Category: fiction

Catfish Charlie’s — Part 6 of 6

NOW – 9:49 AM, Sunday. “Still no word from him?” Stella never said Clint’s name if she could help it. Stella and Clint hated each other. He would’ve fired her, but no one made the fish quite like Stella. She was the lead cook. Firing her would be stupid. He’d lose half his customers. She… Continue reading Catfish Charlie’s — Part 6 of 6

Catfish Charlie’s — Part 5 of 6

NOW — 8:27 PM, Saturday. What is that sound? Clint looked up from his desk. He was getting ready to lock up. That almost sounds like people clapping but doing it softly. The main dining room was enormous. Nearly as tall as it was wide and deep. It sat just left of the smaller dining… Continue reading Catfish Charlie’s — Part 5 of 6

Catfish Charlie’s — Part 4 of 6

EARLIER – 6:14 PM, Saturday. Clint dreamt. But unlike his other dreams, he knew he was dreaming. A part of him prayed it was only a dream. In his dream, he and his new friend from Morrocco go to his small office. The cash was still there, still uncounted. Despite promising he wouldn’t, Merle began… Continue reading Catfish Charlie’s — Part 4 of 6

Catfish Charlie’s — Part 3 of 6

EARLIER – 6:01 PM Saturday. The door opened, and a dark-skinned man walked in. He walked straight up to the counter, stood before Clint, and stared at the comprehensive menu overhead. His lips moved as he read the items. Figures. I’m ready to close, and I get some dumbass foreigner at the last minute. Screw… Continue reading Catfish Charlie’s — Part 3 of 6

Catfish Charlie’s — Part 2 of 6

NOW – 8:13 PM, Saturday. “What is that?” Clint said, wiping his eyes. The smoke from his Cuban wouldn’t leave his office, regardless of how he arranged the fan at the door. He was counting the cash and separating the bills into stacks. He sat at the manager’s desk in his office. There was far… Continue reading Catfish Charlie’s — Part 2 of 6

Catfish Charlie’s – Part 1 of 6

Earlier. 5:56 PM, Saturday. Damn you, Herschel, Clint thought. The curse had become a mantra he repeated while he swept up–sweep, sweep, sweep, curse Herschel. Herschel was his evening cook. The man had called in. His wife had had some complications with her delivery. Boo Hoo, as if they need a fifth child. Clint would’ve… Continue reading Catfish Charlie’s – Part 1 of 6

Desert Highway (a dream)

In the end, the most surprising thing about the video was that no two people ever remembered it the same. It was a modern-day Rorschach test. It was only three minutes and twelve seconds long, but people saw different things when they recounted what they had watched. One thing everyone agreed on was the video… Continue reading Desert Highway (a dream)

Wave Buddy 1000

What’s this? ‘The Wave Buddy 1000?’” he reads from the empty box on the kitchen island. “Did you buy more stuff we don’t need?” he says. He picks up the gadget’s thin instruction manual and skims it. She’s rooting around in the refrigerator. The gadget is a bowl-shaped, metallic mesh grid; he assumes it must… Continue reading Wave Buddy 1000

Closet

Helen slams the closet door, leans against it, her heart racing. Then she is overtaken by what her father had called the “little girl shakes.” She steps away from the closet, and takes several deep breaths. She doesn’t enjoy remembering her father – he was not a good man. “I am a leaf on the… Continue reading Closet

Mrs. Henderson

TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO I lost the thread of what she was trying to tell me. All I knew was I’d done something wrong. I must have. She seemed furious at me, and my seven-year-old brain was frantically searching for the magic phrase that would dissipate her anger and make her stop screaming at me. If… Continue reading Mrs. Henderson

Henry’s Heart

Again, the hooded figure beside me raised his right hand and spun his index finger furiously fast, and reality went away for several seconds. I felt myself sliding sideways through space and time. I was like Ebenezer. But, unlike Dickens’s curmudgeon, my sin hadn’t been greed. No, my biggest weakness had always been fear. I’d… Continue reading Henry’s Heart

Vaya con Dios Maria

“Good morning, Juliana,” I say. She doesn’t hear me, or she’s just being rude; either way, she doesn’t answer me. We’ve been working together for years now. She works in produce; I’m a cashier. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time she said two words to me. There’s Raoul. He’s a jerk. I nod at… Continue reading Vaya con Dios Maria

A House with Enough Space

“I need lots of space,” Trish had told me at our first meeting. I had to solve her problem. My reputation was on the line. I wanted to point out that if she bought a house with more space, she would fill it as well, and soon, she’d be looking to upsize again. But people’s… Continue reading A House with Enough Space

Calling-In

There’s no way she will believe me, but I should probably call Terryn and tell her I won’t be at work today. Yeah, you have bigger problems than that now, buddy, my inner wise ass says. I pick up my phone and call work. “Happy Massage, this Terryn. Would you like to book a massage… Continue reading Calling-In

Donated to Science

Why did I drop that damn gun? For the most part, I feel nothing. Occasionally, a few grains of coffee will get in my eyes, or a splash of water from the fill tank will slap against my forehead. I have only the loosest perception of light through the white plastic enclosing my head. They… Continue reading Donated to Science