Kissing me softly, she asked, "You hungry?" I was a little hungry, not eating anything since early that morning. I said, "I could eat a little something." She smiled and said, "Tell ya what, I have some fresh fruit in the kitchen. Why don't you make us a...
Sitting at my kitchen table, I was staring at a stack of envelopes; some marked "PAST DUE," others marked "FINAL NOTICE," all in bright red. I knew I was in financial trouble and had no idea how I'd find my way out. "Fucking Pandemic," I thought. Tears be...
Marisel One Marisel awoke with a start. In the yard behind the house, the cock rooster was flapping its wings, preparing to announce the arrival of the dawn of a new day. Beside her, Rhida snored lightly. Marisel smiled. Rhida was her younger sister. She...
All Fool’s Day. 1890 It was a memorably raw winter’s night. The sun had slid below London’s dirty river and the only light I could see beyond my basement window was the diluted glow of the constable’s brazier. It warmed him and melted the frosted cobbles...
“Happy Birthday, Roser!” My mum led the toast. My dad, my mum, and my circle of close friends from college all clinked glasses. “Here’s to many more,” said Maria, who I sat next to in class and was the best friend I’d made there. We sat next to each other...
Drinking alone at the bar was not exactly his thing, but there was nothing else to really do at the hotel, and certainly not in the city - those desert metropolises were a marvel to behold but pretty boring after a while, especially since alcohol was forb...
Oh, I have been a bad girl. It’s easy to come to that conclusion the second I step inside my dimly lit living room. No sounds come from anywhere in the house. Instinctively I find myself gripping the leather of my purse a little bit harder. When this is t...
Summer 1986 Lenora and I had been dating for over two years. It was a long-distance relationship, but it worked for both of us because of our careers. We were young; I was 27, and she was 24. Lenora was a nurse, and I worked on Wall Street. At the time, s...
