Walter loved to walk down State Street. Especially on days with such clear blue skies. Of course, plenty of other people liked to come here on a nice day, too. That was half the fun. He could simply shuffle along; looking like the old man he was and enjoying the sights.
On impulse, Emma looked straight up at a clear blue sky, but her mask slipped a little so it was hard to see. She reached up and shifted it, and the buildings of State Street came into view, but feathers obscured the sky. To think somewhere out there her father was doing his best to come home. They would finally be a family again. She couldn’t wait to see him.
Ethan Zempel couldn’t find a pay phone anywhere. What had the world come to when you couldn’t even call home for want of a simply phone. Not that he was sure the change in his pocket would be enough, even if he could find such a rare beast as a pay phone in the wilds of Kentucky.
What a beautiful day with clear skies but mild temperatures. That meant plenty of foot traffic for Jim to spange from. He had his can out and flew a great sign. Bills and coins dropped into his can every little while. Life couldn’t be better.
“Look, kid. This might be a boarding house, but it isn’t a public building. You can’t just come and go as you please.” One of Mrs. H,’s borders stopped Emma in the front hall. The blood in Emma’s veins froze. Her chest hurt and it was hard to breathe. Though she didn’t really know this woman, she knew who did and who did not belong in this house.
By the time Miranda made it home from the ad agency, she’d broken the heel of her newest Charline De Luca shoes – the red ones with the pony tail of fringe hanging off the back. Before that she’d taken a verbal beating from her boss for ordering the wrong size graphic sheets for a set of billboards, and spent hours dodging a client who wanted more than to place an order and have lunch with her. She was hungry, […]
Kate and Justin were holding hands when they walked into the practice room. Tracy noticed it right away, but didn’t really think much about it until she overheard Gene’s quietly surprised “Oh.” “So, you two are dating now?” Tracy asked mostly to get it out of the way. “Yes!” Kate preened while Justin smiled quietly.
Bruce felt like a total idiot carrying around his latest creation. It might be a glorious confection of feathers, lace, ribbon, beads, and satin, with an extra layer of feathers just for emphasis, but it looked silly in the hands of a rough, tough dude. Seriously. People were staring. Luckily, he caught up with Emma before he reached the square. Unluckily, her reception was chilly.
Walter woke up screaming. It had happened so many times over the years that no one bothered to check on him anymore. He lay in the hushed dark, panting and in a cold sweat, but not so much as a shadow flickered. Still, he reached across the bed with one hand, seeking a wife who had died long ago.
“Can I get a glass of water from you?” Drew used it as an excuse to follow Walter into the kitchen, but he really was thirsty. “Yeah, sure.” Walter opened a cupboard. “You must think I’m a total idiot. Crawling out a window without my pants. So lewd.” He shook his head sadly. “I don’t remember that at all.” “It’s no worse than some of the things I’ve done,” Drew assured him. “Yeah, well. Drugs will do that to you.” […]
“The first time he got away from me, don’t laugh, he hid in the closet.” Donny grinned for a minute, then seemed to realize no one smiled back. “Hey, he could have fooled anyone. I swear I checked everywhere. Checked the closets twice. He had to have moved from one to another, always one step ahead of me.” “Just goes to show I’m not as stupid as you think I am,” Walter said. His smile wasn’t entirely nice, but not […]
Donny didn’t like the look of this new guy. He had “cop” written all over him. But it was too late to hide the evidence. Donny had been toking for at least an hour. Pot smoke filled the air of his employer’s living room. Donny glanced at Ned, his employer. No reaction. None from the other guy either. They all just stood around the couch with their heads in the cloud. Well, he had his green card, anyway. If this […]
He looked like Martin. Or maybe not. This guy had sandy brown hair where Martins had been more of a light black. This guy was a lot taller. His face more angular. But there was something in his eyes a little off, the way it had been with Martin when he wasn’t sober. Walter wasn’t at all sure he wanted to meet this guy. “My name is Andrew Banks. You can call me Drew.” The druggie stuck out his hand […]
“He knew.” Walter nodded to himself. “Right from the beginning, he knew.” It happened fifty years ago, but Walter couldn’t seem to make himself let it go. Of all the things he and Martin did together, signing up to serve in Viet Nam was probably the dumbest. Venomous snakes, devious enemies, and friends who turned on you filled the place.
Vin could feel his resolve wilt. He had finally accepted full responsibility for his party in Drew’s problems, but faced with Drew’s blank stare, he couldn’t seem to come up with a game plan. “Drew. Drew, you there?” Vin snapped his fingers in front of Drew’s face a time or two. No reaction, not even a shiver.