The Archivist

Martha’s Table My name is Martha, and I have spent the better part of my life making things comfortable for other people. I learned how to do this from my […]

Tuesday evening, I drive to Colorado Springs and park outside a quiet coffee shop with warm lights and the low hum of other people’s conversations. I’m forty-five minutes from Eagle […]

The Quiet One A story about what patience looks like when it finally runs out He came home late on a Thursday in August, still wearing the navy blazer he […]

I knew something was wrong before I could name it. That’s the part that still gets me when I think back on it. I pulled into my driveway after a […]

The Whisper A story about the truth a child carries when no one else will The clock on the wall of the Huntsville Unit read six in the morning, and […]

The air in the bridal suite of The Plaza Hotel tasted like expensive hairspray, wilting white roses, and something I could not yet name but would soon recognize as the […]

I was sitting at my desk finishing a report when my ex-husband’s name flashed on my phone screen. Howard was at Jasper’s house that week, so I answered immediately. “Hey, […]

The Rusty Key The key my grandmother left me was so corroded it stained my palm orange. I stood in the attorney’s conference room holding it while my cousin Brittany […]

The Wrong Jeep The officer didn’t raise his voice once. That was the part that scared me most. He stood on my porch in the amber glow of the motion […]

I’m Karen. I’m thirty-two. My husband Ben is thirty-four. Our daughter Melissa is three, which means she has strong opinions, an unpredictable volume setting, and absolutely no interest in anyone […]