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
Colin remained seated in the pew, watching the congregation file out with smiles and nods and murmurs. Religion wasn’t exactly his thing, but in this situation he hadn’t been sure what else to do. His usual methods of crisis management… Continue Reading
I glanced into the prayer room, hoping it would be empty, but it wasn’t. Becky was there. The sun was shining quite brightly into the prayer room, and somehow Becky’s smile was brighter. Becky had invited me to pray with… Continue Reading
“Join hands for prayers,” said Grandma Mercy. Little Thomas cringed. He hated saying prayers before meals, especially in public. Worse, the server had put the steaming pepperoni pizza with extra cheese right under his nose. How could anyone pray with… Continue Reading
“But Da, I don’t wanna this week.” “Ye have to. It’s Sunday.” “I don’t feel well.” “Don’t be daft. Yer goin, John Paul. Ye need to be there.’’ “It’s J… P,” I snapped back. John Paul is for the Pope… Continue Reading
Before I met you, Luke, I’d known nothing but flight — staying just long enough until the bills began to pile up. Not that that changed. When I arrived in Memphis, I didn’t even have a stroller for James, just… Continue Reading
There’s a dirty brown puddle at the bottom of West Street where the snow has melted and turned to sludge. Not that many years ago she would have dived in with both feet, splashing till her socks and trousers were… Continue Reading
“Do not step over that threshold tonight,” her mother said. “When twilight descends, lock the door and bar it.” Gilda nodded. Her mother pressed an iron key into her hand. Gilda tucked it into the pocket of her apron, white… Continue Reading
The ringing of the church’s campana let them know that the ceremony was about to start. She held her Mami’s hand as tight as she could. She never wanted to do her first communion in the first place. Papi made… Continue Reading
I’ll never forget the homeless man in Saint Christopher’s Church. That was back in my altar server days, when I was about eight or nine. No, eight, because I hadn’t had my first Holy Communion yet. We were doing a… Continue Reading