Heart of Gold (PG) Champagne Challenge #101

[librarian_7]

I just found this one, and I've got to say I love it...somehow the heartbreak of Josef and Sarah always touches me so deeply, and you've expressed it so well.

It was those moments in ML where we saw that Josef was so much more than a snarky sidekick, that made me fall in love with him...and I can see this as a completely believable scenario for him, and Sarah.

I always think of him as haunted by that failure, shaped by it in ways that are not apparent at first glance. And you evoke that brilliantly.

Lucky

[cassysj]

How did I miss commenting on a Josef/Sarah story? This was so sad. Poor Josef is still racked with guilt 50 years later I can't imagine how hard it was for him in 1955. I imagine the name Charles Fitzgerald will be permanently out of Josef's rotation of names. Probably individually as well. I can't imagine he'd ever want to hear himself referred to as Charles.

[darkstarrising]

I just found this one, and I've got to say I love it...somehow the heartbreak of Josef and Sarah always touches me so deeply, and you've expressed it so well.

It was those moments in ML where we saw that Josef was so much more than a snarky sidekick, that made me fall in love with him...and I can see this as a completely believable scenario for him, and Sarah.

I always think of him as haunted by that failure, shaped by it in ways that are not apparent at first glance. And you evoke that brilliantly.

Lucky

Lucky,

Thank you!! You're right, for most of the time we saw him before 'Sleeping Beauty', vulnerability was not something we saw much of in Josef. Everyone, even Mick to some degree, was kept at a distance. And now we know why. I'd like to think he found love, and when things didn't turn out as expected, he had to flee, not just from Sarah's father and possible discovery, but from the pain of losing Sarah as well.

[darkstarrising]

How did I miss commenting on a Josef/Sarah story? This was so sad. Poor Josef is still racked with guilt 50 years later I can't imagine how hard it was for him in 1955. I imagine the name Charles Fitzgerald will be permanently out of Josef's rotation of names. Probably individually as well. I can't imagine he'd ever want to hear himself referred to as Charles.

cassysj,,

I agree. To hear the name Charles can only bring him pain. I really wish we had seen a bit more of Josef's past in the series, but the bit we did see, showed a man who loved and lost, but never forgot.

[jen]

How beautiful.

The events of Sleeping Beauty and the existence of Sara were one of the unexpected reveals of Moonlight that begged for a more detailed exploration. It shows a facet of Josef that he has kept carefully hidden, even from those closest and given us a glimpse that perhaps he is not so different from Mick after all.

It is a story that cries out to be explored, explained and revisited.

This was a heartbreaking look into the heart of the man who loved her, her sire, and the man who will continue to grieve under another name..

[redwinter101]

This is still so beautiful, dsr - shot through with a realism and a truth that makes Josef's heartbreak even more poignant. He knows he never should have fallen for Sarah, that she should have stayed away, and, worst of all, that this might be the only time in his long life when someone breached his defences. It has a melancholy that fits perfectly with what we saw in Sleeping Beauty.

Red

[darkstarrising]

This is still so beautiful, dsr - shot through with a realism and a truth that makes Josef's heartbreak even more poignant. He knows he never should have fallen for Sarah, that she should have stayed away, and, worst of all, that this might be the only time in his long life when someone breached his defences. It has a melancholy that fits perfectly with what we saw in Sleeping Beauty.

Red

thanks, red Josef can tell himself 'I should have known better', but even so, the emotion of love is rarely governed by logic. Vampire though he may be, he's still a man who fell in love and lost. When we see him in Sarah's room in Sleeping Beauty, he's a different man than the one we normally see. He's softer, kinder, more vulnerable and she's the reason why.

[jen]

Heartbreaking.

And beautifully done!

Thanks

Jenna

[darkstarrising]

Heartbreaking.

And beautifully done!

Thanks

Jenna

Thanks, Jenna....that's a scene that would love to see played out

[cassysj]

I've come back for a re-read. This story shows how deeply Josef loved Sarah. Charles Fitzgerald is gone, that particular version of himself can only belong to Sarah Whitley.

[darkstarrising]

I've come back for a re-read. This story shows how deeply Josef loved Sarah. Charles Fitzgerald is gone, that particular version of himself can only belong to Sarah Whitley.

Thanks, Carol....I think the fact that Josef kept Sarah hidden away for so many years hoping for a miracle, showed the depth of his love for her. But the moment he had to leave her must have been heartbreaking, resulting in the 'death' of Charles Fitzgerald.

[Luxe de Luxe]

How did I miss this, dsr? There has been some speculation on other threads over the years, about the motivation for Josef's 50year coma-vigil: Is it because he really loves and misses her or is it driven by guilt at having this happen to someone he was only trifling with? I think you've answered that beautifully here. A lovely insight into Charles Fitzgerald.

[Marigold]

It is wonderful to hear Josef's thoughts on Sarah. He does not often tells us his true emotions, but when he does, he goes all out.

I love the title and the mention of the pendant.

Well done, DSR! Thank you!

[allegrita]

I can't believe I've never read this story before! I love this; it's so deep inside Josef's head, a place he almost never lets us see. He's questioning so much, regretting so much here. And I can absolutely see him cutting ALL ties with the names Charles and Fitzgerald.

What I like about this is that it's a part of Josef that never leaves his head. Even when he was talking with Mick and Beth about Sarah, he was more guarded than that. Here, he's completely open... because he's not saying anything out loud, where he could be heard.

This is heart-wrenching, and very sad, and revealing.

[jen]

DSR

Wonderful.

In many ways, we are looking into the heart of a man who seems more like Mick than the snarky, always in control Josef Kostan.

His love and dedication to Sarah Whitley was total. Still is. While Charles Whitley is no more and he physically lives the lifestyle of a hedge fund trader in L.A., with the freshies and Kostan Industries, et al, a piece of him will forever be with Sarah in New York. To see Sarah Whitley, a privileged woman of the 1950's adjust to the world of today holds a lot of dramatic potential (IMHO) but whether that will ever happen or not, she has proven that the heart of this vampire is not as cold as he would like us to believe.

So glad this popped up on Active Topics!

Thank you!

Jenna