Stories

• It Takes a Developing Strength [Neutral Spaces Magazine] My wife is learning the drums, I hope she never stops.
• Dress Form [Scaffold] A second version of my wife is introduced into the bedroom.
• Unkept Uncle [House of Vlad] One long sentence.
• In The Yard [Rejection Letters] The floods keep coming, the family is out scouting, and there are still neighbors to disappoint.
• No Nightmare [Juked] He's pretty sure he should untie the stranger, but less sure he'll survive it.
• Molly on the Mantle [Peach Magazine] A pet portraitist borrows some confidence from his artist roommate and tries to paint a dog as something more than a dog-shaped collection of parts.
• Welcome to Warehouse [FENCE] A fresh start, contingent on fingerprinting and bodily fluids.
• Debted [Maudlin House] Zac Smith has a credit card balance, a toddler named Steve Jobs, and some good ideas about what else they might need to buy.
• Deflations [HAD] The tire shop weighs in on whether everything has to be so urgent (yes).
• Joiner [Hobart] Discovering another thing you're apparently supposed to have an opinion about.
• Hairstyle Eras [New World Writing] A drastic haircut revives a long marriage's appetite.
• Reign in Bliss [Hobart] A man decides not to leave the shower and works out the practicalities. Like that episode of Seinfeld but not really.
• Three Tinies [Neutral Spaces Magazine] A child's elbow, an exhaustive maintenance routine, and a knee that won't stop bleeding.
• A Thousand Percent Sure [Maudlin House] A runner recognizes her husband's new boss as the driver she once flipped off. Neither woman will let it go.
• Happy Accident [Back Patio] A toddler gets into the bottle return, and his dad sees an opportunity to stretch the grocery budget and practice some fine motor skills.
• It Became Medically Necessary [HAD] A patient takes the flossing advice seriously, then more seriously. A story about making your dentist proud.
• All Of Us Have It [Hobart] A diagnosis gives a family permission to struggle. People come over with food and know what to do.
• Body Betrayal [X-R-A-Y] A story about falling apart.
• Higher Power [Instant, A Literary Magazine] Getting to know mom's new boyfriend after dropping her off at AA.