Having worn down her mother with requests for a second ice cream cone, Emily had to be satisfied with some change for the gumball machine which advertised, “A prize every time!” “The prizes aren’t worth the money,” her mother lamented, hoping, but not achieving, a teachable moment about costs and benefits. Emily, focused on the … Continue reading
Author Archives: Admin
The Look-Alike
Laura hadn’t seen such eyes—watery, blue and riveting—since her great aunt died 20 years earlier. The resemblance—particularly the popping eyes—was uncanny and unnerving. Lured down the street behind the double, after five blocks, Laura was enticed into the public library. She sunk unto a chair near the ‘look-alike’ and, head down, glanced at an open … Continue reading
Anyone for An Endive?
Percy knew he had to wipe what his wife Tina called “the smug look” off his face before he went through their front door. But it would be difficult not to crow. Just as he had predicted, he’d succeeded without a lot of preparation at his new métier. Now fresh from his first Marketing Consultant … Continue reading
Not Yet 45
As winner of the coveted Billybong Prize for progressive literature, Theresa, not yet 45, should have been on cloud nine. And had her sister not come to the ceremony, young daughter in hand, Theresa having left her worries about her future decision (syllable or one letter?) at home, bask in the glory. As the event … Continue reading
Two Against One
Seeing the two of them standing there stiff as statues set my blood boiling. They were hunkered together—my four-year-old daughter and 75-year-old stepmother—gazing up and down the street as if awaiting heavenly guidance. Why didn’t they move? When I offered to accompany them, I did so without implying they couldn’t find their own way to … Continue reading
Lips Sealed
Although they were sitting side by side she was as distant from him as she was from the animals at the zoo. Some scientists argued that other animal species could communicate with one another but Bimble doubted that was the case. As it was, she couldn’t even converse with this other type of human. But … Continue reading
Disparate Souls
When his thin face hurled over the hood of her startled car, her body tightened. In that moment, the victims were joined as one: two disparate souls leaving abandoned families and friends, desperate to understand why. The car door opened, a stranger, etched as witness to her demise, yanked her shoulder. “You alright?” “Is he … Continue reading
A Shipboard Romance
Betsy’s two romantic fantasies—remarrying one’s first love and a shipboard romance—were within reach. As a teenager, Betsy had read about the remarriage of Richard Burton, what a voice, and Elizabeth Taylor, what a face, and longed to imitate such passion. Her husband Peter was out of the running for remarriage as they weren’t divorced and … Continue reading
Chalk and Cheese
Hidden under her ratty brown blanket, the blinds closed, the doors double locked, no TV, no radio, Thimble’s last link was her phone and off it went. It had to be her twin sister Station. Who else was there? She had disposed of all the nuisance calls and long since dissuaded friends from contacting her. … Continue reading
The Circle
As far back as her memory stretched, she was just one of many clustered around the fire. At first, the circle had been small, but, as she grew older, it widened to include all those who brought warmth into her life. These were not people on television or on the web or in the newspaper; … Continue reading