The first time she said it, it didn’t register since he was still trying to figure out the basis for this sudden discussion. But he heard it the second time, and stopped her after the third.
“What do you mean, we need to integrate our lives?”
She halted mid-sentence, the words hanging in the air between them, [...]
“Ben Bordini died. His funeral’s today.” Nancy exuded a small-town-busybody quality. Something admired three decades ago when we first met. But only because she knew which local guys our age were single, recently split from girlfriends, or otherwise worthy of a backseat roll.
The phone shifted from right to left ear so I could empty grocery [...]
“That’s fucked up, don’t you think?”
“What’s fucked up?” I ask. My wife is driving us home from my mom’s, and once again, as I always do, I’ve gotten lost in my own thoughts of nothing, not paying attention to a word she’s saying.
“What your mom said.”
“Wait, why? What did my mom say?”
“About your dad.” I [...]
Their waitress had left four mints for the two women.
“One for now, one for later,” said the mother, popping the white and green striped mint in her mouth. “Do you feel like walking off the cheesecake, Pam?”
“Why not?” she said, rubbing her soft belly. “It’s my day off from being mommy, and I deserve it.”
“I [...]
Amanda’s hand shook as she opened the front door. Would she find another bunch of daffodils wilting on the doorstep?
‘Got an admirer?’ the post-woman asked, handing her a parcel that was too big for the letterbox. She was looking at the flowers.
An admirer? The thought leapt at her; an admirer, she need not be frightened [...]
A girl named Cliché entered the classroom. “I’m Cliché” she said. She had a habit of announcing herself when entering a room. It was always followed by an awkward moment. No one ever bothered to tell her the announcement was unnecessary. “Am I late?” she whispered to the student in front of her as she [...]
Dragonflies on stained-glass wings skim over a lake. Their reflections flash like finely cut jewels on the surface of the water. Ancient creatures, unchanged for countless millennia, the sound of their flight vibrates in the air with a song much older than man.
An old man walks through a rice paddy. His shoes are worn. The [...]
that saying “April showers, bring May flowers.”
May 12th
My life is under control once again. I’m happy. This brand new baby boy is the light of my life. He’s my first, and I wish it could have only happened sooner. His smile allows me to forget past troubles. His face portends a brighter future. His eyes [...]
On some nights in the lambent, moonlit air shadows of tall pines and burial mounds seem to dance and move volitionally all along the mountain. They tumble and chase one another like children or young animals at play.
There are stories that tell of those who long ago tended the warning beacons for which this mountain [...]
It was my first day on the job as a clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the line stood about twenty people deep. I looked over to a Gorilla who sat at his desk. This Gorilla was at least fifty pounds overweight and wore glasses that constantly slipped down the bridge of his [...]
