Recovering Maeve’s dad did it every year: the long white beard, the beer gut, the Santa suit. He dressed this way nearly every weekday from mid-November until Christmas and posted up in the mall to take pictures with kids and hear their wish lists. Maeve, in her second year at community college, was stuck spending […]
Purse Qala and Bakht are at it again. They’ve lived in their mother’s purse for as long as Qala can remember. Rattling keys and noisy charms shimmy inside the handbag as they touch upon the lavender and aurelia scents of Mother’s crimson-colored lipstick. The girls rattle with these belongings, but an eerie silence follows soon […]
Cat is Dreaming The morning after, Daisy gathers her things, counting them off in threes: panties-socks-pushup bra. Shirt-pants-sweater. Blush-concealer-eyeliner. Wig-lipliner-colored contacts. Each category comes out in a single, murmured breath, each item grouped where it belongs. In the past month, she’s become very good at this sort of compartmentalization. Her test subject is still asleep. […]
Pillow Baby The creek is thin and barely flowing and this is where Talia and I have babies. We sit next to each other on the bus but far away from each other in the classroom because we talk too much. We’re in the first grade and our teacher’s belly is sticking out round. She’s […]
Hunting Blind The trees are getting loud again, the knots between my shoulder blades twisting. I fill a small glass jar with water, empty half a pill into it, and screw the lid on tight. It used to be a pepper jar, still smells like it. I shake it, and the pill powder swirls in […]
