Fiction
The Authocalypse
Something was missing from my life. It was gin. The cashier put the gin in the bag. She tried putting something else into it. “Wait—what’s that? ” I said. “I didn’t …
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Blue Fortuna
“I finally abandoned my dream of celebrity when I realized I had talent.” —Napoleon Star, A Life They still had bookstores in those days. Vand’s was a block from my …
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How to Become a Mascot
First, quit your day job and go back to school, even though you’re thirty-two already. Do this because your boyfriend is dead and you will never get to run your …
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An Ostrich
When Dad died, I talked to an ostrich. In the waiting room, an ostrich sat down. “Who let this ostrich in? ” I said. The janitor stared at me. The ostrich …
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The Dream Museum
“You’ll be a disappointment till the day I die.” Mom loved me to death but . . . One time, we got into a big row. She said something I didn’t really like, …
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The Last Cut
Winter sunlight streamed in through the plate-glass windows at the front of the salon; it was early still, and Eric’s new client Cara—naturally chestnut, ivory skin—sat swathed in a black …
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Prends Donc Courage
Miraculous in August that the swamplands can support life. In their heat and steam, even marsh marigolds wilt, native birds hide under mud. Twenty years of this climate have driven …
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