Joe thought we should dress up as the Holy Family for a Christmas card. “Since nobody knows who Eli’s dad is.” That kept him in the doghouse well into January. I don’t know why Mom got so bent up about… Continue Reading
I press A7 on the vending machine — it shudders as my Mountain Dew gets stuck in the contraption, grunts like an old man coming in his sock. Its LED lights flicker as I kick the damn thing one, two,… Continue Reading
I am sitting here watching the news, numbed by the endless repetition of details, each time with just a little more added to the picture. The man standing there with a phone in his right hand and a raised arm… Continue Reading
He kept the award in the bathroom on a shelf with an old box of band-aids. It hadn’t always lived there. At some point, he was sure, it must’ve been out in the living room, maybe even the kitchen, he… Continue Reading
12:00 PM The day of the eclipse, the plumber came to dig up the yard. Apparently, the sewage pipe caught water like an outstretched hand. One day, the pipe would break, and it would be really bad, only it hadn’t… Continue Reading
If you look closely in the mirror, in the brief eyes formed when windows darken, in moments your self becomes unavoidable; you will see all the heirlooms your mother has gifted you. Some heirlooms call gazes to themselves, like a… Continue Reading
“It was this wild experiment they did at Stanford University back in the ’80s,” he said. “It was the early ’70s.” Elliot waved his hand, barely pausing. “Sure, sure, the ’70s. Like a real-life Lord of the Flies kind of… Continue Reading
Our hospice staff did everything we could for poor old Mr. Calvin. Lots of drugs so he would feel nothing. The finest bedding so we could say he felt comfortable. Loved ones visited often throughout his brief stay at our… Continue Reading
“Oh, snap,” Father Pat said, preparing to step out of the warm rectory into an icy Nor’easter. His clerical collar prohibited the use of stronger words, even though he’d heard them all many times, often followed by an “Oh, Sorry.”… Continue Reading
Dane sat outside waiting for the bus. He wore dark green coveralls and a pair of plain work boots. A brown paper bag, tenuously housing his lunch, hung limply between his legs, its opening twisted and untwisted in his fists.… Continue Reading