Jude Calohan has been keeping his head down for years. In the quiet town of Bower Bliss, Texas, he has tried to be a good man, a good father, tried not to think too much about his relationship with his own father ... and yet despite this, in the gentle autumn of an uneventful year, Jude Calohan soon finds his relationship with both his eldest child and his own identity as a father called into question.<br><br>Amidst the sleepy apple groves of small town America, will Jude Calohan be able to keep his family together while his eldest child Charlie discovers the confidence to make one of the biggest choices of their young life?

Love Among Strangers

From behind the desk, Mr. Abe rose, indicating that they should do also, and that the meeting was at an end.


“Then I will wish good day to you both and hope that I do not see either of you again until such time as I may impart a more positive recommendation of the behavior of your children.”


Stunned and startled, Jude and Marta Calohan likewise rose, Marta limply shaking the hand of the school’s principal in a daze, and made their way out towards the parking lot.


On the way home, she noted tears in Jude’s eyes as the truck stood in traffic between Alexandros Hills and Bower Bliss.


That night, sitting on the corner of his bed, Jason Danielson sat hunched over, the voices raised from the living room directly below, the radio in the corner of the room tuned to PCN, playing some song from years ago to blot out the noise; la-la-la-la-la, la-la, la-la


Chapter 17