“Wow, that’s gorgeous. Where’d you get it?” Mariel asked Reno. “That new place on Main Street.” Mariel admired the tattoo and touched it lightly with her fingertips. His skin was cool to the touch, and the tri-color tat popped against… Continue Reading
I’ll always remember the way his car smelled, like stale Pall Malls and Vicks VapoRub. It was memories of court-ordered, every-other-weekend visits, chicken fingers and ice cream for dinner from the Dairy Queen, and peanut butter cups baked into the… Continue Reading
Ella was a loud and opinionated child — but also careful and caring and never cruel. “You’re such a difficult girl,” her mother would wail. “Why can’t you be more like your sisters? They do as they’re told.” But while… Continue Reading
Brian drove up to pump #6 in his Mazda, parked, and hit the stop button. He let out a tired sigh, got out, and walked around to the pump. Inserted his card. Put the nozzle in and squeezed the lever.… Continue Reading
Later that evening, they sat alone in their apartment, wondering if they had made the rightdecision. Barb and Gary sat across from each other at their tiny kitchen table. The Scrabble™board placed in front of them. Gary handed the cloth… Continue Reading
“Sorry but could I get just a dollop of whip, please?” The woman’s red hair was framed by the contours of the black SUV. It shone in the early morning light and was a very pretty shade of red, one… Continue Reading
I saw the sign on my morning walk. It was taped to a lamppost at the end of the block. It read: “Missing Cat. Her name is Princess. Please call. Big reward.” The sign listed a phone number below a… Continue Reading
How a moose got into the cabin, I do not know. We’d been down to Rosa’s café for a hot bowl of chili verde on a cool night, and I could’ve sworn I closed the door on our way out.… Continue Reading
Midway through a fascinating article about converting goose poop into biofuel, Michael smelled smoke coming from the kitchen. The cookies! He’d totally forgotten about the special “I’m sorry for calling you a fascist” treat he was baking for Liam. With… Continue Reading
This time, when Sheila breaks up with Rick, she uses fishing line, two bent nails, and her ex-boyfriend’s hammer. She strings the tripwire taut, eight inches high, across the doorframe of his side entrance, guesstimating the placement of the posterboard… Continue Reading