Yesterday my guy received five crank calls that made no sense to him.
The phone calls originated from a CA town where we’ve never lived. The first two calls were hang-ups, then three voice mails, delivered in a shaky female voice: “I have your card. Please call me back.”
“My card? What card?” he worried. He checked his wallet; all of his credit cards were in place. Continue reading
Many of you have encouraged me to put together some of my personal flash stories (some of them posted here in Roughwighting) into a book of short (short) stories. Continue reading
“Are you sure you want to go?” I ask Violet.
“Oh, yes, the evening sounds delightful,” she answers in her proper English, with a slight quiver to her voice. Violet’s small, hazel eyes beam, the thin white hair on her head moving as if in a breeze as she nods her head.
“Dinner might be enough. You’ve just only been feeling better,” I suggest. Violet and I became friends while she attended my writing classes. We’re a strange combination: she is an 80-year-old widow from New Zealand and works in a New Age city bookstore; I’m married, decades younger, and work in the suburbs.
“I read the book, Violet. It’s a sweet romance, but it’s sad too. I’m not sure the movie…” Continue reading
I see the older woman walk slowly up our driveway, step by leaden step, watching out for icy patches. Her head is down, so I can only see the top of her forest-green hood, attached to the overcoat she wears. It’s big on her, and I wonder if it belonged to a son now living in another town, probably another state. Continue reading
Let’s start with the Pretty Things of the past year. In January and February, most of us saw no Signs of what was to become. In fact, as 2020 began I hoped that love and kindness would become The Signature of All Things.
February found me believing that I was at Such a Fun Age. I became The Sun Sister, jumping in the ocean with the humpback whales on The (Hawaiian) Island, staring in awe at The Starless Sea as my guy and I hiked cliffs and beaches. The near future was Hid from Our Eyes.
Continue reading
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