by Anthony D’Aries “Is she ready?” Jody looked like a new car—black dress and black shoes, gleaming silver necklace and silver earrings. She didn’t take off her sunglasses. She held one hand over the bottom of her phone, the way Mark’s mother used to do when she’d scold him for making too much noise. “No, … Continue reading Girls Night
by Luanne Castle A woman’s slashed neck bleeds in Michigan. Blood spurts as from a spigot until she presses a kitchen towel to the wound as she dials 911. The assailant sits slumped in the living room, fondling the blade of his hunting knife. I picture the knife—the curved and serrated blade, the hardwood handle. … Continue reading Family History
by Kimm Brockett Stammen “How old are you then, Maud?” asked one of the daughters as she lifted a pile of Claire’s nighties from a cardboard box and stuffed them into a drawer. As if she didn’t know perfectly well. Claire and I have been friends since we were girls, skipping down Queen Anne Hill … Continue reading Losing Claire in Pioneer Square
by Walter Cummins When the hospice nurse came down into the living room to tell Mason that Virginia had died, his first thought was to call Lila and ask her to clean. Even as he followed the nurse back up the steps to the guest room, he wondered why of all things that notion came … Continue reading Someone to Clean
By Melanie Smith I moved the paintbrush over the light blue bedroom wall, swish-swish, and laid down a hefty stripe of white, then stood back to assess it. I had chosen the right color: “cloud white,” said the label on the cannister. It had enough pink tint that it wasn’t cold, and enough blue that … Continue reading Archaeology
by Derek Andersen September 21 Dear Diary, When my daughter showed me the brochure, I was skeptical. The pages were plastered with seniors nailing aerobics routines, throwing down straight flushes—hell, even skateboarding. Their smiles were blinding, phosphorescent, as if their teeth had never known decay. Arcadia: Retire in paradise. Yeah, right. This place would be just … Continue reading The Arcadia Diaries
by Valerie A. Smith “I regret to inform you, Cadet Salter. You have failed to meet expectations and are being honorably discharged from The United States Military Academy.” I recognized Captain Johnson as soon as I stepped in his office and stood at attention. “Cadet Salter, reporting as ordered, Sir,” I saluted. His reputation of … Continue reading The Cadet
Nina Schuyler After they finished their tennis matches, the girls sat in the bright green June grass and watched the boys play. This was 1980, before Reagan, when love still fragranced the air. The Spokane weather was divine, a slight breeze like a fan turned on low, an ideal 75 degrees—only one transient puffy cloud … Continue reading Golden Boy
Meghan Steed This is home, a house the color of the sun in a valley surrounded by hills, sloping and green. Inside the house is a woman. Her name is Alejandra, but hardly anyone would call her that here. This is home, remember? She is who she is to them: m’hija, hermana, prima, profe, and mamá, … Continue reading Beyond
Laura Valeri Lucy finished her round of depositions early. She could have gone home. Tonya would have surely appreciated help with dinner, but Lucy felt caught in an impulse that was growing alarmingly frequent. She drove, listening to the end of an Indigo Girls song, wanting nothing more than to keep driving, not towards home, … Continue reading Harlequin Babies