Jerry had to shake his head and blink to convince himself it wasn’t just his imagination. Had he passed through a time warp? In the yard next door, a woman, stretched out on her back on a yoga mat, was reading a book. Her bikini left little untanned. The sun that had bronzed her skin had gilded the waves of hair that cascaded to her shoulders. Her full natural breasts were spread and separated somewhat, challenging the th...

By coincidence or parental scheme, Jerry was back in his hometown around the time of his twenty-year high school reunion. Since he escaped to the West Coast from that suburb, he hadn’t been back, preferring to visit his parents when they were in Florida for the winter. But they were on a cruise and asked him to return to his childhood home to take care of their dog for a couple of weeks. Although he wouldn’t have made the...

On game nights, Pablo’s little sister Sonia would always try to make an appearance. When they were younger, it was clear she was just trying to get attention and annoy her brother. By high school, she had gotten interested in the games and learned how to play them. A few times, they let her fill in when they were short-handed and she played well, which annoyed her brother even more. Although she was two grade levels behin...

He didn’t know how to reach Bill, who had been his best friend in high school, but he knew where to find his wife. Her face was on signs around town and next to the door that said Swensen Realty. Jerry stepped inside and affected a loud, good-old-boy voice when the young woman greeted him. “Ah’m fixing to move to this here town, so ah need to git me a house. Tell Melinda she’s got a customer.” “I’m sorry, Ms. Swensen is o...

In the lobby, there was a map where alumni from out of town placed thumbtacks to indicate how far they had come to the reunion. Only a handful were out of the state. With his stuck in San Francisco, Jerry thought he had a good chance to win. When he saw a woman put a tack in the same area, he was intrigued and moved toward her. He didn’t recognize her when she turned around. Attractive and well-dressed in a conservative s...