“Qui Gattino”
Giuseppe was a cat. A stray, to be exact. He was born in an alley near the Mercato Civico di San Benedetto, the Beverly Hills of stray cat neighborhoods. And mio Dio, did he look the part. Eyes as blue as the Mediterranean. A calico coat straight from a Gucci runway. Features so symmetrical, he could […]
Zig Zag Openings
I was calling to see if he wanted to buy a new DSL package, but like everyone else, he already had an adequate one. His name was Douglas. He told me he was a retired quilt designer and asked me out. He didn’t seem to view the way we met as a negative. He didn’t […]
Collecting Earwax
You seem to like collecting so I could, I suppose, suggest that you might consider collecting earwax. It can, after all, be scooped out. That way you could keep it in a jar and stored on a shelf alongside your other containers full of belly button fluff and miscellaneous foot scrapings. This would allow you […]
Birthday Beer
My wife called and told me to come home. I finished my birthday beer and drove home and the driveway and yard were filled with cars. Some surprise birthday party. I grabbed a drink from someone’s hand and walked around the gathering. I looked and these were not my closest friends, in fact, not my […]
This is Life
Mamma stayed in bed again today. Papà says to let her sleep. He says five out of eight children isn’t so bad. Sister will do Mamma’s chores for now. And at least now, Papà says, I have my own bed. People come and people go. This is life, and we must move forward, for if […]
Spaghetti House
When Maria regained consciousness in the hospital bed, she didn’t understand why she was there. The last thing she recalled was having dinner at Spaghetti House with her friend Anna followed by some last minute Christmas shopping for her two grandchildren. When a patient care representative came in to get information, Maria debated if she […]
Watershed
In another, more perfect universe, Charles doesn’t live in an army surplus tent by the Los Angeles River. In that reality, he’s an engineer who designs bridges for his boss Mr. Crawley, whose daughter Ginny is a friend. Their kids go on playdates, and they sit on the edge of playgrounds with apple slices in […]
The Creator Will See you Now
There’s a door, adorned with the words ‘What You Deserve Awaits Within.’ You’ve noticed the lack of pain, that had previously been oppressive and omnipresent, and how your breaths are no longer shallow scrambling desperate sighs thrashing through your throat. It occurs to you you’ve died, there can be no doubt. When there really was no getting out of […]