“Learn to do something with those fat fingers, Marcia,” my mother urged. “Go to business school. Learn typing. Accounting.” My older sister, Laura, had studied piano. Impromptu recitals for family and friends the norm. “Such a talent, your sister Laura.”… 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
Bob hated Christmas. It brought to mind memories of when his parents fought, usually after a long night of spiked eggnog. While his parents’ quarreling was far in the past, Bob still found the forced merriment of holidays unbearable. If… Continue Reading
Gloria’s ghost seeped out from underneath the covers and tiptoed her way to her husband’s bedside. “Wake up,” she whispered, shoving Barney’s ghost awake. “Come on, wake up!” “Calm your horses.” Barney’s ghost leaned over the side of the bed… Continue Reading
They sat on the couch staring at the television, he in baggy pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt, she in a faded flannel nightgown and a pair of his black socks. “It’s getting chilly,” she said. “Uh-huh. You want me to… Continue Reading
My professor had announced to the whole class that I was leaving for Officer Candidate School at 08:00. Patted me on the back like a proud papa, for the last time. Sitting on the concrete bench outside Cooper Hall after… Continue Reading
When I slipped on the missing slipper and took my place by my prince’s side, I had no idea just how much I’d be wearing the things afterwards. Nobody ever told me a princess was on her feet so much… Continue Reading
Zio and Will were shipmates aboard the Venture Maru, a space freighter which sailed not only through our familiar Milky Way galaxy, delivering everything from canned peaches to ping-pong tables to radiation shields, but occasionally venturing all the way out… Continue Reading
“So, how many frogs have you kissed?” asked Ramón, and I sensed the mocking smile on his face, even if I could not see anything at all. He’s got quite a cheek, this one, always laughing me off for being… Continue Reading
SHE FELL from the sky, a daughter of the sun. She was many forms, how fiery. In Phoenicia, she wore a flame of feathers and lived as a phoenix. In Persia the thunderbird built a nest and burst into fire,… Continue Reading