Downsizing

Having successfully changed the overhead light bulb, Jessica tentatively balanced on a collapsing packing box, and proudly surveyed her treasures clustered below. She had liberated her small hoard of favorite possessions from the garage. Would they, in turn, liberate her? Changing the light bulb was child’s play compared to her struggles over the last three … Continue reading

Helen

I need time to consider my options and prepare my defense. If I renege on my promise to not run in the next election, my usually mild mannered husband will be angry, but circumstances have changed since my blithe commitment to him. And David has some responsibility. Had he not pointed out the newspaper report … Continue reading

Betrayal

Drifting in and out of consciousness, his raw face pricked by the coarse grass, Evan’s sense of betrayal burned through the pain. His first tears in over sixty years spilled down his bleeding cheeks. His cowardly attempt to escape witnessing her anguish had failed. He had made many promises in his life, some of which … Continue reading

Wait for me

So many emotions rattled around Leslie’s brain—disappointment, irritation, and rejection—it was impossible to sleep. The problem was not a strange bed. Her sister had lived in the apartment  for  years and Leslie had visited and stayed the night—albeit reluctantly—more than once. However, on other occasions Leslie hadn’t been ripped out of her midnight musings by … Continue reading

Soul Mates

Huddled under a grungy blanket, a threat of rain in the air, and a stomach complaining about a wolfed-down can of beans, Betty regretted where being “interesting” had gotten her. Across from her, looking as pleased as a lottery winner, Trevor grinned at the stars through the open window. “Who would ever have dreamed I’d … Continue reading

Days of Heroes

Until a week ago Christopher thought it was all coming together. After the incident with Melina and his boss’ reaction to it, he knew it was all coming apart. What to do? His brother-in-law, an addict forever in search of a quick cure, presently touted the “The Stages of Change” system, as a guide to … Continue reading

The Usual Skeptics

“Before we were asked to choose months, we never fought,” Maggie said, pummeling the bread dough and whipping it around to give the other side a whack. “Bullshit,” her husband replied. He grabbed the newspaper in an attempt to exit the ring before the bell for the third round. In their years together, after a … Continue reading

The Wrong Box

New in town, Walter was delighted to be one of four locals invited to give a presentation on what the facilitator called his “profession” to the high school graduates. Chadville was obviously more appreciative of his type of work than was his former town, where they called a long haul trucker’s work a “blue collar … Continue reading

And You Are?

Strolling down the street, swinging his umbrella and minding his own business, Richard pulled up abruptly on finding that a favorite pub, the Crab and Crow, had been razed to the ground. Where years earlier, he and his buddies had caroused, a commercial sign advertised soon-to-be-built condos and business opportunities. Good news that. Perhaps the … Continue reading