By S. Phillip Lenski “So, Frank, where’s the two trucks we’re supposed to take to get that whiskey? The only thing in this garage are two old jalopies that Johnny’s been working on for weeks.” “And a fine Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too, Pete.” “Yeah, yeah. Happy Valentine’s Day,…
By Debra H. Goldstein “Awana wants me to spend the night. Going to.” Arms crossed, Jacob, my four-year-old son, stared at me. I smiled at him but kept folding the wrinkled clothes I’d left in the dryer since yesterday. “We’ll cross that road when she asks.” As he stomped his…
By Peter J. Barbour “Girls,” Mother said before she and Father departed, “please make sure you gather some firewood today. Father and I are headed to the market. We’ll be gone until well after dark. I expect the house to be in order when I return.” “Yes, Mother,” Henrietta and…
By Dianna Sinovic The pumpkin foretold the event—the dare, the maze, the fire, all of it. If only Gregg had known to heed the warning of that orange jack-o’-lantern on the porch: The flickering slits for eyes, the leering mouth with mold grown over the gourd’s carved incisors. He’d laughed…
A Duty to Mrs. Doody By Paula Gail Benson From inside his home office, Al Capone’s voice cried out, “Get away from me, Jimmy. Leave me alone.” Then, after a break, he yelled again, “You got no beef with me, Jimmy. Ain’t my hit that killed you.” Capone’s bodyguard, Frank…