Short Fiction
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Geoffrey walked down the crowded aisle. Faces turned his way and smiled. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Suddenly Geoffrey was back in middle school going to his first high school party. Angela his bio lab partner had invited him to a pool party at her girlfriend’s Joanna’s house. Angela was perfection, flawless tan skin
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Mrs. Bradley lived in Room 325 of the Lilac Manor Senior Care. As a hospice chaplain I visited her regularly. With translucent skin and delicate bones, Mrs. Bradley reminded me of a baby bird woman. She listened to me politely each week waiting for me to go away. One afternoon I asked, “I know you’re
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Platters of gooey deviled eggs jostled congealing casseroles on the overladen dining room table. Grandma’s house was as crowded as the table. Aunts, uncles, random old people, and cousins he’d didn’t remember huddled in groups talking and eating. Eyes down, Ryan slipped between clusters. He found his dad first drinking brown liquor in the backyard
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The inky earth trembled as the King of the Undead thrust a ghastly hand from his grave. Clutching a solitary blood rose, a second hand writhed to the surface. As he clutched his marble resting place, he lifted his maw and roared, “Hell is too small for Dad Ragu!”“Cut!” Ramsay shouted gripping his ginger locks.
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Well you have to quit fooling around now and go to the damn doctor,” Frankie said.Dustin rubbed his temples as the growing goose egg on his forehead throbbed.“I’m fine, I just need to sleep.”“You slept like a log last night. Go to doctor, bae. “Dustin half listened to his wife while remembering the restless night
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He could have had love but instead he chose onions. Sassy reds, sensual walla wallas, andcoy yellow onions lolled on his granite countertop. Long and hard, his Wusthof was slick with sweet onion juice as Chris sliced. Stefany, with the pouty lips and the annoying voice that always sounded as if every sentence was a
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You take a breath, steady your nerves, and head for the door at the end of the corridor. Each cushioned step whispered a memory.2Handsum: morning booHoneymoon: I love waking up to you.2Handsum: me 2Honeymoon: I’m heading out to school. Love you!2Handsum: 😘 Your palms are sweating. You rubbed shaking hands against your favorite jeans and
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Having done this before I convinced myself that nerves were unusual but not unexpected. I felt Jerri before my shop door opened. Her energy was crisp and bubbly. I could feel something else mixed with her energy something odd. The last time I felt odd energy with Jerri we had to figure out how to
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“You sure is ugly,” Jerri mocked. “Why are you so ugly?” She sat down the grimy fortune teller toy on her counter and returned to her box of treasures. Rainbows from the dozen chandeliers hung from her ship’s ceiling played across the vintage windup. When Jerri left HR to open an antique shop she hadn’t
circular staircase 