Sam was teetering underneath that fragile leave-stay threshold. She had to make it just past that…… more
Sam was teetering underneath that fragile leave-stay threshold. She had to make it just past that…… more
It’s when Mitch brings her to Barry and Minnie’s 14th Annual Grillin’ & Chillin’ Cookout that Barry begins to covet. A childish craving, the kind that happens when another’s new plaything renders yours boring and lame and obsolete. He takes her in from behind mirrored shades. The way she laughs at their dumb jokes, like… more
A boy under the cancerous spell of his abusive father. A town under the deprived grip of misogyny and violence. Both stunted and silenced with fear.… more
No one broke Jesus’ legs, but someone made Him bleed. … more
There was barely anyone on the highway. Tony felt it was a mixed blessing: he wanted to need to pay attention, to not think about things other than working within the flow of traffic, but he also wanted to get there quickly. He remembered something a teammate, Liam, had once told him: to be good,… more
There was purity and punishment to fighting and a release valve at the end of his fists.
OR…
Sometimes birds lose their way or have an accident.
Sometimes they become victims of predators.… more
The elevator is full to bursting. Intolerably hot is how you would describe it, if pressed. Wall to wall. Elbow meet elbow. You’re eyeballing the orderlies and patients and visitors all around you, trying to dead-reckon their weight and then compare to the oxidated inspection plaque that lists the elevator’s carrying capacity as Max 4… more
I might have let timidity be my guide had Hannie not started in with her Saturday sojourns. She just started disappearing. I would be in the backyard mowing the lawn or moving boxes into the attic. I would return to the kitchen for something or to make lunch and she would be gone.… more
All I can do is search the room for someone who can help me. But Marie went home a half hour ago, Saul’s sitting with his head buried in an ice chest, and all the cousins are dancing, bunched up in front of the DJ, wasted. I’ve seen worse—it’s Purim—but it might be time to panic.… more