A Visit to My Ex-Wife and Her New Girlfriend

by Jessica Wright

The cat melts into the crawl-space, and I think to follow. Knees at my ears, scalp scraping foundations. Bird—if they still call him Bird—watches like a teacher as I translate the matchstick bone glyphs that lay jammed in the mud. An inventory of lost opportunities, I see it now. Mistakes gnawed down to rib cages, feathers licked into barbs.

Sticky August rain beats down on what is left of the grass. Bare feet kiss the floorboards above.

10 Year High School Reunion

by Mollie B. Rodgers

I cross my arms. I look hostile. I uncross them. They hang at my sides like a gorilla’s. I buy a drink to give my hands somewhere to land.

I’m playing a game of Am I an Ass Because I Can’t Place You or Did We Just Never Interact? I smile and nod. They smile and nod. Are their lives actually this impressive/fulfilling/superior, or did they also workshop their curated summaries a month in advance?

At the fifty-year reunion, the non-attendees will outnumber those present.

The seventy-five-year reunion is just the afterlife.

The Knack

by Ben Reid

I could never get the hang of a Rubik’s cube as a kid. The more I clicked and clacked the more the colours mocked me. There was no magic in my hands – yo-yos clattered to the floor, lifeless; rolled dice made a bid for freedom while shuffled cards riffled to the floor, scattering my shame. A kicked ball shot right behind me; skate boards would scramble from beneath my feet and trundle sulkily away.

Then I discovered bra hooks and business ties and the lurking dread of tax returns and found that things refuse to click even when you’re grown.

Campari and Scones

by Sue Ruben

Sheila woke,the tent hot and stuffy. She had been dreaming of love-making.Sitting up she remembered Derek’s betrayal,leaving her to take the children camping, while he headed to Paris with Lotus. Anger rose up as she imagined them drinking Campari under a moonlit sky. She sobbed,missing him.

Derek woke from a postcoital snooze.His young lover was snoring,mouth open, showing gold fillings. He remembered it was his youngest daughter’s birthday party, then craved his wife’s scones, of all things. At least I’ve escaped tending the barbecue he thought. He sobbed,missing her.

With Age Comes Wisdom

by JS O’Keefe

“Your thoughts on the struggles of mankind, the meaning of life, and the new challenges ahead of us?”

We’re interviewing the great philosopher on his 100th birthday for local TV. His clear blue eyes show he is bright as ever.

“Since I’m not familiar with any of those terms, let me get a pen and paper, then you kindly spell the words for me, and I’m going to ask my great-grandson to do a search called ‘Google’. I’ll let you know when I’m done. In the meantime, let’s work out the finances. I’ve got a big family to support.”