Nancy stood out on the deck as she savored the smell of hot tar and car fumes. Overlooking the parking lot, she could see as well as hear the roar of the highway in the not-far distance.
Escape. Continue reading
creative writing
Oxen Mystic
I woke up in the middle of the night as sick as a dog. Wait. My dog never got this sick. Henry, my Golden, had the constitution of an ox and the compassion of a Mystic, so he followed me from the bedroom as I raced to the bathroom.
I don’t remember what happened next, except when I awakened I had a huge headache, an even bigger lump on my head, and someone breathing into my nose. Continue reading
The Potion
All six writers received the invitation on the same day and immediately called each other: “Are you going? Will you bring your ingredient?”
As instructed, not one writer told the other what she was requested to bring.
On Halloween night, a round iron pot sat in the center of the library conference table where the writers met once a week. Joellen splashed in two quarts of Diet Coke. Danielle measured and added a tablespoon of vinegar. Continue reading
Paul in First Class
I’d been in love with this man since I was 12. But he was inaccessible. The years passed and I fell in love with someone my age – several times. Bruce. Jackson. Married him. He turned out to not be what he seemed. We divorced. Then I married Derek, a man who was more than he seemed. And he seemed pretty darn wonderful.
So, imagine my surprise when after Derek and I were married for a few years, my brother announced nonchalantly, “It’s amazing how much Derek looks like Paul.”
Continue reading
The Passageway
When Dorie talked to her minister about the passageway, he pooh-poohed it. “We don’t believe in things like that,” he said in a patronizing tone. “New agey – has nothing to do with religion.” Continue reading
roughwighting 