In The Stars Part II, Episode 10: Libra

By Debbie McGowan

As the morning sun rises on a tired new day, there are surprises from beyond the grave, along with some welcome wisdom from Oliver Brown;
The heat is most definitely on—until a concerned visitor dowses the flames of passion;
The double burden of fame and loss begins to take its toll.

The story follows chronologically from In The Stars Part I (Season Four) and Breaking Waves (Novella). It continues in A Midnight Clear (Novella), Red Hot Christmas (Novella) and Two By Two (Season Six).

* * * * *

‘Libra’ is the tenth episode of In The Stars. For those readers unfamiliar with the series, ‘Capricorn’ (episode one) re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from here and perhaps catch up with the previous books later.

In The Stars explores the day-to-day lives of The Circle—nine friends from high school, now it their late thirties—following them through celebration, loss, illness and life-changing decisions.

Each episode covers the period of time indicated by the zodiac sign from which it takes its title.

The full novels of In The Stars Part I: Capricorn–Gemini and In The Stars Part II: Cancer–Sagittarius are also available for purchase (paperback/ebook).

In The Stars Part II is season five in the Hiding Behind The Couch Series.

The story follows chronologically from In The Stars Part I (Season Four) and Breaking Waves (Novella). It continues in A Midnight Clear (Novella), Red Hot Christmas (Novella) and Two By Two (Season Six).

* * * * *

WARNING: this story contains intimate (moderately explicit) scenes between consenting opposite sex (F/M) adults.

* * * * *

What readers say about the Hiding Behind The Couch Series:

“The remarkable characterisation in these novels is what makes them for me.”

“This story reminds me of my favorite movies about friendship and relationships.”

“Few authors have explored the depths of longtime friends within a group, or ‘circle’ the way Debbie McGowan has!”

“I have a love-hate relationship with Debbie McGowan’s Hiding Behind the Couch Series. I love to read them, I HATE it when they’re over.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
• Release date: Sep 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781909192713

Debbie McGowan

Debbie McGowan is an award-winning author of contemporary fiction that celebrates life, love and relationships in all their diversity. Since the publication in 2004 of her debut novel, Champagne—based on a stage show co-written and co-produced with her husband—she has published many further works—novels, short stories and novellas—including two ongoing series: Hiding Behind The Couch (a literary ‘soap opera’ centring on the lives of nine long-term friends) and Checking Him Out (LGBTQ romance). Debbie has been a finalist in both the Rainbow Awards and the Bisexual Book Awards, and in 2016, she won the Lambda Literary Award (Lammy) for her novel, When Skies Have Fallen: a British historical romance spanning twenty-three years, from the end of WWII to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. Through her independent publishing company, Debbie gives voices to other authors whose work would be deemed unprofitable by mainstream publishing houses.

Book preview

In The Stars Part II, Episode 10: Libra

Hiding Behind The Couch

Season Five

by

Debbie McGowan

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

Second Edition

Published 2018 by Beaten Track Publishing

First published 2014

Copyright 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 Debbie McGowan at Smashwords.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/debbiemcgowan

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

Cover Design by Debbie McGowan

Licensed stock images: usage is not indicative

of the models’ identity, activities or preferences.

Zodiac Illustrations by Emma Pickering

http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

* * * * *

This novel is a work of fiction and the characters and events in it exist only in its pages and in the author’s imagination.

* * * * *

As the morning sun rises on a tired new day, there are surprises from beyond the grave, along with some welcome wisdom from Oliver Brown;

The heat is most definitely on—until a concerned visitor dowses the flames of passion;

The double burden of fame and loss begins to take its toll.

* * * * *

‘Libra’ is the tenth episode of In The Stars. For those readers unfamiliar with the series, ‘Capricorn’ (episode one) re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from here and perhaps catch up with the previous books later.

In The Stars explores the day-to-day lives of The Circle—nine friends from high school, now it their late thirties—following them through celebration, loss, illness and life-changing decisions.

Each episode covers the period of time indicated by the zodiac sign from which it takes its title.

The full novels of In The Stars Part I: Capricorn–Gemini and In The Stars Part II: Cancer–Sagittarius are also available for purchase (paperback/ebook).

In The Stars Part II is season five in the Hiding Behind The Couch Series.

The story follows chronologically from In The Stars Part I (Season Four) and Breaking Waves (Novella). It continues in A Midnight Clear (Novella), Red Hot Christmas (Novella) and Two By Two (Season Six).

* * * * *

Dedication

For Eileen:

See you in the next one. Maybe.

And for the Dog People:

we are a transient population,

unthwarted by rain, wind, snow,

sun-baked earth and horse flies;

may the source of our insanity

remain our salvation.

* * * * *

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my wonderful proof-readers, Tracy and Andrea, for your persistence in / insistence on finding and then laughing at my dreadful mistakes, not to mention your extraordinary expertise in all matters, but in particular, those of bingo and healthcare! The Circle thank you, too!

Much gratitude to Hans M Hirschi, for checking and correcting my dodgy Norwegian / Swedish translations, even though we had only just ‘met’!

Hans also writes beautiful stories – visit his website to find out more. www.hirschi.se

Thanks also to Beth, for excellent chat show related creative input.

Elliot Sanchez lives because of you.

***

Excerpts from:

‘The Signs’, by Henry Van Dyke

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Poems of Henry Van Dyke.

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare.

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.

Reproduced under the terms of the

Project Gutenberg Licence.

www.gutenberg.org

‘Footprints In Your Heart’, by Eleanor Roosevelt;

also attributed as

‘Today is a Gift’, by Laszlo Kotro-Kosztandi.

Further bibliographic information unavailable.

* * * * *

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Morning Sun: Sunday 24th September

Savies: Monday 25th September

Goods And Shackles: Wednesday 27th September

Leaf From A Tree: Monday 2nd October

Playground In My Mind: Monday 9th October

Fire, Water, Burn: Monday 16th–Thursday 19th October

In The Shadows: Friday 20th October

Short Back And Sides: Monday 23rd October

The Story Continues…

About The Author

By The Author

* * * * *

It’s the time-birth-death gimmick. Can’t go on much longer, too many people are wising up.

William S. Burroughs

* * * * *

Libra

Examine well the scales with which you weigh;

Let justice rule your conduct every day;

For when you face the Judge you’ll need fair play.

Morning Sun

Sunday 24th September

Nine o’clock. The undertakers arrived, performed their business efficiently, deftly; it was just another job. They left. Steph and Dave sat in waking comas at the breakfast bar, trying to find the motivation to get up and go home, if only to shower and change, torn as they were between their desire to sort everything out as soon as possible and their desperate need for sleep. Eleanor had given them both a prescription for sleeping pills. Indeed, she’d never written so many prescriptions for the things in one go.

Kris had fulfilled Shaunna’s on the way home. He watched over her as she took them and escorted her to bed. She was sleeping, finally, completely exhausted, the flat black box lying on her upturned palm. He and Casper went for a walk, taking a slightly different route to their usual so they could stop by at Krissi and Jason’s flat. It was Krissi’s first day off sick from The Pizza Place, and Jason had stayed home with her, leaving Stu and Hadyn in charge of the usual full Sunday of recordings and rehearsals. She was in a terrible state.

Eleanor was wide awake. Toby was at church with his grandparents, and James was on his way to the airport, bound for New York and a meeting that couldn’t be postponed—not the first wedding anniversary hoped for, although they’d decided some months ago to delay celebrating until such time as they felt up to it. Charlotte was keeping Eleanor company, which consisted largely of sitting next to her on the sofa and holding her while she cried, interspersed with talking about any old rubbish so Eleanor could get her feelings back in check again. Everything was hollow, blank, numb—all of those and none of them at the same time.

Andy, Dan and Adele were at Barbara and Len’s, with Andy employing the self-harm strategy of mental pain management in the new gym, lifting weights so heavy that he was bursting blood vessels in his arms, and eventually, Dan swore at him for being an idiot. Adele and Barbara sat next to the pool; it was getting a little too warm in the conservatory, the sun surprisingly strong for the time of year. Barbara closed some of the blinds and returned to listening to Adele gabble on about potential funeral outfits for Jess. It was something that had been asked of her several weeks ago, and focusing on it was helping Adele to stay just the right side of hysterical.

Josh sat in the armchair, staring into the mid-distance, with George and Sean playing Crash Team Racing, as they had been doing since they’d arrived home. It was the only game Sean knew how to play, and Josh was in no fit state to register how their activity connected to the deeper meaning the game had for him and George. Even if it had occurred to him, he wouldn’t have cared. It was Sean, after all, and he was getting beaten repeatedly, not that he seemed particularly perturbed.

No, Josh’s more pressing concern was the Last Will and Testament of Jessica Lambert, still in the sealed envelope on the table. He knew he was one of the executors; she’d told him back when she first distributed the copies, along with an explicit instruction that they not be opened until she was gone.

She was gone.

The reality washed over him again, his whole body rising with the flood of emotion, and even though he thought he was concealing it well, both Sean and George saw it. George immediately went over.

Hey, he said gently, taking Josh into his arms and holding him tight. Out of the three of them, it was George who was the most together, as was always true in such situations—when Kevin had Ellie in the car, it was George who had been level-headed enough to formulate a plan, and when Krissi decided to uncover the identity of her father, it was George who came running to Josh’s rescue. At his side, as always.

I love you, Josh sobbed.

I know, George said, kissing him, and I love you, even though you’ve just snotted in my mouth. He pretended to pull away in disgust and wiped his face. Josh laughed in spite of how awfully sad he was.

Can I join in? Sean asked from across the room.

I’m not sharing my snot with you, Josh said.

I damn well hope not!

"I love you, too, Seany."

I don’t care, Sean replied, as usual. "But the feeling is mutual, Joshy." Sean grinned, and Josh stuck out his tongue at him.

D’you want a game? George asked.

Josh peered at the paused image onscreen and shook his head. No. I need to open that. He shifted his eyes in the direction of the will on the table. I’ve got to phone the funeral director tomorrow, and I don’t know what she wanted. Jess had refused to discuss her funeral arrangements with him. I wonder if anyone else has looked at it yet?

Would you like me to do it? George asked.

Yes, please, Josh answered immediately.

George looked at him in resigned disbelief. You only had to say.

I didn’t want to ruin your game.

We’re just playing for something to do, that’s all. Our son’s coming round soon.

Josh pulled back so he could look George in the eye, and then glanced over at Sean. OK. I don’t think I want to know any more than that.

George winked at Sean. They were tormenting him, although Dylan’s parents were in agreement that George would continue to be a big part of his life, because the attachment was already forming between them, so Josh wasn’t a million miles off with his timeshare idea. Now, he watched George peel back the flap of the envelope and extract Jess’s will.

Do you want me to read it out? George asked.

Josh put a shaky hand on his chest and took a breath in preparation. He nodded to indicate he was ready, or as ready as he was ever going to be.

George cleared his throat. OK. His voice wavered slightly. ‘This is the Last Will and Testament of me Jessica Lambert of…’ It’s just her address after that. ‘One: I revoke all former wills made by me. Two: I appoint Joshua Sandison of…’ our address, ‘and my husband Andrew Jeffries of…’ George’s voice trailed off and he