The Empty Table I stood in my dining room at 7:30 PM, staring at eight empty chairs arranged around a table I’d spent three weeks planning. The candles had burned […]
The Freeloader I stood in the doorway of my own home, watching my husband throw my designer suits onto the front lawn like they were garbage bags. His face was […]
The Empty Chair: A Christmas Story The pie was still warm in my hands when I realized something was wrong. I had just finished an eight-hour drive through weather that […]
The Scent of Bitter Almonds The fork felt heavier than it should have in my hand. I stared at the slice of almond cake on the porcelain plate before me—perfectly […]
Let the Heirs Handle It The filing cabinet drawer stuck the way it always did, requiring that specific upward pull while simultaneously pushing left. I’d opened this drawer a thousand […]
The Seventeen Seconds The sawdust settled slowly in the afternoon light, filtering through the garage windows like snow that would never reach the ground. Shane Jones ran his hand along […]
The Uniform The bridal suite smelled of hair spray and gardenias. Sinatra drifted from a Bluetooth speaker wedged between champagne flutes and lipstick tubes. I stood near the window, watching […]
The Christmas That Changed Everything Christmas morning has a particular quality to it—a kind of magic that softens the edges of reality and makes you believe, for just a few […]