Literature

Mom’s Handwriting EmergesThe sun bursts through the attic window and lands on my face, warming it, until I open my eyes and greet the day with a squint. After a…

The “Pat” BoxBy 11:00 p.m. my mother has not returned home, and I start to worry because every night at 10:45 p.m. I’m supposed to take pills that help me…

Balanced Very Carefully, As If the Whole Thing Might Topple When the Heater Vents Begin to Blow Later This FallFrom the basement, I hear my dad say, “It goes right…

An Acceptable Form of CopingIn the cloud room, I pick the black recliner because I am feeling a little depressed. For a few minutes I don’t say anything. I am…

The Implied EndingThat night I try to read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Nikki used to talk about how important Plath’s novel is, saying, “Every young woman should be…

Sister Sailor-MouthI’m at the Crystal Lake Diner with Tiffany; we’re in the same booth as last time, eating our single-serving box of raisin bran, drinking hot tea. We did not…

A Hive Full of Green Bees”Ahhhhhhhhh!” I sit up, my heart pounding. When my eyes focus, I see my dad standing at my bedside with his hands above his head;…

Tiffany’s Head Floating over the WavesWhen Ronnie picks me up in his minivan – which has three rows of seats – Tiffany is already buckled in next to Emily’s car…

The Best Therapist in the Entire WorldThe Monday morning after the Eagles beat the Texans, a funny thing happens. I’m doing some initial stretching in the basement, when my father…

Sing and Spell and ChantI get up at 4:30 a.m. and start lifting so I will be done with my workout by kickoff, and when I finally come up from…

I Can Share Raisin BranOn the drive home from Cliff’s office I ask my mom if she thinks asking Tiffany on a date is the best way to get rid…

Do You Like Foreign Films?Cliff asks about Veronica’s dinner party in a way that lets me know my mother has already discussed it with him – probably in an effort…

Failing Like Dimmesdale DidMaybe Puritans were simply dumber than modern people, but I cannot believe how long it took those seventeenth-century Bostonians to figure out that their spiritual leader knocked…

Filled with Molten LavaThe picture I have of Nikki is a head shot, and I wish I had told her how much I liked it. She paid a professional photographer…

I Don’t Know How This WorksAfter some more lifting in the basement, I put on my trash bag and run my ten miles. Afterward, I shower, spray some of my…

If I BackslideKnowing that if I wear the wrong thing, Veronica will say I have ruined her night – the way she did that one time when I wore Bermuda…

The Dress-up DinnerRonnie finally comes to visit me in my basement and says, “I’m on my way home, so I only have a few minutes.” As I finish my set…

I Fear Him More Than Any Other Human BeingAfter I returned to New Jersey, I thought I was safe, because I did not think Kenny G could leave the bad…

The Concrete DoughnutI notice that my father waits until the game is just about to begin before he comes into the family room. It is only preseason, so we do…

Got Nothin’ but Love for YaDr. Patel’s secretary turns off the radio as soon as she sees me walk into the waiting room, which makes me laugh because she tries…