• It’s Only Just A Dream

    The smooth scent of vanilla slides over me. A hand rests on my shoulder and I cover it with mine—trace the bumpy veins on loose, spongy skin. I open my eyes. Grandma kneels beside my chair, dressed in her favorite outfit—blue sweater, matching pumps, and pearl clip-on earrings. I bite my lip. She’s not supposed to be here.

  • Courting Catastrophe

    The gun was small and black. It looked plastic.  A party raged in the apartment next door—music blared, people laughed. Oblivious to the nightmare transpiring in my living room. My mind sprinted forward, sorting through the possibilities of how the next few minutes could play out, while my body melted into the couch, overloaded with the mental pictures my mind produced. I should yell. Run. Do something.

  • Fatal Attraction

    This summer I took a trip up north. From Texas, I flew to Wisconsin, picked up my mom, and drove her to our family reunion in Ohio. Before our road trip began, we met my in-laws for breakfast at an old-fashioned diner in Sun Prairie. We enjoyed a great visit swapping stories and photos with my mother-in-law, Diane, and her new husband, Bob. After the meal and four cups of coffee, I excused myself to run to the little girl’s room before we got on the road. I took a quick glance in the mirror after I washed my hands. Not finding any food in my teeth or toilet paper hanging out…

  • Failing Fast

    A lone piece of pizza taunted me from the cardboard box. A perfect triangle of hot and greasy heaven—mozzarella browned just so. I sidestepped the mouth-watering heap of cheese and pepperoni and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. “Hey,” I yelled to the kids. “Someone come eat this pizza!” No one came. I peeled the banana, shoved it in my mouth, and waited a minute or two for the sound of pounding footsteps on the stairs. The only sound came from my nails as I clicked them against the white Formica countertop, inches from the pizza box. I wandered around the kitchen, gliding past that last slice of pizza…