Only Love Lasts is a work of fiction that highlights multi-generational, multi-cultural, and multi-family stories about love and disappointments. Six decades of life experiences began in the mid-1960s, just before two high school students, Randy Jensen and Stephen Porter, graduated from their respective schools 150 miles apart. They independently acknowledged their sexual orientation and moved to attend different universities in the Boston area. They met at a private cocktail party hosted by a popular Boston gay couple, fell in love, and experienced a healthy, active, open relationship. Their explicit sexual encounters with others, some of them anonymous, during their college days in the Boston area and in Connecticut after graduation became the topic of conversations between each other and their friends. Randy and Stephen loved to share their detailed stories of random sex with strangers, and their friends loved to listen. Unbeknownst to the two lovers, a forced sexual experience between a young female classmate and Randy Jensen shortly before high school graduation resulted in a pregnancy. Twenty-five years later, they were informed that Randy was the father of a baby girl, Alice, who was now close to 25 years old. They are faced with a difficult decision – reach out to Alice or ignore a new relationship.
Love, sex, drugs, death, incarceration, and happiness are just some of the experiences intertwined with multiple families in search of a better life. The story introduces us to the Sanchez family, who were forced into a dangerous and devastating border crossing in pursuit of safety and a home to raise a family. We learned about Louise Mc Cawley, an Irish immigrant who witnessed the loss of coworkers to the horrors of terrorism. Then there was Linda Peterson’s quest to return home with an old boyfriend, which cost them their lives while her girlfriend, Sandra Brooks and her boyfriend are sentenced to ten years in prison for kidnapping and robbery. The lessons learned from mistakes, personal tragedies, and accomplishments define the characters in the story. Nobody is exempted.
A new generation surfaces with the love affair of two young gay men, Max Edwards, and Enrique Sanchez, who look to emulate the love, dedication, and open relationship Stephen and Randy shared during their lifetime. Everyone looks for answers they hope to find in front of their eyes. Max and Enrique seek guidance from the life Randy and Stephen experienced. They contemplate and observe the outside world from the safety of their homes as they search for answers. All of them are looking at the ever-changing landscape they see from their window. Some realize that, contrary to a changing landscape, only love lasts beyond their lifetime.
Inhoudsopgave
Table of Contents
NOTES
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
DEDICATION
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PART ONE
Chapter 1 Home
Chapter 2 Garden
Chapter 3 1960s
Chapter 4 1970s
Chapter 5 1980s
Chapter 6 1990s
Chapter 7 2000 Plus 1
PART TWO
Chapter 8 2002 – 2022
Chapter 9 Expectations
Chapter 10 Preparation
Chapter 11 Lessons
Chapter 12 News
Chapter 13 Research
Chapter 14 Prom
Chapter 15 Studio
Chapter 16 Speech
Chapter 17 Out
Chapter 18 Home
PART THREE
Chapter 19 Graduation
Chapter 20 Approval
Chapter 21 Family
Chapter 22 Brunch
Chapter 23 Cambridge
PART FOUR
Chapter 24 Later
Chapter 25 Meeting
Chapter 26 Life
Over de auteur
Anthony Timiraos was born in Havana, Cuba and currently resides in South Florida with his husband Arthur Crispino who has been by his side for over 53 years. He began his professional career as a Certified Public Accountant in Hartford, Connecticut. Various career advancement moves for both brought them to Boston, New York City and back to Connecticut. A retirement to South Florida in 2003 was shortened when he accepted the position of Chief Financial Officer for the county’s community foundation. After five years, he co-founded, with four other local philanthropists, Our Fund, Inc.. a new community foundation serving LGBTQ+ non-profit organizations providing services in South Florida. He became their first Chief Executive Officer and President in 2011 and retired in 2016 to enjoy writing, travel and photography. Our Fund, Inc. is currently one of the largest LGBTQ+ community foundations in the country.Only Love Lasts is Mr. Timiraos’ first novel. His love for writing, travel, and photography began in his early college years, Today, Anthony has traveled the globe extensively and enjoys capturing portraits of the people he meets and the architecture of places he visits. He is also known for his focus of the male form, which has led to the creation of a captivating body of work displayed in four books.