Silent Magic with a Twist of Romance

December 23, 2025 / roughwighting / 56 Comments

I may be wicked, sitting at a bar a day before Christmas with a priest who’s ten years younger than me, but I’m not going to skedaddle and leave behind the chocolate martini that he just ordered. (Didn’t See It Coming).

Besides, Thomas is looking at me quizzically, as if he has a question but is afraid to ask.

Me? I’d like to ask him where his church is located. Oh, and I’d also like to ask him if he has a brother, because strike me down, but I find this priest quite attractive. Continue reading →

Didn’t See It Coming . . .

November 29, 2025December 23, 2025 / roughwighting / 90 Comments

“I didn’t see it coming,” I said to Thomas.

I didn’t know Thomas. Well, not well. I’d just met him 35 minutes ago when I entered the bar. Alone. For the first time in my 54 years of life.

“You didn’t see what coming?” Thomas asked. Continue reading →

Can You Hear the Suspense?

November 8, 2025 / roughwighting / 80 Comments

As Gregory and I raced our final mile, the sun rose, and I saw the shifting shadow.

“Huh,” I said. Gregory ignored me, outpacing me by a stride and allowing sweat to drop into his hooded brown eyes.

I used to love running this last surge before my body stopped, heart pounding, blood coursing through my veins. I’d pretend I was flying, feet off the ground, hair swinging behind me, legs like a panther.

But with Gregory joining me on these early morning runs now, there was always this competition thing going on. No conversation, no smiles and kisses before we warmed up and began a leisurely mile before the steadier second and third one. Just a serious, straight-ahead, running-is-my-life stride. Continue reading →

A Dog’s Best Friend

October 24, 2025 / roughwighting / 97 Comments

I can’t believe what I saw.

Charlie and I sat in his living room. Toto, Charlie‘s dog, a rescue who seemed a mix of German Shepherd and poodle, sat quietly by Charlie’s side.

I knew that Toto‘s presence was beneficial to Charlie, who was deaf with only partial eyesight. Despite this fact, my new friend was loquacious; he talked about dozens of topics with focused intelligence and wit: politics, religion, matters of the Spirit, and the Arts. Continue reading →