The Goat in the Closet

After Sadie Hawkins bonfire and dance, I let the Goat hang in the closet and tried to ignore it. It was getting kind of scary. Every time I opened the closet to get dressed for school or something, there it was with its horsehair shagginess and empty mask eyes and goat mouth grin. It made … Continue reading The Goat in the Closet →

Jim’s Ham and Eggs

I would not calumny Jim Fradering’s good name with the accusation that he could cook. He couldn’t. Jim’s idea of a meal not prepared by some other body was deli ham, mayonnaise, and white bread. In camp he had been known to boil eggs that gnawed like rubber, tasted like iron sulfide, and could be … Continue reading Jim’s Ham and Eggs →

The Quest is the Acquisition

“I am surprised not to see Diane Bill’s picture here,” Phil said. He stood in front of one of the glass front cabinets that Derby Milicance had placed against the wall of his living room. He said it loudly because he was speaking to Derby who was in the kitchen checking the casserole and putting … Continue reading The Quest is the Acquisition →

She is that Gullible or the Story of a River

The Last Lost River rises from waning glaciers, snowmelt, and springs in the Deception Mountains of Montana and drops precipitously and swiftly, with an anger and fury that only the most avid fishermen dare challenge, into the valley that shares its name. There it slowly changes character becoming first a rugged swift stream. Then, just … Continue reading She is that Gullible or the Story of a River →

Every Old Day is a New Day

Once, back in the day a skinny, flat chester had rammed her knee into his crouch. That had hindered things.

Denny and the ADA

The waiting area for flight Delta 3332 was absolutely mobbed. It was standing room only. There were squalling kids, frazzled mothers, and fathers so deeply in denial they were either nose deep into Red October or scanning the flesh. There were the usual assortment of business travelers, leaning over the laptops proped on their knees, … Continue reading Denny and the ADA →

On the Seventh Day

Eric was frosted. The new young Bishop had not asked him to narrate the Christmas program. For the first time in twenty-seven years, the Bishop had not called on him, with his trained voice, to read the verses of Luke and introduce the Elders, the women, and the children each in their turn. For the … Continue reading On the Seventh Day →

A December Twenty-First Argument

“It’s the Win’er’s Solice today,” Bert Osburned said. “I think. Isn’t it?” He pulled his heavy brows down over his little eyes, a serious frown, which is about the way he made all his proclamations. He wore a wide brim hat and scuffed boots and had been a history teacher at the high school. Since … Continue reading A December Twenty-First Argument →

Andi Finally Ballistics her Future MIL

Listen, Irene. If I was just playing him, do you think I’d be out here in this walking the dogs? Jesus! If I were just playing, I’d be trailer trashing south for Arizona instead of here in winter walking his goddamned dogs. I made a commitment on him—even if he is tardy on that himself. … Continue reading Andi Finally Ballistics her Future MIL →

“Cynosure” Fumbles a Masterpiece

Eric Studdard was working on his three hundred and twenty-third masterpiece. This one would be a winner for sure. He had spent the better part of an hour on it and the poem was currently two hundred and ninety-seven words long, with thirty-one lines and seven and ¾ completed verses. It was composed along the … Continue reading “Cynosure” Fumbles a Masterpiece →