by Lisa L. Lynn In Derrick’s younger years as a baker, women and pastry were somehow all of the same dreamlike confection, heady with sugar, alternately cloying and sublime. They were so indelibly coupled that he had often tasted women as rich layers of butter and salt, almond and fruit,…
by Katie Stavick 8:05 a.m. I shut off the alarm and lay in my bed, contemplating calling in sick. I mean, seriously, what’s the point? I already submitted my notice, which sucked. “It’s not that we don’t like you or think you could handle the job. We know you could. But the person we…
by Sara Carey The twinkling lights in the restaurant were beginning to blur together. Emily’s cheeks were warm, her hair falling in soft tendrils around her face. She couldn’t believe she was sitting across such a handsome man, and she knew that she was way out of her league when…
by Marc Abbott Gabriel Kenney didn’t intend on adopting Poohbear and Smokey. But his son, Simon, tearfully pleaded with him after hearing that animals who stayed in the pound too long were put to sleep. “A dog and a cat? No, Simon, dogs and cats do not get along. They’re…
By Alia Weylock The hundreds of miles from Guatemala to Texas play out like a movie in my head. I see my ten-month-old daughter tucked into her papoose against my chest, and my wife Chetta clinging to my arm as we trudged the path to the United States wearily. Chetta is swollen…
By Joseph L Rockmen “Terrific work on Manson and Bundy’s birthdays everyone. I received the numbers from corporate. With 3,000 travelers serviced, we exceeded our quarterly goals!” Mrs. York announced at the morning meeting to a round of applause. The smell of fresh-brewed coffee masked the body odor that lingered…
By Harlan Yarbrough The family arrived late in the afternoon, after all the students—even the Trowbridge two—had left. Randall rarely saw aborigines and many parents and other locals had warned him “the blacks” were dangerous. These three didn’t look dangerous. All three looked thin, and the tallest, the father, Randall…
By Barbara Irvin A sea of stars sparkled against the velvety black sky, lighting up the city of Macon for miles around. Seventeen-year-old Martha Matthews decided that she had never seen a night so clear or pristine. She breathed in the invigorating, warm air, enjoying the fragrance of cherry blossoms…
By Hannah Canon Quiet. One word that summed up Amy Holmes’ life quite well these days. It was quiet when she went to bed at night, and it was quiet when she woke up in the morning. She rode quietly in her car on her way to work every morning,…
By Tommy Vollman I met Joe Nuxhall a few weeks after my fifteenth birthday. His hands were gnarled, and he spoke as though his mouth was half full of marbles, but he was sharp and funny as hell. I was only a few months younger than he was when he…