[Audio clip: view full post to listen] she turns off her phone after the third call in an hour. she smiles at her date. she has to say something. “my sister wants to know how it’s going.” she’s certain her smile isn’t coming off correctly, that he picks up some sign of discomfort. she adds, [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] william holden is face down in the swimming pool. the police arrive followed by the press. flashbulbs pop. questions go unanswered. gloria swanson creeps down the stairs. an elderly spider, patient, arms held at unnatural angles, ready to dance or cast a spell. her head tilts off center; her [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] when his mother told him a month ago that they were moving to south carolina he was pissed off. beyond pissed off. “next year is senior year! are you kidding me?!” his mother’s tears killed his protest in an instant. he had never seen his mother cry before.
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] the kids screamed that they weren’t tired. he suppressed the flashing urge to drown them in the bathtub, and held on to more modern child-rearing principles. a child at the end of a day of presents, new toys, and two dozen candy canes is little more than a [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] mr. luchesi starts from a shallow sleep. the alarm clock says 3:34 am. that makes two-and-a-half hours sleep he’s managed since crawling into bed at 9:30, out of ideas, resenting his wife for making him put the kids to bed a third night in a row. she sleeps [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] download the original after his third beer, the old records came out. all the best are worn thin from late night listening sessions years ago, eleven college kids crammed in a small room, cigarette smoke, empty beer cans, loud conversations about politics, breakfast cereal, and music: pulling out [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] sally mccarthy bathes her daughter in a shallow tub on the kitchen table. the baby fusses but stops short of crying. as she sponges her tiny hands, sally marvels at the soft palms, just starting to prune. and her uncle carter’s voice speaks up in her memory. “i [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] staring at the floor. frozen. scuffed wood once elegant, now dulled by years of water spraying from the kitchen sink. it’s the eighth floor at liberty lane. frozen. looking down. familiar. elliott came from a family that spent their lives propping up the walls, keeping the ceiling in [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] he paid too much for the green day tickets, but it was worth it. now they’re tucked inside the gift-wrapped book of gary larson cartoons. it took him a week of horse-trading to convince his ex to let james spend his birthday away from her.
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] charlotte woke up crying. her father sits at the end of the couch. his voice is soft, his breath is sweet. the party is quieting down, but there are still adults talking downstairs. charlotte is seven. she dreamt that the house was on fire.
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