Eating alone at the wobbly table in the breakroom, I count each one of the ways in which I hate Jerry and forgive him for every single one. His perfect hair, forgiven; his sculpted chest, forgiven; his loud electronic music that overflows from his headphones, forgiven; his right-wing political stance, forgiven; his awful opinion on most things, forgiven; his inappropriate humor, forgiven; his deviancy on the internet, his gym obsession, his self-obsessed arrogance, his narcissism, his pseudo-intellectual podcasts, his cheating on his wife with my ex-wife, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven.… more
Author Archives: Ben Drevlow
I’m Not Going To Ask You
FICTION by John McCarthyIt was ten degrees and dark outside as Liam and Nicole drove down Highway 34 in Liam’s truck. The air and ground, snow-thick and dimensionless, disappeared the road and filled the couple with a sense of having travelled too far into somewhere unknown, outside the boundaries of what was allowed by physical law. December 23rd—and… more
A Confused Protestor in Front of Morton’s Steakhouse Slams ‘Carnivore’ Brett Kavanaugh
FICTION by Bethany BrunoA large crowd has gathered outside of the Morton’s Steakhouse in downtown D.C. Protesters, hell bent on disturbing the life of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. One man, with megaphone in hand, joins them to make his opinion on the pressing matter heard. Man with Megaphone (MM): Brothers and Sisters of the Revolution! Enough is… more
CAGING RESPLENDENCE
FICTION by T. L. Sherwood“When the stock market roars again, I’m prepared.” John Jacobs, on the porch at dusk, says things he thinks I like to hear. “Did I ever tell you a quetzal’s beauty is no match for you?” I tell him I’m no bird. He nods. A branch of magnolia waves in the heavy air. I take… more
Old Familiars
FICTION by Daniel McKayThe sound passed almost unheard, swept up in the mid-morning air as though the wind itself had compassionately intervened. Briefly, Frank wondered if he’d imagined it, but he knew that was just his mind edging away. There was no doubt on the matter. None. The horse’s forehoof had hit the pony girl’s shinbone. He’d seen… more
A Great Man
FICTION by John CountsFor many years after the release of the award-winning motion picture Dances With Wolves, Dad believed he was descended from Native Americans. We are not, but that didn’t stop him from conducting hours of blundering research on the early Internet in an attempt to validate such claims. He found a sepia-toned picture of a tall… more
Papa Padding
FICTION by David WilliamsonWhen Donald skates, he flies. He cuts arcs into the pavement and pushes past the parked cars in the lot in wide curving strides. He calls out to kids blocking his path. “Right,” he says, and they step aside and let Donald glide past. He crouches, pushes off with one leg, swings an arm on… more
Swelter
FICTION by TJ FullerAlan told the priest in the latticed shadow, the bus driver in the afternoon glare, one coworker while the coffee percolated, and another when the copier broke down. What he felt did not letup. He booked a flight to New Orleans and told a shoeless man in the middle seat, a boy selling bottles of… more
What They’ll Do For Yours
FICTION by Joseph Charles MollicaAfter the tires stop screeching she heard what she was sure was splatter. She left mother’s soup on the stove and went to the window and then to the door and then she was quickly across the front yard to the edge of the lawn. The sun was fiery and luminous and a small plane… more
The Break
FICTION by Drew ColesOn their last weekend together, two fourth-grade boys sneak into the woods searching for a mythical creature with the power to grant wishes. Leif feels childish for entertaining the idea, but he would follow his friend to the end of the earth if asked. Creed has spent afternoons at the library and nights on the… more
