Jim sat at the kitchen table, turning his coffee mug around and around. The clock on the wall ticked louder than usual. Outside, rain tapped softly against the window. He looked up when he heard the front door open. “You’re… Continue Reading
Fabia wasn’t sure why her entrails grew suddenly cold, just where the baby had begun to stir. She wasn’t superstitious, she’d laughed at the crazy predictions of Aurelia the retired Vestal Virgin like everyone else in the city. When Aurelia… Continue Reading
I’ve just awakened, but I already feel tired. It’s probably the jet lag, but that’s not all it is. I feel wrung out from these past few weeks. This is the third international trip I’ve taken in the past few… Continue Reading
My hands hover above my open eyes. I let out a deep sigh in the hopes that my wife would hurry up so I could get back to the game. I cast a quick glance below at my son, Bobby.… Continue Reading
At 6:42 a.m. she steps barefoot onto the bathroom scale. In two months, she gained five pounds. She presses a fist to her mouth and pretends not to cry. Underneath the sink she keeps her special pills for this type… Continue Reading
He saw her reflection in the chipped mirror on the wall. She was standing, gazing out the window, her back stiff with anger. They had driven for an hour, through deeper and deeper stone-cold silence and unforgiving mutual accusations, the… Continue Reading
Midway through a fascinating article about converting goose poop into biofuel, Michael smelled smoke coming from the kitchen. The cookies! He’d totally forgotten about the special “I’m sorry for calling you a fascist” treat he was baking for Liam. With… Continue Reading
The machine hisses, steam rises, liquid drips. Pale skin, black hair, blue eyes: the unsmiling and tattooed worker moves in a measured way. With his uninjured eye he traces the lines of the mortar in the brickwork behind her; with… Continue Reading
Chip started out as a little bump riding Tom’s right shoulder blade. No fair, he’d whisper, Mom always buys Sally’s favorite ice cream. And, Jerry’s only popular cuz he’s got a pool. And, Prom’s for losers. Chip grew as Tom… Continue Reading
We didn’t know the bed was cursed. It was a mahogany disaster. It took both of us to move the frame up the apartment stairs. Alyssa and I were laughing and sweaty by the time we collapsed in the bedroom.… Continue Reading