Betsy’s two romantic fantasies—remarrying one’s first love and a shipboard romance—were within reach. As a teenager, Betsy had read about the remarriage of Richard Burton, what a voice, and Elizabeth Taylor, what a face, and longed to imitate such passion. Her husband Peter was out of the running for remarriage as they weren’t divorced and … Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →

She’d lost count of the time and of how far she had walked. Focused as she was on her quarry, her surroundings were a nebulous backdrop: buildings with three walls, corridors that stretched as if elastic, streets that stopped and melted into holes. Inside her head, she was circling but her feet moved relentlessly forward. … Continue reading →

Gillian wasn’t a practicing Christian but she thought Jesus, had things been different, would have made a loving husband. Always a good sign when a man is close to his mom and Jesus’ mother wasn’t the only Mary who thought he was great. So when she saw the personal ad, Gillian was captivated. “I can’t … Continue reading →

It had gone well. No doubt about it. Five minutes into their conversation, they had been laughing and comparing notes about their loves and lives as if they had been together for years. She hadn’t been looking for romance and hadn’t expected the class would be the mother lode. Not a sport type, her goal … Continue reading →

Wincing from her worsening arthritis, Vicky knew that the sentimental trek up the steep hill to her home of 34 years would be her last. Where once she had herded dawdling toddlers or carted groceries and gifts, now she only had the strength to drag memories. Her husband Terry watched her from the bottom of … Continue reading →