Since college days, Maura had wanted to retire comfortably and early, with her health and pocket book in excellent shape. That part of the plan worked out for her by her fifty-fifth birthday when she was offered a "package." Her long, boring, underappreciated years spent plugging away in a windowless, cheerless office paid off with little fanfair. The human relations employee offered an ample pension, medical insurance, retained stock options to her on an unanticipated but otherwise typical Tuesday. Plus...

I am a ghost. Not sure how it happened. All my life, people told me I'd go to heaven, hell, or purgatory as soon as I died. Come to think of it, maybe this is purgatory. I do seem to be suspended. Not much to do as a ghost. I can't effect anything on the living plane, which rules out haunting. I tried it, believe me, I couldn't scare you if I wanted to. So what is there to do? Not much. Everything is shades of gray, and not in a sexy way. I guess of everything I miss color the most.

I was an artist...

A short story, to brighten your day:

"The Kiss"

Sometimes, a kiss is just a kiss. This wasn’t one of those times. I’d been watching Marcus for years, ever since he saved me from bullies in the schoolyard when we were in fourth grade. I was one of the poor kids. My mom dressed me in hand me downs and clothes she found at garage sales. She cut my hair and would have made my underwear if she knew how to sew. My shoes had holes in the soles. Marcus wasn’t like me. His daddy owne...

We were doing everything they told us to do. We washed our hands relentlessly. We stayed home and ordered take-out. We started having our groceries delivered. We even had plenty of toilet paper stocked up and stowed away under the sinks. I had always dyed my own gray hair and had a couple of boxes in the cabinet.

Of course, my hair grew into a shag. Not like the old Farrah Fawcett do, more like Phyllis Diller. That was one downside, but really, a rubber band fixed that pretty easily. I'd never been...

Zeke stood in the parking lot staring at the back of Darlene’s car. His brothers were on either side with their arms draped over his shoulder. The men remained silent until the car turned a corner and could no longer be seen. The neon sign for Rainy Daze Café buzzed in the humid, dawn air. Crickets called to one another. The sun’s light was just filling the sky with yellow rays. Inside the café, patrons watched through the plate glass windows. Some shook their heads, others whispered to...

I wiggled my toes in the hot sand of my favorite beach and wished I could stay. If ever I needed a break, this was it. The rental I’d be living in for a month was called Sea-renity, and it promised the serenity I needed after what had happened in my life recently. I’d been coming to Sandy Shores for vacation since I was six years old. Dad would load the whole family into the car and drive across country to get there as fast as he could. I remember being lulled to sleep by Disney movies I&rsqu...

Cold rain blew under my umbrella until I was drenched and shivering. It wasn’t bad enough that I’d been laid off unexpectedly, I’d missed my bus and had to wait for twenty minutes in the storm. My Louboutin’s were ruined, my mascara ran down my cheeks, and my hair frizzed from the roots. I repeated to myself, this is a change, a reason for a new start. Don’t look at it as good or bad. It’s an opportunity, that’s all. I pressed toward my house with my eyes squinte...

Party goers swarmed around me, laughing, drinking, dancing. I stood still, dead on my feet, wishing I could be home in bed. Tiny lights in the trees twinkled overhead. I wondered who had climbed up into those tall limbs to hang them. The walkway shone with the remains of the water used to wash it clean. My head pounded along with the music, and I felt alone and forlorn. I was determined to finish college that year, so I was taking twelve hours. Three of that included a correspondence course, but still. P...

He sat low in his restored, midnight blue Buick, flicking the ashes of his cigarette out the window. From behind, all you could see was his closely shaved and greased head, which was very round. It looked like a glossy, new, bowling ball wearing expensive sunglasses and driving the car. Ignoring the muggy heat, he had the windows rolled down to maximize the sound of fuzzy music coming through the partially blown speakers. The deep bass rhythm reverberated and shook the windows of nearby cars. As he pulle...