Category Archives: Fiction

So Paula assumed Don was eligible when she sent the first email. She had no marital aspirations herself (having not succeeded in the institution, more than once). She knew he was poor (she lost the money she invested through him, … Continue reading →

She isn’t a Luddite, but Paula didn’t start using email till 1998. She’d been a pen-and-ink type of writer (she used a fountain pen because she didn’t want to press hard, and she held the cap in her left hand … Continue reading →

It was one of those end-of-college parties. Potluck clean-out-the-fridge fare, with a congenial group of graduating seniors. Gail and Jean were giving up their northside apartment, and with a little help they put together spaghetti and salad and garlic bread … Continue reading →

Peter thought Lilah was going to go camping with him over spring break. For the last three years they’d gone together to Death Valley, and they’d been planning to do it again. The wilderness is the arena of Peter’s competence. … Continue reading →

Peter had invited Lilah to dinner that night. They had a reservation at a good restaurant. She was just about ready to go when he arrived at 6:30, but he wanted to make a phone call. She half-attended as she … Continue reading →

Ostensibly, Peter called because he was seeking his stuff. That was a transparent device; the only items he’d left at Lilah’s were some ratty old exercise clothes. Peter is inattentive to apparel. He is accustomed to leaving bits of himself … Continue reading →

Coincidentally, Duane made the decision to try to get home at just about the same moment that SuddenJim knocked on Deirdre’s door. Connie had been nagging Duane about how important it was for him to be home that night, for … Continue reading →

Connie called about nothing that night, and Jim didn’t call about something. Without any warning he showed up nearly half an hour early. It was nothing personal; in his perpetual fear of forgetting or being late, SuddenJim often arrived early. … Continue reading →