The Perfect Santa, Part 2
Falling into a mundane pattern of married life, Hilda knew her plan needed to escalate. She started the wheels in motion. “Albert,” she said one…
Fancy That
"Fancy, what is wrong with you?" My earliest recollection of consciousness was the memory of my mother's hands on my shoulders shaking me violently.…
A New November
Rod stood over the kitchen counter, trying not to pour hot coffee on his hand as he positioned the mug under the carafe. Managing to spare his hand,…
Zo’ar
I hadn’t expected Dad to offer us up. The strangers had arrived only the day before. Both men were handsome, to be sure; my sister and I had both…
The Empathy Protocol
Jack restrained Walter to a stainless-steel chair, ropes tied taut, and a gag in his mouth. Thumbing through a dossier of medical and police reports,…
Atlantic Hunting Grounds
Sailing the chill waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the cargo ship MS Harper was the only speck of brightness in the vast moonless night. Floodlights…
The Last Fariseo
I’m sitting here in Hermosillo at my little table on the patio with the spiders and the ants. It’s the Catholic holy time, Lent, March 24th. The…
Gross-Breesen, Part 3
INT. MANSION---NIGHT Dinner is being served. The young men are served by the girls who then seat themselves and all begin to eat. DAVID Is anyone…
The Perfect Santa, Part 1
Hilda expertly pulled her long grey hair into a ponytail and then fastened it into a neat bun. She penciled in her eyebrows that were no longer…
Sewing Workshop
My friend Samson of Sasamón, one day he pointed out an apartment in Madrid run only by women, such as “Seamstress Workshop,” telling me that “If they…
