The fisherman is the boyfriend of one of my closest friends. Miguel has been trawling his lines for some time, waiting patiently for the fish to take his bait. It began as a tranquil journey, no lines put out, just… Continue Reading
The door swings open, and a big, too-likable face gazes down at me. “Hi,” the twenty-something says, inviting me in and — I’m not kidding — playing host. “Want a beer? I’ve got Guinness.” A beer? Seriously? “No,” I snap.… Continue Reading
Colleen woke to a fog blooming over the snow. The whiteness, wafting and voluptuous, billowed by her bedroom window — or rather Sarah’s window. Her daughter, back at college for the spring semester, wouldn’t be home anytime soon, and Colleen… Continue Reading
The frog’s name was Deceit. “Deceit?” I asked Ramona when I got home from work. She gave me that look. Ramona was quite the collector of exotic animals as pets, something not in evidence when we first started going out.… Continue Reading
Watching her husband disappear into the expensive view with his empty briefcase, Janice rolled her lips between her teeth, pulled off her high heels, and uncorked the half empty bottle of wine. It was Europe after all. Europeans drank on… Continue Reading
A piece of brown paper torn from the grocery sack. “What’s that?” she asked. “What?” “What do you mean ‘what’? You just swiped at it with your hand. That note on the table. What is it?” He studied it like… Continue Reading
It had been a trying year already when Mr. Jolly up and died. He was the last link between Mom and me — the mime uncle who never spoke, yet expressed volumes. I knew without maybe knowing it consciously, being… Continue Reading
Louise tore his shirt on the last occasion. She didn’t know how she did it, but can hear it still. The sound of cotton tearing is like a glass breaking—it stops a room. It stopped them. Abe seized her hand… Continue Reading
My sister hands me guest towels, kisses my forehead and then goes up to bed. Her husband and I watch the commercials, listen to her footsteps across the ceiling. I’ve been away a long time and it’s cold outside. He… Continue Reading
Drew was already naked when he took his place on her husband’s side of the bed. The room was dim as the drawn blinds allowed only a halo of the morning light. He moved his hand along her arm, and… Continue Reading