A Permanent Arrangement

by A.C. Katt

Colin Kelly returns from the war with the sure knowledge that his marriage to Edna is a sham. He only insists on his own child and he gets her, his darling little girl Babs. For the rest, he copes as best he can until Edna places Babs in a boarding school and Colin ends up on the streets.

Bill Teague has loved Colin since he first saw him strolling through the art fair with little Babs on his shoulder. So when an old acquaintance calls him to come to Colin's aid before he throws him out of the pub for good, Bill goes.

Face to face in Bill's apartment, will their friendship survive the mutual confessions and legal problems Colin has?

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary

14 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

AC Katt was born in New York City’s Greenwich Village. She remembers sitting at the fountain in Washington Square Park listening to folk music while they passed the hat. At nine, her parents dragged her to New Jersey where she grew up, married and raised four children and became a voracious reader of romantic fiction. At one time she owned over two thousand novels.

Now, most of AC’s books are electronic (although she still keeps six bookcases of hardcovers), so she never has to give away another book. AC writes GLBT andis to writing, a late bloomer, however, she’s found her niche writing GLBT romance. She currently writes for MLR Press, JMS Books, and Decadent Publishing

Reviews

[SJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Permanent Arrangement-A.C. Katt ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Super angsty story that runs from 1952-2008 about two men from NYC, a WWII veteran married to an extremely mean and nasty woman whom he was manipulated to marry by his extremely mean and nasty sister.
A baby comes along whom the dad wants and the mother doesn’t. The dad becomes friends with a Village artist, a gay man.
The years roll by, full of sadness and grief. It gets better when the two live together and get married before they pass away. Their relationship was touching and helped with healing.

[Leslie Zak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching short story

Colin was tricked into marriage by his sister and a girl he only had one date with before he left for boot camp. Bad marriage but he only had one good friend, Bill who was warned off from Colin because Bill was gay. Bill loved Colin but left him alone until he found Colin way down on his luck. It turns out they actually loved each other all these years and this is the story of their life going forward. It is a very satisfying well written but too short of a story (because I wanted more). Highly recommended.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed re-reading this short sweet story. I didn't love it as much the second time around but it's still a very nice story.


This beautiful short story was released as part of Torquere's Charity Wedding Collection in 2008. The book tells the love story of Colin Kelly and Bill Teague. When they meet for the first time Colin is stuck in a dead-end job, has a drinking problem, and a loveless marriage he's trapped in for the sake of his little girl Babs. Bill is an artist and slowly becomes Colin's only friend.

The book takes us on a trip back in time from their first meeting in 1952, through a separation that lasted several years and their eventual reunion. The details of their lives are revealed in little vignettes at different periods of time during their 50 plus years together. It' a very moving and poignant look at two wonderful men in love.

[Angela Benedetti]

Note: I marked this as contemporary, but part of it is kinda-sorta half-almost-historical; it starts out in the nineteen-fifties (which isn't actually historical, but neither is it really contemporary) and the story leapfrogs up until the 21st century.

[Ro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is very bittersweet. I wanted to throw Edna and Kate into the sewer, so that Colin could have Babs and be with Bill. While the ending is sweet, I was saddened by how much time had to be wasted by these guys, and not due to themselves.

[melek · Rating 5 out of 5]

storys about love separation and reconnecting again.. Happened from 1950s to 2000s. I can say sometimes one of the rare moments in life to find the one u love.