I bought a storefront in town, a Walgreen's that kicked the bucket some months back. The townspeople speculated on what I'd turn it into.... more

In a walk-in closet, my father's ties were exactly six centimeters apart on wooden dowels. I gently touched the gaps between his ties... more

We'd just eaten a steak dinner. I'd handled the salad and the baked potatoes, my husband had grilled the steaks. Bottle of wine on the table,... more

Sumatra, Indonesia, 1963

The hibiscus hedge is the boundary line the girl is not supposed to cross. Sometimes, for something to... more

Those days I believed in Body over Mind. I believed Mind followed Body because I knew matter could think. I was a cook in this little... more

They think I don't hear their whispers, but I do. Even with a bathroom between our bedrooms, all I have to do is put my ear to the wall... more

I met her on the corner of a street and an avenue. "We didn't fix anything," she told me. She was no-nonsense, a fast-walker,... more

A man had many things hanging off of his body. There were two arms, two legs, a hose. Mostly though there were a number of barbed hooks,... more

It reminds me of the swimming pool game when I was a child, eyes closed, calling, and the others answering as I struggled, not knowing how... more

My mother is in every room of her house. The kitchen keeps her fingerprints in the flour jar, her lipstick stains on the wine... more

Sex and Kindness

Rachel left Mac and walked down the dirt road next to the river. She was leaving him for good. A truck drove... more

Transportation

Come dusk the lie will prevail, and even those who know... more

"I don't really know how to put it across," said the private detective.

Birds of spring flew across the bright sky behind the... more

Miguel speaks Spanish and I speak Spanish and Miguel has no idea I do. He lays block while I bring block... more

ADLERIAN THEORY

A little girl in a red princess-style coat with a checkered lining, aged three. She's on tiptoe on... more

Here is the house. Its siding contains asbestos. Its paint contains lead. This is what we were told every time we got caught... more

"Sometimes things aren't supposed to change," Billy would say, lying in bed while rubbing my back, when we got to talking about... more

We were just out of Williams driving to Flagstaff in the dead of winter in the dead of night when one of us, the driver, shouted the rest... more

There was no place to get it on.

There are bulky strange men in the kitchen, they are laying new black and white... more

The unruly ferns creeping over the porch of the grand old house in Selma, Alabama, didn't fool Allie. Nor the lacy vines hugging the walls... more

The Living Room

This is where we watch TV, where we entertain guests and let them add to the walls. You can see some of the... more

My son thinks he's French.

His accent was cute at first, but it's starting to get on my nerves. If he asks for... more

Cory glares at me across the room. His left eye is swollen and purple. If you look closely you can see his veins throb as... more

If the game of baseball is a narrative in numbers, try this one on for size: on Saturday March 30, 2008,... more

I Telltale
My dad still has the lanky, deceptively thin frame typical of most pitchers, with long, gibbon-like arms – he is 6'2' but... more