Doll in hand, Sophie dances along the flagstone path into the garden, and pulls herself up onto the lichen-spotted wooden bench. “Are you there?” she calls, and waits for an answer. She sits, wordless, knees pulled up in front of… Continue Reading
“This house is too big,” Nora said at breakfast. Craig turned away from the TV, puffy eyes magnified by his bifocals. “Those retirement communities are maintenance-free. We should think about moving.” Moving? She meant hiring a cleaning service. “Oh, please,… Continue Reading
“Will you marry me?” Ken whispered, his breath warm against my forehead. “All aboard!” Even if I’d had an answer, I couldn’t give it as we boarded the train. I followed Ken through two train cars until he found our… Continue Reading
A potential catastrophe — the kitten strangling to death in the tassels of the afghan — pales beside what happens years after the near-strangulation when Margaret trips over the same now-grown cat. The cat’s vocal cords were damaged by a… Continue Reading
Even though it was dusk, Alice easily found the squeaky green iron gate that led into her back garden. She brushed aside a branch of the thick privet hedge overhanging it, trying to disentangle her long silver hair but snapping… Continue Reading
It works into me, the thread I’m using, fine as the hair from a baby’s head. I never notice as I stitch, concerned with the promise I’ve made. I advertise in the corner shop and the post office: ‘All reasonable… Continue Reading
“If he’d stayed like that, I wouldn’t have killed him.” Wouldn’t-‘ve-killed-‘im, wouldn’t-‘ve-killed-‘im, whispered the tyres of the London bus as it travelled through the wet, wintry streets. On board, Dora Chadwick wrapped her navy blue coat closer about her, rubbed… Continue Reading
When they decided old Nye was no longer capable of living alone, they offered him a ‘nice room in a lovely home’. He chose a park bench at the top of Primrose Hill. Not long after that, he met up… Continue Reading
Vandy takes an orange balloon from the box and blows it up, fastens it with a piece of string he cuts from the big ball of twine he bought along with the balloons for a good price at Wal-Mart. Then… Continue Reading
There was a greasy thumbprint on the menu card, right where it said to tick the boxes to get the lunch you fancied. Dinah didn’t want to tick any ruddy boxes. She eyed the list. “Chicken Cobbler,” she mumbled, missing… Continue Reading