Monthly Archive Browsing Month: September 2020

The head custodian rode me hard from the minute I punched in right to the end of my shift, night after night. The son of a bitch moved as quiet as a cat and had the nasty habit of popping out like a jack-in-the-box in places you’d least expect—a stall in the ladies’ room, a…

“Don’t you like it?” He prods the pasta with his fork. “It’s great, Ma. Just like I remember. I’m not so hungry is all.” “You’re so thin,” she says, then trails off. Her eyes drift across the hook that replaced his beautiful hand, move over the ruin of his face, settle on the eyes. The…

Crispy and me see the pile as we turn the block, but he knew this morning something bad was coming.  He wore it on his face like a wince before your mama slaps you. Every school has a Crispy, a kid whose clothes are never clean, who always asks if you want the rest of…

Fog over green hills, the smell of leather, my jacket stiff with its newness, the expensive watch peeping from my cuff as I swing my arms. My dog trots at the end of his lead, his white fur yellow like an old newspaper, his once-supple walk stiffened by age and injury. He knows my pocket…

Uncle Jock and me is proper pished. As usual on the walk back he holds court, telling a thousand stories. And as usual we pass beneath Newark Castle. “Laddie,” he says, putting an arm around me. “You know the odds between an American and a Scot?” “Accents?” “Aye, true. But you see there?” He points…