Her father, gulping his whisky, insisted the three puppies remain outside because “there is nothing cute about stepping in shit.” No one in the neighborhood saw the mother of the tiny dogs and most presumed she was dead. Some saw… Continue Reading
Raymond Marino hustled into work every day for scenarios like this one. As he was taught by his father, Nunzio, who worked for 18 years at the original Barney’s of New York, Raymond understood he was not just a salesman,… Continue Reading
The police detective opened the car door and stepped firmly into the puddle. He trotted out of the puddle into a singularly damp snowdrift. Cursing, he slogged onto the path where he waited for the sergeant to walk around. The… Continue Reading
I’m hanging with the roadies in the wings when James gets in my face. “What are you doing here? You’re on in 20 minutes,” he hisses. He must have been scared I’d skipped out or passed out. “Just catching the… Continue Reading
I try not to make eye contact, squeeze into the crowded elevator. Fasten the last button on my trench coat to conceal my naked breasts. Poncho whimpers as I attach the leash to his collar, so I kiss his round… Continue Reading
Rhonda preferred to think of herself as a scandalous lush, which sounded more acceptable, more Dorothy Parkeresque, than what her last lover (hardly a heartthrob, but good company on at least two memorable occasions) had called her — which was… Continue Reading
Singleton is a country town in New South Wales, with about sixteen thousand residents, but on a Monday lunchtime during the Covid lockdown not one of them was on the street. Amelia, lecturer in philosophy of history at Sydney University,… Continue Reading
I slammed the closet door and begged whatever divine entity was making the planet twirl on its axis to just give me a break for once. “I’m supposed to be in St. Croix, Mom. This really sucks.” “Stop whining,” Mom… Continue Reading
If I ignore the door hanging half off its hinges and the swallow’s nest surveying the dust from beneath the exposed center beam, Nana’s cottage is little changed from fifteen years ago, when Dad left me here to “find my… Continue Reading
Leaflet:The all-important question is:Have you accepted Jesus Christ — God’s remedyfor the lost and guilty sinner?WHAT WILL YOU DO THEN WITH JESUS?! Sitting on some steps in Soho, I saw this crumpled sodden slip, bordered by a dogend, one lollipop… Continue Reading