My first thought was to lie, and spent a few moments dreaming up common household emergencies like an overflowing washing machine or a broken refrigerator. But Marla was one of those sympathetic-but-also-kind-of-nosy bosses and usually would look the other way… Continue Reading
Fuck the ugly dog. That’s what he said as they were taking him away. Somebody shouted to him as the police were leading him away, “Hey, Joe, what do we do with the Boy?” and he just leaned back over… Continue Reading
Once a month my father came home with someone else’s luggage. He purchased them for five dollars from the Amtrak station, these unclaimed parcels left by wayward travelers. The station sold them as a way of making a little extra… Continue Reading
i. It was a pleasant spring after the hard winter of the break-up with Colin. Getting him out was impossible, so I moved to a smaller apartment. I was a bit worried about securing the kid, but Colin was crushed… Continue Reading
He sits down next to me at the picnic table, his back against the red-and-white checkered tabletop, his long legs extending out on the grass. He turns to me and smiles the friendly smile of a man who is comfortable… Continue Reading
Willy woke up early that morning. It was going to be a big day. He looked around the room for his uniform, but couldn’t find it, so he put on the same clothes he had worn yesterday. It didn’t matter,… Continue Reading
Mom’s ashes are in the urn on the table, and I smile with my lips at people who hold pieces of her. I am greedy for every fragment, but hugs are extortion. “She never got to be a grandmother,” one… Continue Reading
Marlene came home to an empty house and a scrawled note from Stanley. “Meet me at the duck pond at 6:30.” Of course she knew which duck pond. During their nearly twenty-six years of marriage, they’d only ever visited the… Continue Reading
Tiny is the first female marine on the new 1911 base. I spot her the day she arrives, hair long, dog tags fresh and shiny. She has no idea what she’s getting into on this base, or maybe she does.… Continue Reading
Bridget grew up hearing legends of the stone angel that guarded the graveyard, but she’d never needed her help until now. Draped in a flowing robe with wings outstretched in a righteous fury, her gaze dared passersby to disturb her… Continue Reading