Office #734
"Hello, what can I do for you?" He walked up to the receptionist's desk and leaned on it with one arm. "I have an appointment with Mr. James Bennett…
Show Your Work, Pattern II: Good Luck
One Wednesday afternoon, Jackson asked Arnold if he would help him move some tables on the weekend from the local used furniture store to the center…
A Feminism’s Carol, Part 1: Bill’s Ghost
I. A priest is addressing the fifty or so people gathered at a cemetery as a coffin is being lowered into the ground. "A precious soul departed our…
Self-Destruction, Part 2
VI. At the police station, a matronly female officer handed me a thin blanket, then insisted I enter a holding cell. It was freezing in that room so…
Night Buyers
The coming New Years’ holidays forced Serega to work as a night vendor at the Christmas tree market. His military pension was usually sufficient for…
Heist!
“Hey, Dean, are you ready to go?” “Yeah, Ed, I guess so.” Damn…is Dean chickening out? We’ve talked about this for weeks and he seemed all set over…
Show Your Work, Pattern I: The Ordinary World
"It is allowed on all hands that there is no known connection between the sensible quantities and the secret powers; and consequently, that the mind…
The Birds and the Bees
Dad threw the knife clattering down between us on the kitchen floor. We were both already oiled down and wearing loincloths. I had a bad feeling…
Natural American Spirits
I wasn’t supposed to be having one. I said I was going to stop. No more, it’s the last one, never again. But the itch was becoming unbearable. I…
Eddie Mann’s Last Halloween
The colors let Eddie Mann know that it was Halloween. The grocery store, which was oppressively dim regardless of the season or time of day, was an…
