grab and go
Deshaun slunk low on the bench as the evening wound to an end. Before him, the horizon squeezed the day pink over the pond. He eyed the gazebo near the exit, wondering if his friend was going to miss the show. The door opened just in time. The old man shuffled down the walk way, wheezing and heaving until... Continue Reading →
I’d love to try to help Kara, but my daughter just can’t help herself. We’ve tried everything. Moving her and Cody in with us. Paying for her to finish school. Money for clothes, job training, a car. Anything for Cody. Mary cried when I kicked her out. Didn’t speak to me for weeks afterwards. Like... Continue Reading →
I felt bad for Jake's family. Not only were they trying to bury a loved one, but they also had to listen to me annihilate Knocking on Heaven's Door. I plunked along, off key and frazzled, missing chords and verses and at times strings all together. But come on, I'd been playing for what, four... Continue Reading →
Nick sat at the edge of the couch, ignoring the sports talk on television. He set his beer on the sticky wooden coffee table, ran a hand through his hair, as though to catch his fluttering thoughts. A casual breeze swept in the cigarette smoke from the open window. Nick was thankful he’d quit when Dakota was born nearly... Continue Reading →
I really don’t know where to start. The cancer I guess. I’ll just kind of glaze over what killed my mom and then maybe we can get on with it. But first I should say that I’ve never known my father, so don’t waste your time trying to analyze or whatever how his absence... Continue Reading →
I'm cleaning up the kitchen, trying to get between that hard to reach spot where the stove meets the cabinets, thinking how I might find an old roach when again I notice something funny going on with the wall paper. Just the other night I’d tried to tell Julia how it looked like it was spinning when... Continue Reading →
“Come in Blitzen.” I mule-kicked the door shut behind me, sleigh bells crashing to the floor on the other side. Flaring my nostrils, I was still steaming from the news. Retirement my ass. I knew exactly who was behind all this. The freak. Before I could get a grunt out that red-faced plumper held up... Continue Reading →
Frank gave the guys at the hardware store a line about putting in a mailbox. No need to have them ribbing him about little libraries or dollhouses or what not. He bought a post, some ready mix, gravel. A few of those nice stainless steel knobs for the doors. He'd taken to the task of building... Continue Reading →
I met Ruth Randolph while her husband spoke terms with Adam. We were so full of hope, gushing at our good fortune at having secured a room so close to the shipyards. A job and a room! I could hardly hear a word the tenement manager's wife said. “The bath houses open on Tuesdays and... Continue Reading →
They tortured that boy. Every day they came in, smacking his head and hurling insults that should've gotten their mama's arrested. And every day he just took his beating and then found a place against the wall to eat. He never said much, but that numb look on his face said it all. His clothes were a mess,... Continue Reading →
Lunch Break Fiction 