The small, brown package that had arrived for my wife contained two bamboo cutlery sets which she was now inspecting at the dining table. In each set was a pair of chopsticks, lacquered and contoured pleasantly to the hand. The… Continue Reading
“Eureka!” the man exclaims to his wife as they settle into Adirondack chairs on their favorite lounging dock, nestled in the shade on the far edge of the lake. “It’s perfect. The end of the rainbow.” The water sparkles gold… Continue Reading
I could picture it clearly. I’d hear her squeaky-trainer footsteps on the landing. She’d put her head round my bedroom door. She’d widen her eyes at me — her version of a smile, an ‘I’m-glad-to-see-you, let-me-take-you-in’ sort of gesture. She’d… Continue Reading
Cal was picked to play only because none of the older guys wanted to be catcher. The older guys wanted to drink beers that they had gotten despite being underage and they wanted to make out with their girlfriends in… Continue Reading
When Papa brushed out her braids at the end of the day, Rita perked up her ears. Papa would often drop pearls of wisdom, mid-sentence, as if continuing a conversation playing out only in his head. First, silence — save… Continue Reading
You go to pay for your groceries, and your credit card is declined. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but you didn’t expect it to be today. You look at the letters dancing across the card reader’s display… Continue Reading
“Where’s the birthday girl?” The clown lopes in through the front door, holding a frizzy rainbow-colored wig in his hand. “The party’s downstairs,” the mother answers and walks toward the basement, assuming the clown is following. He has stopped in… Continue Reading
One night, my husband slammed my body against our bed. When I woke up the next morning, I found that he’d left cocaine on the coffee table, and the door opened for a backpage Craigslist prostitute. Hours later, I was… Continue Reading
He could hear vague, bubbly rumblings with his ear against her bare belly, her heartbeat a distant drumming. They had both worked up a sweat; it had been some time since they last had some “private time,” as it had… Continue Reading
Margret sat alone at her kitchen table reading the obituaries, sipping Earl Gray from an antique bone china cup, decorated in someone else’s bespoke floral pattern of roses, violets and a ruby red stripe. She set the cup on its… Continue Reading