Beth fingered the fresh bruises that ringed her neck. The pain, which responded to each prod, was soothing in its reliability. “What was different about yesterday, Beth?” asked the doctor sitting in the vinyl-covered visitor’s chair that faced her bed.… Continue Reading
We’re loaded down with tampons and pads, and Mom’s heading straight for the cute checker’s lane. Seriously? I’d die if I had to stand there while he rung us out. It’s obvious, right? I totally get it, she’s distracted, sad… Continue Reading
My uncle lived in the warehouse district of Toledo, not far from a Pizza Papalis and a Blarney Irish Pub. He didn’t work, lived on government checks and “gifts” from my parents. My father blamed his unemployment on a “poor… Continue Reading
Aksel saw his life in ruins. Annelise, the girl he had loved since childhood, had wed another man — another man who had money and therefore the approval of Annelise’s father. Aksel had begged Annelise to elope. She said it… Continue Reading
Beyond the mangled guardrail, the ground dropped steeply away, a mile down to the valley floor. Dan stepped toward it, heart pounding. When he was a child, Dan’s father told him guardrails were braces for roads. They kept all the… Continue Reading
Outside the rain fell hard. A pair of headlights cut through the downpour as a car approached the foster home. A moment later the lights extinguished and a woman emerged. The bell rang and heavy footsteps moved to the door.… Continue Reading
It is only a Thursday, yet Evelyn wears her pearls. Her fiance had given her the pearls two weeks ago when she visited him at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was on the GI Bill and she knew he… Continue Reading
Gaye handed out paper and pens. A few people groaned but tradition is tradition and this had been a family ritual ever since anyone could remember. She fetched the Box of Broken Promises and began to read last year’s resolutions.… Continue Reading
You are. You are two cells old–zygote and sperm. You are the miracle. No need to know, only to grow. You hear the heart of your mother and the music soft and far away of human voice. You twist and… Continue Reading