Alphabetical stories

Assiduity Thirteen

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My relationship with Uzma exists on several levels, from basic to abstract, from animal magnetism to spiritual journey.

Assiduity Three

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Everybody needs a flaw or two. It builds character.

Assiduity Twelve

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Rasheed changes his mind about working for me. He can't bring himself to break with Uzma. The bond between them is too strong. I admire his loyalty, to her and to her parents. Don turns out to be my most reliable ally. Plus, he brings a ragtag security force with…

Assiduity Twenty

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I experience a presence when walking through the forest . . .

Assiduity Twenty Five

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" . . . it's overcast with scattered rain along the Wabash River as I approach the federal correctional complex . . . "

Assiduity Twenty Four

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The grand piano, . . .

Assiduity Twenty One

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Blue skies greet us as we exit the forest . . .

Assiduity Twenty Seven

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" . . . with twinges of dread and pangs guilt, I worry . . . "

Assiduity Twenty Six

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Uzma and Luv are . . .

Assiduity Twenty Three

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The outside world will intrude . . .

Assiduity Twenty Two

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Warning: reader beware, there's sex in the air.

Assiduity Two

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I'm old enough to be her father.

Assless

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I heard on WUSF,

astral ages

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Life in astral circles

Astrology for a Better Future

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Nobody looks for Gina between the hours of four and five. Her father is on swing shift for the rest of the summer; his two o'clock- dinner plates are soaking in a sinkful of scummy water. Her mother is fanning herself in the shade of the wisteria, most of her…

At a loss

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I used to charm you, hold you in my hand.

At A Loss

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“We need to figure out dad’s funeral arrangements.” Jack’s voice was monotone, as if it wasn’t sure whether it really existed. He paused for a moment; it lasted either a split second or a day. He couldn’t tell.

At a Reading

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His wife leans her head against a beam with her eyes closed while he reads out loud. Her mouth shut tightly, almost twisted shut. She's so weary. She raises her collar and sinks further into her neck. When he shouts, or explodes — nothing. Not

At a supermarket checkout looking through a window on May Day.

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So I missed the May Day parade again.

At a Welsh Wedding

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He was manic, depressive, schizophrenic, bipolar, paranoid, cyclothymic, borderline, or a genius.

At Harbour

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Lulls, and the gulls, amid the tides and their tears (And I join their voices and my heart is run), Though each or neither takes no part in my fears, I join no hands with the beach or the years (And the ships slip near plus yon). Held handfast,…

At Last — My Dream Come True!

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Some fiftysomething woman with a small dog in her arms was waiting for him, backstage. Security hadn't succeeded in restraining her. Strange.

At Least There Will Be Plenty Implied

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Accidental suicide, though. Why, that could happen to anyone.

At Night in the Field

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“Ol’ Betty has a nice set of headlights,” he says with a wink as he springs out of the recliner.

at night, she comes

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My head was swimming with nicotine, the coldness of the first snow, and unfinished love thoughts.

At Play in the Fields of the Lord

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Rothko explored horizons,/ blurring figure and ground/ by omitting the figure.

At Risk

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I wonder if this is how my parents viewed their marriage.

At Schwartz's

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Sometimes he made a corny joke and smiled. The gold in his tooth glowed like sunshine. He was the most important man in my life.

At Sevens

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Originally published on Six Sentences:He walked out of the hotel lobby into the pre-dawn night and thought about another woman, a pretty Spanish woman, not the woman he'd just kissed in a hotel, and a night he'd spent with her in Portugal, wanting each other desperately,…

At the back of the crowd

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They were all celebrating something, but she couldn’t see what it was.