Well-known artist Ellis Williams is in a slump and feeling all his fifty-three years. He's lost the joy which used to permeate his painting and despairs of ever regaining it. It doesn't help when he runs into a young man who comes on to him to win a bet, thus destroying more of Ellis's confidence.<br><br>Then, at a party, Ellis meets Martin Lovell, a man his age whose partner died soon after they adopted their son. Will these two middle-aged men learn they should never let go of hope? Or is it too late for men their age to open themselves to the possibility of love and being loved?

Never Let Go of Hope

Ignoring the splint sitting on the dresser, since his wrist wasn’t bothering him, Ellis hurried downstairs. He let Jive back inside and then fixed breakfast for both of them before heading up to the studio. Taking the canvas he’d begun a few days ago off the easel, he replaced it with a fresh one and set to work sketching out a new picture.


By Wednesday afternoon, the painting had taken shape. The underpainting was finished and Ellis was in the process of adding brilliant sunrise colors which would contrast sharply with the silhouetted foreground images, giving a feeling of awakening to a new and glorious day.


Leave it, for now. Take a fresh look in the morning. Perhaps…He nodded, pondering what it would take to make it the perfect reflection of his own rejuvenated love of life.


“You look happy as a clam,” Janice said when Ellis came into the kitchen. “But then you have all week. Your Martin has done wonders for you.”


Chapter 25