They are the junk-baller, the relic, the trickster, the reinvention, the resurrection. A synonym for “reliever” could be “healer.”

Nobody could be quite certain where it started, but Mr. Met was the first anyone noticed.

Nobody could be quite certain where it started, but Mr. Met was the first anyone noticed.

You could tell Heather was a catcher by looking at her thighs, but she brought an infielder's mitt to the game that day.

You could tell Heather was a catcher by looking at her thighs, but she brought an infielder's mitt to the game that day.

The birds lift their blue feet in a slow and deliberate seduction. 

The birds lift their blue feet in a slow and deliberate seduction. 

Gravity bends light. Gravitational attraction between masses results in a warping of space and time.

Gravity bends light. Gravitational attraction between masses results in a warping of space and time.

Excerpt from the novel, Squish.

Excerpt from the novel, Squish.

The nails on my pinky toes are just nubbins, really — sort of shapeless blobs of keratin that grow in a little pit at the end of each toe.

The nails on my pinky toes are just nubbins, really — sort of shapeless blobs of keratin that grow in a little pit at the end of each toe.

The boy is sprawled across the woman’s bed . . . 

The boy is sprawled across the woman’s bed . . . 

She wasn’t a real pretty girl, but it was Valentine’s and a Saturday night and we had booze.

She wasn’t a real pretty girl, but it was Valentine’s and a Saturday night and we had booze.

There were reports of a vagrant living in a bathhouse.

There were reports of a vagrant living in a bathhouse.

I don’t know if my husband and I are on the way to church or a hangover.

I don’t know if my husband and I are on the way to church or a hangover.

The bass line to “If I Was Your Girlfriend” curled into a smaller ball and pulled the thin blanket in tighter.

The bass line to “If I Was Your Girlfriend” curled into a smaller ball and pulled the thin blanket in tighter.

Excise it.  Use a cheese wire . . . 

Excise it.  Use a cheese wire . . .