Not of This World
byThe nurses arrived throughout the day, a steady invasion of Laiken’s privacy. At breakfast, they balanced trays of lukewarm scrambled eggs, cups of tepid green tea. Later, they’d come and…
Stories
The Eaters
byWE CALLED OURSELVES THE EATERS BECAUSE WE ATE WHAT WE WERE SERVED. Every final Friday of the month, we got together as a group to devour as much as we…
No Grand Passion
byAFTER I WAS ABLE TO SCREW MY HEAD BACK ON TIGHT, they told me I’d swam ashore. Finally, I’d swam ashore after many years living on K Street with the…
Sorry Ladies, Studies Show No Amount of Air is Safe During Pregnancy
byWE—THE CDC, THE EXPERTS, THE EXPECTING MOM BLOGS, the websites represented in your top internet search results—are sorry to collectively report that the only safe amount of air for a…
All Fading Now
byI HAVE NEVER SEEN HER LIKE THIS. She’s twenty-something, young enough to be my kid, and normally dignified, professional—always wears long dark pants and flowing tops, thick sweaters, bracelets I…
Disintegration
byWHEN GRANDMA DIED, THE FAMILY FINALLY CLEARED OUT THE HOUSE ON OSAGE. All the streets in that part of town were named for Indian tribes. She’d kept everything after Grandpa…
Together, in the Golden Hour
byBIGGEST ONE LEAPS OFF THE GROUND, shakes the house, bellows with forced levity. “You’ll never guess where it’s made!” Hair Scrunchie’s gaze goes soft. “So, the obvious places are out.”…
Water Music
byLadies JUST OUTSIDE THE SANCTUARY, A SLAP STINGS THE METAL LADIES-ROOM DOOR. Her soprano sugars my ears: “He doesn’t know what happened to it yet.” A low sigh: the alto,…
Last Bus to Stonehenge
byAS THE BUS AMBLED THROUGH RUSH HOUR, Penny looked at the ticket she picked up from the ‘free’ table at work. That last-minute decision, plus traffic, made her late so…
Picking Cherries
byMARGO VELA’S FATHER SPOKE TO HER FROM HIS URN IN THE BACK SEAT. His words interrupted a silence she’d craved for years. Somehow, he’d found a way past his metal…