She and Rita hadn’t been in touch for at least six months. Always one thing or another: new brakes for the car, babysitting the grandchild, blood pressure requiring attention and, most annoying, the condo scaffolding under blue netting driving her out of the building. Similar trivial events had kept her away from her usual social … Continue reading
Author Archives: Admin
Funeral Chat
In response to Fred’s question, “What’ll I say at your funeral?” Chunker, who was slumped over a pint of the cheapest, jerked up and asked, “Am I dying?” “After today’s fiasco, I want to plan ahead,” Fred said. “As your best friend, I’ll be a speaker at your gig.” “Don’t call it a gig, that … Continue reading
The bay
My mission may be futile. Perhaps I imagined the sighting. But the poignant call and the loon’s hesitant plunge persuaded me that I had, after all these years, found my grandmother. And this time I will not be diverted. This time I will honor my promise. It was by chance that I came to this … Continue reading
The Fine Print
Being of sound mind, I never believe ads. And although I never read the fine print, I always tick off ‘agreed’. As a result, I am now confined to a basement room watching foreign feet pass by the window. Recently, having reached the age when I couldn’t count on many more decades of life, I … Continue reading
The Brown Dress
Although she’d stuffed it to the back of the cupboard, every so often a small patch of the brown dress peaked out. But, unlike her regular well-worn clothes, the brown dress never enjoyed the light of day. Ten years earlier she had tried the dress on in order to show her mother that her gift … Continue reading
The Bird According to Jack
Jack-Be-Nimble—seventeen, energetic, restless—stretched back on the grassy bank, his feet dangling in the brook. The cool white water bubbled past, tugging his toes and ticking his arches. Eyes closed, he savored the sound of the water gurgling and the murmur of the wind in the leaves. He studied the soft grey clouds floating across the … Continue reading
The Dead Bird
We found the dead bird when we were unpacking the trunk. It was amongst my aunt’s things. She usually released them when they died but she had chosen to keep this one. He lay in his box as pristine and jeweled as if asleep. We studied his small remains for clues. My aunt had kept … Continue reading
The Bronsons’ Good Luck
Stunned by the unexpected and horrifying declaration of the hot-dog lady, I’m rethinking my lifelong indignation about the Bronson’s good luck. The Bronsons’ were the idyllic family that lived across the street. Our houses a before and after illustration; our families choppy waters and smooth sailing. After we moved away, I imagined the four Bronsons … Continue reading
Blue Nails
As the funeral hymns droned on, Stella fretted that the stores would close before she could buy a much-needed alarm clock. With the old curmudgeon now a jar of dust she needed something to wake her on dark mornings. The only good thing about the old guy—who was in no way like the man the … Continue reading
Dominant Duo
She was at the gate but entrance, to Tilley’s surprise, was not automatic. The woman ahead of her in line, tousled and troubled, was being held up as the gatekeeper rustled through his cards for her credentials. Cards! The organization was behind the times and, naturally, an eye scan was not possible. Tilley had assumed … Continue reading