Category: Short Story

Evelyn pushed the stroller over the cobblestone streets of the North End. Coffee and cannoli sweetened the harbor breeze, but her ward, Bella, watched for the people. The wheels on the cobbles drew the shopkeepers to their windows to watch the retired Pilates instructor promenade. Shoppers who were new to the area, or in town…

I came to learn, please don’t kill me. I can go away until the lecture is over, if you leave the diagrams. I can study them by the light of the Exit sign, you won’t have to leave the lights on. I’ll just wait over here. Don’t worry, I’m not paying attention. Please don’t take…

Congratulations! Your contributions to the company have propelled us to new heights and new frontiers, and if you can pardon the mixed metaphors, we would be delighted if you took to the helm. While we cannot negotiate salary and benefits, we recognize your tireless work ethic and commitment to excellence and have therefore decided to…

“Expect the unexpected,” Mom said afterward. Your side had two lanes. You occupied the right. Down the road, to the left, a feeder street fed into yours. It had a Stop sign that people ignored as they barged into the left lane of your side of the road. But, if you stuck to the right,…

“Okay or Painless?” He handed my questionnaire back. The pen chained to the clipboard resembled a chrysalis, one of the silver ones that look dead until the pupa splits it. “What’s the difference?” Gil had made the appointment. She said I needed to relax. She didn’t say how. The receptionist pointed to a bisected observation…

It starts as a joke, chides the schoolmarm voice in your head. Her hands smell of salad dressing and are colder than ice. You learned in Health that women’s digits run on the cold side because their body heat concentrates at the womb. But there’s nothing inviting to the schoolmarm’s maternity. She’s all socks and…