Stories from
January, 2010

We ate wontons until marriage became a tag on a fortune cookie. In a talk about needs he said do you even masturbate. I lied to him. In bed.

Sara Lippmann is a writer in Brooklyn.

Inspecting her bloody knuckles, she asked aloud if he was worth fighting for. From the ground, he gurgled what sounded to her like “yes.”

Noel Sloboda lives in Pennsylvania with three dogs, two cats, and one wife.

She tells him to back away slowly, she never wanted it to go this far. He nods and puts down the ring.

S. Kay (@blueberrio) enjoys tiny things saturated with flavor.

It was the worst of times. The best of times had passed him by, leaving him an old man in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Until today.

Larry Hodges an Odyssey grad and active member of SFWA with numerous regular and twitter sales.

Dad sits Indian-style behind the metal fence. “Is this what you wanted?” Mom asks. I set the cupcake in the dirt and take my mother’s hand.

Brendan O’Brien was a backup JV QB in 1997. How you like him now?

Dad was more of a dog person, but when he made an issue of it, mom said she wanted cats. I’d have settled for a hamster, plus both parents.

Evan Schaeffer lives in St. Louis. Links to his stories and commentary essays can be found at www.evanschaeffer.com.

Gregory Sherl misses the tenderness that made him feel home on your skin. He is sick of eating alone. He drunk dials like a champion.

Gregory Sherl loves with his fingertips the most.

Hindu gods grant Indira’s wish to be reincarnated near me so we can marry yet again. This time, I ask to be reborn a goat. Cycle broken.

Karl Kudrej is a TV news photographer turned fiction writer. He believes TV news is fiction. His photography appeared on CBS News.

At eight, it started to rain. He should have been off at five, but then, by his accounting, he should have been a lot of things by now.

Elizabeth Gallenberg lives in Wisconsin, where she gets hopeless crushes on literary characters and sings to her cats.

Happy in her ivory wedding gown and veil, how could she guess that she would love only him, and he would love only the children she bore.

K.M.A. Sullivan would like fewer children and more tire swings.