Fiction

A FOUR-LETTER WORDby James Brennan Jack Broderick, who worked in human resources at a prestigious university’s school of government, had made a career out of playing it safe, so he wasn’t crazy about the exposure...

LINGERBy Jessica Olivos LingerUntil one day I heard it. I heard the song. I heard the beautiful orchestra in the beginning then her voice bringing me to life. I felt relieved and hurt at the...

THE MAYOR OF JOESTOWNby Nancy Lines As the car began losing speed, all the lights on the dash lit up, leaving no question there was a serious problem under the hood.  It was more than...

THE GATS CLUBBy Kedrick Nettleton The sun was in that awkward, end-of-summer stage, where it refused to completely set at the end of the day and hung just slightly above the horizon, getting in people’s...

WILLOUGHBYby Charlotte Freccia Clara Richardson had two sisters, and of the three of them, Clara was the least beautiful and had the least interesting name. Clara’s older sister, Eliora, had a long neck and symmetrical,...

SOME OTHER SIDEBy Leslie Johnson Yesterday I attended my grandson’s “Baby Is Brewing” party at a new beer garden in St. Paul, where male and female guests of all ages were invited to drop a...

HOMECOMINGBy Emelyn Grace Jaros The radio was less staticy that I remembered. Jason Aldean’s twang had only to compete with the whir of the AC and the rumble of tires against broken-up asphalt. One vent...

THE HITCHHIKERBy Joseph Washburn I sat it in the passenger seat of the pickup, the August heat already making the outside unbearable. Slowly, I slid my hand under my coat, touching the cold steel of...

DUSTBy Maggie Slepian I was at a stoplight, the one that never seems to be green no matter which direction you come from. It was the part of town where the radio comes in clear,...