A man approaches a girl. Balding, plain and pale-eyed, fifty or so. She sits alone, staled knuckles typing an essay, coffee cold, body terse. Her eyes dart back and forth, shut for a moment. Her shoulders stiffen. In broad daylight,… Continue Reading
Another windblown day, the humps in the sand like mountains. There’s a scent in the breeze, fresh fish, or maybe shrimp. The smell came from near the water, but it would be worth it if he got there before any… Continue Reading
So I’m a couple blocks from the crib, kicking it on the corner of Louisa St. at that spot in front of the house that used to be a restaurant — that yellow two-story thing. It got the sign up… Continue Reading
“What’s that sound?” asks my wife, Kadie. She and I lie in the loft of the barn, the wan light of a cloudy dusk making the world a shadow play through the unshuttered hay door on the west side of… Continue Reading
Jonathan Crackers dances down our street in an old, patched jacket, singing a song that only he understands, talking to people who aren’t quite there. He’s dressed in purple from head to toe. “An eggplant,” says Jamie who lives down… Continue Reading
For eleven years, Alma scrubbed the Perkins’ granite counters and the two glass showers. She dusted the endless rows of book spines, each still straight even as her own spine began to bow. This kitchen taught her the mysterious English… Continue Reading
December 2015 I never go to the beach anymore. These days the thin line of sand holding back the endless sea is littered with piles of life jackets, discarded rafts and weeping women. Not that I need to go that… Continue Reading
On the train to Detroit some of the guys were playing cards, two were reading, most sleeping. Eddie was alone in the back of the car, smoking and staring out the window. I got up and sat next to him.… Continue Reading
I put a piece of chocolate in my mouth and contemplated my toenails. Should I cut them? Maybe I should shave my legs? Back to the toenails, they were borderline? Big decisions. Looking out over the marina at the sky,… Continue Reading
The dinner parties pour in, sun-kissed faces aglow. They’re loud and happy, many drunk, some high, but all famished. Restaurant staff charge into action like crew to battle stations. Throughout this chaos, I wait. Nearby yacht fleets rest in their… Continue Reading