Back to the Future

(I’ve always been a voracious reader. Often, when I’ve finished a story that I enjoyed, I try to continue it myself and dream up what might happen to the characters in later years etc. It has always been my hope that readers might do that with my stories, especially after I’ve ended some of them so abruptly. And now, much to my delight, someone has!

The following are some comments on Christian & Roman’s Tale and Entangled Tales etc., and speculations on their future, shared by a reader (& thinker!). I’m not going to say who it was, but I will say that I think Lloyd is a marvel! Thank you Lloyd.)

Christian didn’t just give away his most precious possession; he gave away his only possession, his dignity and reputation. And he gave it without expecting that anyone would ever know. Roman did not reciprocate with his most precious possession, he gave, or at least risked, all his possessions and he did it not for lust but for love.

We can only speculate what actually happens next. Will Roman, like young Jolyon Forsyte, be disinherited? Hopefully, if so, he finds following love to have been the correct decision as it was for Jolyon Forsyte. There is a whole other story here! (No, I am not going to write it!)

(But, he did!! – read on.)

I was surprised that Christian did not know more about Justin, Westpoint’s gay hero. Especially considering the statue in the square and when Robbie played Somewhere Over the Rainbow on the radio, it had to be the recording by Justin. Was the Mr. Jenkins that Roman spoke with at the racecourse, Jinks? (Yep, it was!)

Westpoint, the place over the rainbow, unlike Shangri-La or Brigadoon, is a constantly changing place. I can only imagine what it is like during Christian and Roman’s Tale. All the kids in Entangled Tales plus Jason, Jordan, Shannon and Cameron will be in their twenties. Jonathan’s children and Billy’s son Jeremy must be ten. (I was surprised that Jeremy is blond and not a redhead. Justin so wanted a redhead. He and Billy spoke of how, if they could have children, they would – considering the fact that multiple births ran if both their families – would have a litter – a litter of carrot-tops. Also, their expedition up Marvin’s creek was to search for a lost Carver clan of redheads.)

George, Crispian, Kathleen and Bob Reynolds, and Ma must all be pushing seventy. Robbie, Bryce, Billy’s mum and Nita will be in their fifties and Tom Peters will be sixty.

Economically, life must be good in Westpoint. The R&R manufacturing and the production of material and supplies for the Billy Burger franchise will have created many jobs. Billy’s Burger’s are seven years past their three-year incubation and must be making a great deal of money. The owners of and investors in both these enterprises must be doing very well. I can see why the Reynolds family is the richest in Westpoint. Bob and Kathleen were large investors in both these enterprises. Add the money earned by Justin and Jonathan and you have a large fortune. His lordship must be doing almost as well. He invested in the R&R and through Whozzat in Billy’s Burgers as well. All of the Whozzat members must be wealthy now both from their earnings and from their investments in Billy’s Burgers.

Lucas and Margaret will have married and moved out of Crispian’s Union Hall apartment into a house to have their son Carl. Peter and Jay will probably have taken the apartment and will have opened a music store. Claire will have married Bill Lyons and given him two sons, Billy and Bobby. Jonathan will have purchased a two family home where they are all living with Jonathan’s kids.


I keep thinking about Christian and Roman. I do not imagine that you are going back there so I have made up my own scenario. When Christian’s family finds out what happened, they throw him out. He ends up going to the cemetery to speak with his ancestor Jeremy Carver with whom he now has even more in common. They were both thrown out by their fathers. As it happens, George and Crispian also come to visit Jeremy in the cemetery while Christian is there. When Crispian hears the story and learns that Christian is a Carver, he takes him to Ma.
Ma arranges for him to live with Cecily Mathieson who has lots of room as most of her brood has ‘growed and goed’ to use the expression of Bryce Hartigan when he explained to Robbie why he was the only kid at home even though he had two older brothers. (BTW, I assume that the Sharon Hartigan that did not meet with Dee Jamieson-Carver was the grand daughter or great granddaughter of one of those brothers.)

Roman, in the meantime, has also been chucked out. If he is not going to follow the family plan for him – they want nothing to do with him. They set up a trust fund (because they really have to) that pays him $1,000 a month (not much considering inflation) and tell him to take all his belongings including the car and leave. After driving around in the car with all his worldly possessions, he finds Christian and Cecily allows him to stay.

After they finish school, Cecily decides that she needs to move into Westpoint. All the rest of her brood has ‘growed and goed’ as well and she needs to be closer to the offices of Billy’s Burgers which has grown considerably and now has a large staff.

Christian and Roman love the farm and make a proposal to the Carver family that they restore/refurbish and expand it to be the posh resort that it was once intended to be. Billy and Justin love the idea (Billy especially likes that his boyhood home will become ‘Carver Ranch’, a resort) and provide the funds for the project. Christian and Roman are initially conservative in what they want to do, but Justin says if they are going to be really successful they need to go full steam ahead including such amenities as a 36-hole golf course, riding stables, tennis courts, etc. Kevin Jenkins, with his contacts in the horse world helps them acquire an appropriate herd of horses. Christian comments that he will be back to shoveling shit again but Roman says that they will hire someone to do that and that they will pay them more than Christian received. When all the construction is complete, Crispian helps them develop a marketing plan. In addition to the onsite activities O’Brien Tours (They operate out of Duncan Motors Ltd) puts together a number of coach and van day trips to various sights on the West Coast and even wine trips to Marlborough and other vineyards in the East. The MacDonald-Taylor Galleries design a classy brochure that can be sent to those who respond to the advertisements. Hartigan Press use their magazine presses to print beautiful four colour brochures. (You do put a ‘u’ in colour in NZ, don’t you?) Hartigan Press also publishes a magazine about the West Coast in which there are frequent articles about Carver Ranch. (Well, they are an advertiser!)

MacDonald-Taylor Galleries is misnamed. Originally organized to display and market the critically acclaimed work of owners Jason MacDonald and Jordan Taylor, they have expanded to become an art centre or art emporium. You can view and purchase original art work and prints, have them framed, purchase art books, or purchase art supplies there. The owners also do commissions and do design work for local entities such as Whozzat or the Carver Resort. However, the most lucrative business for the owners is the publishing of prints of their own work and that of other artists. An original piece by either of them will sell somewhere between $10,000 and $250,000 (but mostly under $100,000). Most of the original work is also available as a high quality lithograph. These are published in limited editions of 750 or less. Each one is signed and numbered and 50 or less have a Remarque. The prints range from $125 to $275. Those with a Remarque are $500 to $1,000 additional. Hartigan Press prints their catalogue for them. They have declined offers form calendar companies and others that mass produce art but they are considering publishing an art book featuring the West Coast.


I am getting carried away here. I hope you don’t mind my having fun with your people.

(As if! I am delighted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!)