Worst Valentine’s Gift EVER

Valentine's Day, valentine's candy, romanceWhen Dirk handed it to her, Joyce didn’t know whether to scream or cry.

“Happy Valentine’s,” he said, with a sweet smile on his face.

They’d only been dating two months, but both of them had felt a strong connection, a sense that this romance could lead to something more than kisses and cozy strolls along the Charles River.

But now, this: a soft warm fuzzy gray scarf. Joyce held it out with her index finger and thumb. Continue reading →

Doughnut Karma

doughnuts, blogging, “I’m telling you, these are the best doughnuts in town,” my Florida friend claims.

“You know I don’t like doughnuts,” I whine. We haven’t seen each other in several years. Once roomies in college, now decades later Sue lives in FL and I live a thousand miles away. Finally, I find a break from work to visit her for three days. And she wants me to drive with her to a new doughnut shop.

The day is stormy and cool, not what I expect from a Florida winter break. Sue drives slowly and rather erratically in her SUV. 

“Um, are driving rules different here?” I ask, putting my foot on the imaginary break as she pulls a hard right into a parking lot. Continue reading →

The Interview

interview, interview room, creative writingWhen the woman on the phone asks for a meeting, I envision a comfortable table, a set of four stiff-backed chairs, a pitcher of ice water with four to six glasses, and a smallish window where some gloomy ray of sunlight strains to show through dusty blinds.

In other words, a setting like most of the interviews I’ve endured these past six months. Continue reading →

Missed Perception

Boston, flying to BostonOn one of my hold-my-breath-until-we-land flights a few months ago, I was the last passenger to enter the plane (my normal routine) and sat next to a nice-looking man who barely looked up.

But I looked him up and down, gauging how well the flight would go. Not garrulous, check. Not nervous, check. Not a drinker, check. All good to go. trees, New England, winter

But as I placed my purse under my seat and opened my book, I took offense. Perhaps this man – mid-30s – dismissed me already for being one of those things: a talker or a nervous flier or worse, just an “older woman” who was – dismissible.  Continue reading →