The building, said our mother, was like a breast: round, squat, whirling turbine nipple. An obscene place for obscene behavior. But the sopaipillas were good, so on weekends we went…
The sitter cancels, same excuse as last time. My fingernail catches the back-seamed tights I’d just pulled on as I journey back into jeans. I lay the snagged nylons on…
It is August hot and the roof hasn’t been put on yet. Dickie isn’t the foreman but he’s furious about the delay. He makes one of his big scenes at…
THE SUN IS GOING DOWN IN THE GALAPAGOS. Blue-footed boobies and penguins roost on the rocks by the sea where the turtles cruise through like underwater magic carpets. I got…
You were hatched, like a bird. The yard is a Confederate graveyard. Peter ran away. Mom used to be tan, like a sunflower, like a stick of butter. Pregnancy frazzled…
I first noticed our family stalker on the same day Alice Hemper wet her pants. There was a commotion by the cake table where a dozen eleven-year-old girls had gathered…
“Where am I today?” “You’ve got third base, Phil,” the umpiring crew chief tells him. The name ‘Phil’ is written under the brim of his umpire’s hat. That was a…
I LAY ON MY THERAPIST’S COUCH, a pillow over my face. “Have you noticed that no one listens to what you say?” she asked me, her voice sympathetic. “Yes,” I…
Named a Finalist for 2018’s Best of the Net AND THE BOY ACROSS THE FIELD is trying to beat the dog off of his arm, but it won’t un-bite. The…
THE VACCINE WORKED FOR LANEY LAST MONTH. Sores along her neck, arms, and torso ebbed. Her hospital-grade fever broke. When she was sick I sent her an arrangement of fruit….