“I hope the neighbors aren’t watching,” Brenda said. We stood there, on her porch, watching the car back out of the driveway and onto the street. My wife was driving; her husband was sitting beside her. “Why?” I asked as I waved to the two of them. KC flashed the headlights. “They’ll think we’re swingers, swapping partners.” I looked at her. In the shadows of the porch light, I couldn’t tell if she was serious or joking....

I liked my sister, Connie, even if I didn’t really know her. I was the “surprise” of the family, born twelve years after her. When I was starting elementary, she was off to college; as I was entering my teen years, she was married. I dare say I wouldn’t have known her at all if she and her husband had not decided to stay at the Beach. Of course, she married up, so they lived at the North End. But we still got together for...

It was a girls’ night out. Actually, it was a bachelorette party for one of the young teachers at the high school. It had been arranged by my wife, Carol, and my buddy’s wife, Barb. His name is Frank. The group had gone out for dinner and drinks in nearby Three Rivers. And since the wives were gone, Frank and I decided to get together, the two of us, share a few brews, and watch some Clint Eastwood movies: westerns and Di...