Kyle left the apartment and drove in his car to the meeting. He then got a text message from Chris saying 

" 112 Ocean's Drive, first house on the right. " 

Kyle said " ok. " 

Kyle drove to the house listening to Frank Sinatra's It Happened in Monterey. He also wondered what it was like in Monterey. He found the drive, Ocean's Drive, and found the house. He then walked in, he was nervous as he walked in. He had never done this sort of thing before. When he came he saw Chris and Miranda, two young men sitting together on the right, a young woman on a notepad, and a man with his head down like he was massaging his head. Kyle took a seat and they began. Chris and Miranda went first 

" Hello I am Chris and this is my girlfriend Miranda." Chris said " We are a couple are like many of you, we are glad to be here with all of you." 

Every one looked at each other then the two on the right went next 

" hello I am Norman. " the man said " this is my partner Manny. " 

" hello. " Manny said " nice to see all of you here. "

The woman on the notepad went next and said 

" I'm Alice. " the woman said " I'm glad to be here with all of you. " 

The man who looked troubled went next 

" Hello I am Martin Washington. " the man said 

Kyle had heard that name before 

Martin continued " and I'm certainly glad to be with all of you. " He then piped down and began messaging his head again. Kyle had thought on where he heard the name before, he gave some thought and it clicked. 

" aren"t you that lawyer who defends gay rights? I've heard of you on TV. " Kyle said 

Martin replied " yes I am. How did you know who I am? " 

" They mention you a lot on the news. " Kyle said 

Martin looked at him and asked " You watch the news? " 

Kyle said " No. not usually. " 

Kyle never watched the news unless it said what the weather was. Kyle then realized it was his turn.

" Hello. " Kyle said weakly " I am Kyle Johnson, I've never done this thing and I am very glad to be with you. " 

The group then began to talk and Kyle learned a lot. Alice was a bisexual woman who had issues at work, Martin was a closeted bisexual even though he supported gay rights, Manny and Norman were a gay couple having relationship issues, Chris and Miranda were doing fine, except like Alice had work issues with other co-workers due to their sexuality. Kyle tried to be helpful and Chris helped him out while he said he was helping Chris and Miranda lead the counseling group. After about an hour, they closed the meeting and everyone went home. Chris came up to Kyle and they talked 

" Thank you Kyle. " Chris said " this was very helpful. " 

" your welcome. " Kyle said " I'd like to do it again. " 

" well I'll talk to you tomorrow. " Chris said 

" ok. " Kyle said 

Kyle went back home and saw that Chris and Miranda weren't home yet, he beat them home. He then did his daily dinner ritual, he turned on Frank Sinatra's song In the Still of the Night when he got a call from Sam 

" Hi. " Sam said " How did it go. " 

" it went well. " Kyle said 

" thats good. " Sam said " are you listening to Sinatra? " 

" well when am I not listening to him? " Kyle said 

" well. " she said " probably not often. " 

" why do you always call when I'm cooking dinner? " Kyle asked 

" I like to talk to you. " Sam said 

" I do too. " Kyle said " How was work? " 

" oh boring as normal. " she said " you? "

" my boss talked to me today. " Kyle said " asked if I liked my job as a cook. "

" hm. " Sam said " interesting. " 

" yeah. " I might get a raise. " 

" thats great. " Sam said 

" well Sam I have to go. " Kyle said 

" goodnight Kyle. " she said 

" goodnight. " Kyle said 

Kyle ate his dinner and went to sleep. He woke up the next morning, it was 10 AM, what was good about Kyle's job is that he started at 12 PM. He woke up to a knocking at his door. He was used to it, people from his apartment would often come to ask him for help. He walked to the door and opened it, it was Mr. Margano. Kyle was surprised but he let him in.

" Hello Kyle. " Mr. Margano said 

" Hello Mr. Margano. " Kyle said " what are you doing here? " 

" I'm here to tell you something Kyle. " he said " I'm going to give you a promotion. " 

Kyle was surprised 

" me...I thought you didn't like me. " Kyle said 

" I do, I saw you cook very well my friend, and I'm giving you a raise. "

Kyle looked very surprised, but he said 

" thank you, Mr. Margano. " Kyle said 

Mr. Margano left and Kyle sat back in his chair and then left his house at 11. He saw Chris driving in her car, smiling. Kyle pulled up and said 

" did you listen to my advice?! " Kyle shouted 

" yes. " Chris said " said one of the fuel lights was screwed up!! " 

Kyle then drove down the road and before he went to Charleston's, he stopped by the house where the meetings took place and then knocked on the door. The house belonged to Alice, she lived there for a while. She was a friend of Chris and Miranda, she lent the house to them for the meetings. Kyle and her gave strange looks at each other

" hello. " Kyle said 

Alice looked at him disdainfully " hello. " she said 

" how are you doing Alice? " Kyle said

" good. " Alice said, albeit hesitantly

" well. " Kyle said " I wanted to drop by and check up on you. " 

" ok. " Alice said " why thank you. " 

" by the way. " Kyle said " I need your phone number. " 

Alice gave it to him and Kyle went to Charleston's. While there Kyle felt uncomfortable, he then went to the kitchen and saw a croissant. He loved croissants, he ate one off the tray. He then got a call, it was Alice

" hello, again. " Kyle said 

" Hi. " Alice said " hey I'm sorry if I was being..."

" aloof. " Kyle finished 

" yes, aloof. " she said " if I looked like a jerk I'm sorry. " 

" its ok. " Kyle said " I'm kind of like that too. " 

" ok. " Alice said " I just needed to tell you that. " 

" ok. " Kyle said " well goodbye. " 

she hung up. Kyle went back to work.

at the meeting Norman and Manny were at it, Chris had told Kyle that the two men argued a lot. It was big this time 

" your never supportive!! " Norman yelled

" not supportive, I have been supporting you since the beginning!! " Manny said

" everyone calm down. " Martin said " stop fighting you two. " 

" Martin. " Alice said " be quiet." 

" I'm trying to.. " 

" I know. " Alice said " just be quiet. " 

Martin sat down and basically was quiet for the rest of the time. Chris came in and said

" everyone pipe down!! " she shouted 

everyone became quiet, Norman and Manny sat down 

" well. " Chris said " lets get going with the meeting shall we. " 

Martin went first 

" I told my wife finally." Martin said 

everyone immediately stared at him blankly 

Kyle said " I thought you were closeted. " 

Martin replied " I was, it feels good telling the wife. " 

they all looked at each other for a minute but Kyle broke the silence

" good for you...Martin. " 

everyone then said " yeah yeah. " in agreement 

Norman and Manny went next. They were not happy, they began to argue with each other again. 

" why don't you come home much anymore?! " Norman said " are you cheating on me?! " 

" oh you always say that!! " Manny said " and I always tell you I'm not!! " 

the two were getting at each other. Kyle was tempted to say something but he said nothing 

" you know what Norman!! " Manny said " you should just let me leave. " 

Norman darkened and said " leave me! oh!! you don't know what you'd do without me!! " 

Chris immediately said 

" stop!!! " she said 

the two men sat down 

Alice went next, she was aloof as usual

" well, not much has happened recently, maybe except Kyle visited my house. " 

Chris looked at Kyle as if to say " why? " he looked at the floor 

Kyle then said 

" I was checking on her. " 

the group went silent and Kyle glared at Alice, who glared back

the meeting ended after Chris and Miranda went, as Kyle left the meeting Chris caught up and asked him

" why did you check on Alice? " Chris asked 

" she seemed aloof, I wanted to know why. " Kyle said 

Chris nodded and asked " can you take me home? " 

Kyle said " I thought Miranda was your ride. " 

Chris said " she's having family issues. " 

Kyle took her home, then he cooked dinner, and went to sleep. The next day, Kyle did his daily morning ritual. He cooked breakfast, visited his neighbors, and went to work. At Charleston's, Mr. Margano kept a strange eye on Kyle the entire time. Kyle ignored and continued to cook. When Kyle left work, he saw Mr. Berry and he went over to him and asked 

" hey Mr. Berry what are you doing here? " 

" I came to see you. " Mr. Berry said 

" ok. " Kyle said, still puzzled 

" also I came to tell you that you should turn down your dang Sinatra songs. " Mr. Berry said

" ok? " Kyle said, still puzzled 

Mr. Berry went back to his car and put it in reverse, he then crashed into another car on accident. Kyle ran over to see if he was ok, Mr. Berry's head was lying on the drivers wheel. He was unconscious, Kyle immediately got Mr. Berry into his car and drove to the hospital. The doctor later came and said " he'll be fine, he was having an episode of fatigue and also minor concussion. He'll be ok.

Kyle turned and asked 

" how are you not sleeping Mr. Berry? "

He looked kind of afraid and said

" I'm an imsomiac. " he said " now I must leave.." 

" no. " Kyle said " your staying and resting. " 

Mr. Berry then sighed and said 

" ok. " 

" ok. " Kyle said " I'll stay with you. " 

" ok. " Mr. Berry said 

Kyle left and went to the meeting, telling Mr. Berry he'd be right back when he got there it went in the usual manner 

Martin went first 

" my wife is being gossipy, if she tells the wrong person, I'll be ruined. " 

Kyle said " maybe you should be more open on your sexuality. "

Martin said " they don't usually accept people like me. " 

Kyle looked at the ground as if he knew it was true. 

Norman and Manny went next 

it was only Manny this time, he had a black eye 

" the fights have gotten worse. " Manny said " such as this. " he pointed at his eye 

Chris then went over to comfort him as he started to cry 

" where is Norman? " she asked 

" he's been drinking. " Manny said " a lot, he's been leaving the house. " 

Chris and Miranda went to comfort him as he continued to cry

Kyle then said 

" Mr. Berry had an accident and I drove him to the hospital, he's there now. "

Chris looked at him and walked over and said

" oh my God. " she said " is he ok? " 

" as far as I know. " Kyle said " he's ok. " 

" thats good. " Chris said " I'll go to the hospital to see him. " 

" ok. " Kyle said " he likes visitors. " 

Kyle left and sat down with Mr. Berry at the hospital, he was asleep. Chris then came by and said 

" is he ok? " she asked

" yes. " he said " he's fine. " 

Mr. Berry woke up and saw Chris " Chris darling. " he said 

" hello, Mr. Berry. " she said " how are you doing? " 

Kyle knew that Mr. Berry and Chris had an affectionate father-daughter like relationship. Kyle often saw Mr. Berry and Chris laughing and talking often. Kyle then sat down and watched them have a tender moment. Kyle and Chris stayed with Mr. Berry the whole night. Kyle woke up the next day and saw Chris, she looked exhausted.

" hey. " Chris said, weakly 

" hey. " Kyle said " did you stay up all night? " 

" yeah. " she said " no biggie. " 

Chris had stayed up all night before, it wasn't new to her, Kyle knew that 

" I'll go get food. " Kyle said " you get some rest. " 

Chris fell asleep and Kyle went to Mcdonald's, the Sinatra song Coffee was playing, he got a chocolate moca coffee and got Chris a Starbucks coffee. He gave it to her and left for work. At Charleston's he saw Mr. Margano talking with another chef. He then saw Mr. Mangano look at him. Kyle looked down and continued, the meeting took place and it was usual style. 

Martin went first 

" well I gave a speech today at a school for LGBT equality. " Martin said 

everyone looked very pleased 

" thats good. " Miranda said 

Norman went next, they were both there. They looked like they had a fistfight 

" me and Norman haven't doing well recently. " Manny said " we've had fights and more fights. " 

" And the rest is self-explanatory. " Norman said, his side was bruised and he had a red mark on his face

everyone looked at them with haunted looks. Alice then went next. 

" I got a new car finally. " she said " it keeps breaking down, I'm about to go to the car store and have them see the problem. Also I quit my job. "

everyone looked at Alice in surprise 

" I wanted to pursue my dream. " she said 

" what is that? " Kyle said 

" I want to be a writer. " Alice said " my job was distracting me. " 

everyone looked at her strangely and finally Miranda went

" well Chris isn't here tonight.  She's at the hospital caring for her friend. " 

Kyle looked awkwardly at the ground and said nothing 

The meeting concluded and Kyle went back to the hospital. When he came in he saw a younger man and a child with Chris. Chris then said 

" Kyle, hello. " 

Kyle looked confused 

the man came up and said " I'm Jack, Jack Berry. " he then turned to the boy and said " and this is my son, Derek. " 

Derek waved shyly and moved back

" I'm Mr. Berry's son. " Jack said 

Mr. Berry never mentioned having a son, at least to him he didn't.

Chris motioned for Kyle to to leave. Kyle and Chris then left the premises. They went to the car, then Kyle said 

" I never knew Mr. Berry had a son. " 

" he always he had a wife he really loved. " Chris said 

" what happened to her? " Kyle asked 

" she passed a couple years ago. " Chris said 

the two walked over to their cars and Chris asked

" you wanna drop by at my place? " 

" sure. " Kyle said, it was Thursday, he didn't work on Fridays. 

the two drove to the apartment and the two hung out for a while. Miranda was there, while she was sitting next to Kyle, she lit a cigarette.

" smoking kills you know. " Kyle said 

Kyle hated cigarettes, his mother died of cancer.

" I'm sorry. " Miranda said, and she put it out " its a bad habit. " 

Mr. Berry, his son, and his grandson came back to the apartment, the two men were arguing.

" well thanks for visiting. " Mr. Berry said " at least you didn't abandon me you did Maria!! " 

" don't you mention Mom. " Jack said " I'm I wasn't there Dad, you always mention Mom!! " Derek was in the back, blocking his ears.

Kyle, who had gone outside. Also saw Mr. Berry and Jack arguing, he saw Derek and then walked out and yelled 

" quiet! " Kyle said angrily, he took the child in his arms 

" stop, both of you!! " 

the two stood there, surprised by Kyle's outburst 

" stop it!! " Kyle said " your scaring him!! " 

the two looked at the now crying boy. Mr. Berry felt bad but told Jack

" get out of here Jack. not in front of my grandson. " 

Jack then took Derek and got in his car and left. Mr. Berry turned and said to Kyle 

" I'm sorry about that. " 

" what happened? " Kyle asked 

" my son and I have a rocky relationship. " he explained " my wife was dying of cancer, he didn't show up. "

Kyle started to think of the haunting memory of his own mother's death.

" I haven't seen him or Derek for six years, Derek was a baby when she died." Mr. Berry said " I'm afraid to visit Derek because me and Jack will argue and he'll remember me like that." Mr. Berry looked very sad. Kyle felt bad and then said 

" Mr. Berry, you should talk with your son. " he said " settle your differences. " 

Mr. Berry then turned and said 

" I know. " he suddenly turned angry " but he abandoned my wife, his own mother!! " he was shaking with rage " it was like she died an animal!! " 

Kyle said " Mr. Berry calm down, I would talk to him if I was in your situation, you need to forgive him. " 

Mr. Berry began to sob and Kyle hugged him

" I will go and do it. " Mr. Berry said 

Mr. Berry went back to his apartment and Kyle went back to Chris' apartment. Chris and Miranda asked him about the yelling

" Mr. Berry and his son were arguing. " Kyle said " his son left and I talked to to him. " 

Chris looked sad, but she then went and turned on the song Light My Fire by The Doors. Chris always had a interest in the bands lead singer Jim Morrison, who died at the age of 27 almost 43 years ago. She was fascinated  by what went on in his mind when he was alive, as he was a poet and also he was obsessed with death. Chris loved many 60's musicians like The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, etc. Kyle liked it too, it was fascinating to hear. Chris and Miranda went to bed later and Kyle left the apartment. He then felt strange so he went to bed. He woke up the next morning, he felt ok and then he went to Mcdonald's to get a drink when he got a call from Chris, she sounded frantic

" hello. " Kyle said 

" Kyle!! " she said " it's Norman and Manny, Norman got angry and shot Manny!! He's at the hospital now!! " 

something like an electrical warp went through Kyle's body. He slowly put the phone in his pocket and he then drove to the hospital. When he got there, he saw Chris and Miranda, Martin and a woman, probably his wife he loved to complain about in the meetings. Alice was on her notebook writing, and a short, older woman stood at the window, tears in her eyes. Kyle guessed it was Manny's mother. He went up to Chris and asked her 

" what happened to Norman? " 

" he got arrested. " she said " he turned himself in. " 

Kyle went to the short woman and asked 

" are you Manny's mother? " 

" yes. " she said " Vanita is the name. " 

" how is he doing. " he asked 

" he got shot in the arteries. " she said " He isn't expected to wake up. " she was crying.

Manny was laying in the bed. Doctors said he probably wouldn't come out of his coma. After two hours of debate, they pulled the plug and Manny died. Everyone was very distraught at Manny's death. Chris and Miranda were crying, Martin looked sad, Alice sank her head down in grief, and Manny's mother was sobbing. Kyle had an empty, expression, like when his mother died, he had the same, empty feeling. The four went back to their homes, Kyle then sat down and went into deep thought. He thought about Manny and Norman, he felt guilty he didn't really ask the two if they were doing ok, but Kyle knew everyone would've asked the same thing. Then a phone call interrupted his thoughts, it was Sam. Kyle picked up the phone and said 

" hello. " 

" hey Kyle. " she said " you sound sad. " 

" I have bad news. " Kyle said " you know the two guys from the counseling group, Norman and Manny, well Norman got angry and shot Manny, he died." 

she sounded teary " oh my God, I'm so sorry. " 

Kyle went empty again " it's ok. " 

Sam hung up and  Kyle went to Chris' house and knocked on the door, Chris answered the door.

" hello Chris. " Kyle said 

Kyle noticed that Chris had been crying 

" hello Kyle. " she said, sniffling 

" Chris, how are you doing? " Kyle asked 

" Kyle, I wish that I would've checked on them, y'know. " Chris said, sobbing 

Kyle said nothing, he thought on how he was thinking the same exact thing a couple minutes earlier.

" Chris, remember when my mother died? " Kyle asked 

" yes. " Chris said " I went to the funeral. " 

Kyle's memory of of his mother's funeral was a painful one, it was in the church that is mother attended. Kyle had the same, empty feeling he had now, it was quiet, very quiet. Chris had recently met Miranda and had brought her along to the funeral. All of it came back to Kyle, he was having the same, empty feeling as he did. He then hugged Chris affectionately, he loved Chris like a sister. He never had a sister or much of a father either, such as Mr. Berry. Kyle's father left him when he was young, he didn't see him much during his life. His mother never talked about him, she didn't want to tell Kyle, so Kyle never asked. Kyle went home that night and went to sleep. The next week was a huge hassle, Manny's mother, Chris, Miranda, and Kyle cleaned up Manny's belongings. Most of it went to Manny's mother and then they set up a funeral for Friday. Kyle asked Sam to help and she did. The funeral came very fast, many people had attended the funeral, Martin had happened to be there, he didn't have his wife with him this time, a man claiming to be Manny's brother came to the funeral. Kyle saw some paid mourners, he angrily chased them out. Kyle disliked paid mourners, he believed that if they didn't know the person therefore, they shouldn't be there. The funeral took place, Manny's mother went first. She talked about him as a child and how much she loved and always loves him. She then started to cry again and Chris came and took her off the stage. Then Chris and Miranda went next, Chris explained that she met Manny at a bar a couple years ago, and he was a kind and generous human being who wanted people to love each other. Kyle went next and he was nervous, but then pulled out a letter that he found at Manny's house a couple days earlier. He then walked over to the stage and began his eulogy.

" I didn't know Manny for very long. " Kyle began " but from what I could tell he was a very nice person. Chris introduced me to him and his partner Norman. I found a letter and it said something I wanted to read. " Kyle unfolded the letter and Kyle read it aloud

" Hello, I wanted to tell you today, my message for all of you. For when I'm gone you'll remember me by this note. I've always wanted people to love each other. No matter if your the young and the beautiful or the old and the weary. You should love each other like a passive fire in the sun. A beautiful, golden sun, not an old, burning one of hate that infects this world like a parasite. I want the world to a great place, as all people want. But I want people to stop hating and start loving. "

Kyle then closed the letter and looked around. Chris had been shedding some tears, Kyle looked at Sam and she looked at him with teary eyes as well. Kyle then said he was done and went down to the stands and sat down. The funeral ended after Manny's brother and Martin went. Kyle left and felt more better about Manny's death, he remembered him from the letter, which is what Manny wanted. Kyle then went up and asked Manny's mother something.

Norman had been in prison for about 3 weeks, awaiting his trial. He had looked different from what he looked like before. He was thinner and he looked more pale than he did before. He wasn't allowed to attend Manny's funeral, he had been in misery for the past 3 weeks. He was also mourning the loss of Manny, he didn't make many friends in prison, except for Robert, an older man who was charged with robbery. He tried to comfort Norman but couldn't be comforted, many of the prisoners heard him crying or yelling " I'm sorry. " the prisoners were often annoyed by it. Robert understood his pain, but again, Norman could not be comforted.

One day, one of the guards told Norman

" Green Norman Prisoner 134568, you have a visitor. " 

Norman was escorted to the phone, it was Kyle 

Norman said " hello, Kyle. " He looked very different from the last time Kyle saw him. 

" hello Norman. " Kyle said " I have a visitor who wanted to speak with you. " 

Kyle then brought Manny's mother in, Norman recoiled in horror at the sight of his victim's mother.

" hello. " Manny's mother said 

Norman said nothing

" look." Manny's mother said " I know you and my son had a relationship and I know you killed my son, but I want to let you know. I forgive you. " 

Norman looked in shock and said " no, I don't deserve your forgiveness. "

he then couldn't hold it any longer and began to sob

" I didn't mean to!! " Norman said

" I know. " she said " I forgive you Norman. " 

Manny's mother comforted Norman as he cried and Kyle then left them. He knew he did the right thing by bringing Manny's to Norman, it would give him solace.

Kyle later was driving with Sam in the front seat and Chris and Miranda in the back, the song It Happened in Monterey , and Chris asked 

" where are we headed? " 

" a little place called Monterey. " Kyle said 

The four headed down the road, their spirits free. They waited for what the beautiful twilight had in store for them. 

The End

Author's Note

This isn't my best story, well actually yeah it is. I don't particularly care for the story's message now as I did then but I really like the story still. If reviewed, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Reviews

[Aventicus]

I will begin with this, I am going to be brutal and blunt. You're story is basically "without," meaning that it is without incredibly important elements that make a story good. Allow me to provide an analogy for you: A story is like a tree. At the heart of it all is the basic plot, that being the trunk, which is rooted in the soil of it's necessary points that further explain the "why" of the thing, presenting to the reader the reason the story demands their attention. It is there the reader starts and seeks those unanswered questions highlighted at the beginning events. Hopefully, the line they cast will have the necessary bait to attract the reader to the hook. And once they become hooked, they will pursue the story to its end to find the revelations to those questions while having quite the ride along the way. If the questions are vague, uninteresting, or not even present, the story will dry up, since bad roots do not bring water to the tree. The branches are the characters with their backstories and interactions, the settings and their descriptions, and finally the quality of the writing. Now, these branches and roots are all connected and not wholly separated into specific divisions on the tree. Remember, if there is no trunk or plot, there is no story, but rather an assortment of differently shaped sticks. And now for the bluntness, your story is basically a small log with a couple of lumps and twigs poking out of it as it lies there on the ground.
Now, there is some semblance of a plot, that being Kyle heading an LGBT counseling meeting, but I don't see it pursuing anything or presenting any truly intriguing questions other than "Alright, how is this going to turn out?" After that, I simply receive a slew of events that happen, some even totally disconnected from the original question (e.g. Mr. Berry, his son and his wife). It appears that you simply toss in things in to hopefully keep the reader from drifting away in confusion or total boredom, for there is little to the plot or characters. I can honestly say that I felt nothing for Manny or for Chris when you told the tragic things they experienced, for they just happened with nothing else to hold my interest to them (and how did Kyle even know they were paid mourners?). It's as if you simply killed off a civilian through collateral damage that the main character had to handle, collateral damage that was quite out of place. You never ask the “why,” you only say the “what”. We all knew Norman was beating Manny, but where did he get a gun and why did no one else know about it? Why did this so called counseling group not do a single thing to intervene other than wag their fingers at Norman or place the considerate hand on Manny's shoulder? There are more questions without answers, but the point is that it is a loose circumstance.
Also with Alice where I had no idea why she was acting with an abrasive attitude towards Kyle and I frankly don’t remember there being much of an explanation. It’s just instances like that that don’t fit with the plot and don’t prove to have much relevance. And I get it, Kyle likes Sinatra. You don’t need to and really shouldn’t tell your audience about every single time where he listens to one of his songs unless it really bears some importance to the story. And also, don’t talk about his job in detail (if you can call it detail) unless it has something, as I said before, to do with the story overall. I don’t care if he got a promotion for “cooking well” if it has no effect on the affairs of the counseling. Basically, just don’t toss in things as an interrupting or irrelevant afterthought unless they are necessary for the reader to understand the story. Also, don’t just insert random facts about your characters. Use the story to introduce it and prove its relevance. Now for the setting, I have next to no clue as to the visuals of each place that Kyle appears in, mainly due to the fact that there is hardly any description of them anyhow. The most I can imagine are single-colored square rooms with furniture strewn here and there.
And now for the writing: Allow me to first present to you the absolute necessity of understanding the difference between “your” and “‘you’re.” “Your” is a possessive pronoun in the second person that references the ownership of something to the person you are speaking to. “You’re” is a contraction with the words “you” and “are” that assumes some circumstance of being in the second person. When writing in quotations, you always capitalize the beginning of one, since it is the beginning of a spoken sentence. Such as, “Today, I went to the store” as opposed to what I recently used them for. Also, you must vary your sentence structure and wording or else the story becomes stale to read. The reader will not want to continue even if the plot is interesting if the wording is not made more “colorful.” Consistency is only good if it is used for the sake of emphasis as opposed to plain lazy writing.
I believe this is all I have to say and I only ask that you forgive me if I was too harsh on you, but remember I did this for your sake. So say what you will and I ask that you understand that I only gave my review in this way to correct major error instead of presenting a critique of your own character. I know you enjoyed the story you wrote and that you very well can just ignore this completely, but I ask that you give it some consideration. Thank you.