Pia had slept as late as she dared on a Sunday. She slipped into a pew halfway up the right side of the chapel just…

Getting to Maylee’s going-away party at all was a thing. My cousin Jaxson and I took a state highway into the country and turned onto…

One barber chair, occupied (by me). One spare, empty. Mirrors everywhere. A damp hair smell, but not hair products; this isn’t a salon. Freshly cut…

What would you say if you were standing at the front door of a nice guy you just met, and it was 6 a.m. and…

After 25 years it probably wasn’t even the same door, but it could have been. It led to the same school, the same fetid swamp…

When Mr. Bingham asked, “Why did Nixon go to China?” I kept a straight face and raised my hand. He nodded to me. “Ms. Morgenstern?”…

I met Marie in the hallway after school. “The race is tomorrow,” I said. “We should sign up.” “The three-legged race?” “Yeah.” Running the three-legged…

There’s nothing like the sound of a mom reading to her children, when they’re your children too. It’s the exact opposite of their nightmares, the…