The smell of damp oak leaves in the driveway had followed me inside, clinging to my wool coat before I…
Stories
A Bank Owner Signed a Fifty Thousand Dollar Loan Under One Unexpected Condition
Robert Finch set the gray folder on my desk at precisely nine in the morning. A tiny smudge of black…
The Only Door That Opened When the Others Closed
The blue light of the phone screen illuminated the cold congealing oatmeal on Ivy’s spoon. The email from her father…
Two plane tickets to Chicago and a blue lighter on the counter
The smell of Quasi’s sandalwood cologne always lingered in the air long after he walked away, but tonight it seemed…
Seven dollars in a jar and a heavy steel safe on the tenth floor
The black electrical tape did not even hold until the toast was cold. I pressed my thumb against the rubber…
Sarah Palin Finds a New Path After Her Long Alaskan Marriage Ends
The eighteen-dollar silver-plated coffee pot was missing its lid handle, and the stack of mail on the kitchen counter had…
Eight Cupcakes in a Backyard Garden Cost More Than Pride
The metal thermos clinked against the yellow laminate counter as I pressed the plastic lid down. Emma sat at the…
Luke Left His Blue Backpack On the Front Seat on Friday Morning
The heavy humidity of late July in Oak Creek, Ohio, already hung in the kitchen before the coffee was finished.…
The Pattern in the Glass and the Secret of the Orchard
Arthur did not knock before he dropped the white sheet of paper directly over my open invoice book. The paper…
William Edwards Leaves His Screaming Son on a Friday Afternoon in Hartford
Owen kicked the back of my seat for the fourth time in three miles, his small sneakers hitting the worn…