Carry Me Part One: Before Before the accident, I used to run. Not marathons, nothing impressive, just three miles every morning along the Centennial Trail beside the Spokane River, before […]
I Hate Old Things Part One: 2:13 A.M. At exactly 2:13 in the morning, my phone lit up on the nightstand. I was already awake, lying on my side of […]
The Name He Remembered Part One: Two Names My name is Emily Carter. At least, that’s the name I’ve used for the past twelve years. It’s on my nursing license, […]
Make a Fuss Part One: Five Days Early I came home from college five days early to surprise my mom for Thanksgiving. At eleven o’clock that night, I found her […]
“Have your things out by Sunday. My girlfriend is pregnant, and we’re raising our baby here.” My husband said it from the sofa. The gray linen sofa I’d bought six […]
“Mom? Why does that suitcase have my name on it?” My daughter was standing at the front of the church in her flower girl dress, holding an empty basket. She’d […]
“Sweetheart, your mom can never know about this.” My husband’s voice came out of the laptop speakers, low and tired. I turned the volume down, even though nobody else was […]
“I’ve been seeing someone.” I remember exactly where I was sitting when my husband said it. At our kitchen table. The old pine one we bought at an estate sale […]
The morning after we buried my grandfather, a moving truck backed into his driveway, and the beeping carried across the whole quiet street. I was standing on the porch in […]
Chapter One: Wednesday in Sterling It was the Wednesday calf sale at the livestock commission in Sterling, Colorado, the second week of March, and the sale barn was packed the […]