“It’s left foot forward and two steps back.” Cecily looks at her feet. She’s six and a half — seven next Wednesday. Leo says you have to know your left from your right by the time you’re seven or you’ll… Continue Reading
I’ve never shot a gun, and suddenly, Quinton is pressing the grip of a long-nosed revolver into my palm. I don’t anticipate its weight. The chilly steel. We’re cousins, but I’m new to life in Parched River. I’m used to… Continue Reading
I was thirteen when Daryl Harrison fell off our grain bin. Zach brought me along once to go visit him in the hospital. I remember clenching onto the plastic railing of the footboard of his bed. It all happened on… Continue Reading
Sissy had grown tired of going up and down the hill. Tired of looking at the green of the Appalachians. Tired of looking at Mr. Dixon across the street on his riding mower with his oh so flat and lovely… Continue Reading
“My husband says you’re the best trim painter in Griffin Construction. Steady hands, smooth strokes, no taping necessary.” “That’s right, Mrs. Griffin,” Gina said. The two women, with a generation between them, stood at the same height, 5′ 9″, had… Continue Reading
Even with my terrible eyesight, from the top of this hill I can easily spy the freeway that runs through town. The cars and trucks, like hyper-focused insects, running in parallel, zip into my view and out again. The freeway… Continue Reading
“You’re such a moron.” I’m touching the steering wheel with just my fingertips, it’s so hot. “I’m a moron?” Randy laughs from the passenger seat. He hits the dash with his palm. “You’re my brother — what does that make… Continue Reading
That evening, my parents had a fight. It had been a particularly nasty fight about things I did not understand. We were having supper when the shouting began. Then Mom ran off in tears and Dad finished eating with us… Continue Reading
We’re passing a joint back and forth, ambling through an alley behind some tumbledown houses with rusted aluminum siding. The sun is starting to go down when flashing red and blue lights interrupt our giggling. “Shit,” Cass says as she… Continue Reading
Sometimes I can’t sleep at night, or maybe I don’t want to. I don’t know, but sometimes when I don’t sleep I drive to the supermarket nearby which never closes. In the deep end of the night there are few… Continue Reading