His headphones were on when it happened. Which matters because it couldn’t have been the sound of the boy’s voice that aggravated him like he told the officer. It wasn’t premeditated, he told the judge, he didn’t even know the… Continue Reading
It’s like a jungle in the clouds and there’s this fog — like rain, except it’s not raining. Everything is wet and tangled, and the angles of vision are slightly distorted. Walking point, I can hear sounds that come from… Continue Reading
Two years ago, Sophia, a lonely single police officer and her young son, settled into this perfect neighborhood. As it turns out, Friday is neighborhood barbeque night. This thrills Sophia, because she loves to share her recipes. No surprise that… Continue Reading
A boy and a girl. You know where this is going, right? Well, first, the boy. In truth, he is not a boy at all but a man who has just entered his fortieth year, that sudden precipice of middle… Continue Reading
Molly smiled when she saw the package was from her best friend Katie. Tomorrow was Molly’s birthday. Because of this pandemic they wouldn’t be able to get together for dinner. A week ago Katie had called to ask how she… Continue Reading
When Gray didn’t work the night shift, he took over bedtime duty from his wife, tucking in Dylan and telling him a story. Gray sometimes got carried away, veering into realms not wholly age appropriate. Tales of changelings and tricksters,… Continue Reading
I see her in the twisted remains of the dermatologist’s office, surrounded by ash and steel. Smoke still hangs low in the air. The fire marshal gave the all-clear to return early in the morning, and now, as the sun… Continue Reading
On Sunday morning, Maggie Amberson arrived at Sue Horn’s place, the faded farmstead at the end of the split road west out of Leander. The dew was burning off, the big yard shivering. Sue was at her kitchen table with… Continue Reading
The mountain was called the Sleeping Giant. I stood at the peak, the prostrate Giant’s clifftop shoulder, admiring the vista of leafy crowns, the rugged ravines, and slow sailing of herculean clouds, when something tapped my shoulder. I swiveled around.… Continue Reading
The party was on that patio, but I wasn’t. Long-legged women in gauzy beachwear, sure-footed men in Bermuda shorts, these mothers and fathers had hauled their kids to the Cape for summer but now wanted nothing to do with us.… Continue Reading