Stuff happens every day that could become a short story. You witness a skydive, then imagine what could go wrong. You visit a nursing home and imagine resident interactions. You see a group of cars go by that all look alike and with antennas; obviously they’re in a caravan—what’s happening? You see a squirrel gnawing on a walnut and you imagine what his day has been like. You suddenly want a coffee, but something is stopping you, and now you really want one…! These are all things that happen every day. You witness this, you witness that, you add your own imagination of what’s going on and there arises a short story.
CONTENTS
THIRTY SECONDS TO THE GROUND
A skydive gone really bad.
MY HUSBAND, MY HERO
A nursing home love affair.
GEEK OF THE ROAD
Believe it or not, the geek sometimes gets the girl.
FOR A CUP OF COFFEE
Really, how much is a cup of coffee worth? For your sanity, sometimes quite a bit.
THE REAL MEANING OF A QUARTER
One shiny little quarter can mean the difference between a good
day, and a really bad one.
DON’T GET TOO CLOSE
A nursing home resident goes from down, to way up, to really down, in the space of a couple hours.
THE ONE WHO LOVES ME
A little girl is the only one who knows who she should go live with.
GIRLFRIEND FOR MOTHER
Sometimes a friend asked to help can become much more than a friend.
WAITING TO DIE
For a thousand years mankind has feared the pandemic, an extraordinarily-mutated virus, that vicious creature that cannot be seen by the naked eye.
VOICE FROM THE CONGREGATION
A crippled girl’s voice creates new life in a young couple’s marriage.
ONE DAY AT BOXELDER COVE
A young red squirrel learns a whole lot about life and survival.
HE HAD IT COMING
A boss gets murdered, and nobody, not his family, and not even one employee is sorry.
INTO TILOVIA (a novella)
Nobody was helping the Tilovians. Seven friends decide it’s time somebody did.
First paragraph of THIRTY SECONDS TO THE GROUND
“Three thousand!” Rod yelled, “Four thousand!” By then Rod’s parachute should have been opening. It was not. And Rod was not hearing his own words. His eyes were open but seeing nothing. He was experiencing first-timer’s blackout. The jerk of the chute opening would, likely, have woke him. Even without the jerk he should have been waking up. He was not. Descent speed had reached about forty mph. About twenty-five seconds remained before he reached the ground.
Paragraphs from THE ONE WHO LOVES ME
She looked again for Henry. She wished he would hurry.
Then at last he appeared in the courthouse doorway. Just Henry and his attorney. That nice lady. Again without thinking Amanda tugged her hand. Carl dropped her hand and grabbed both her shoulders. Then she could hardly move. She didn’t like having Carl’s hands on her. She started feeling sweaty. She started having those thoughts she didn’t like. She wished Henry would come and get her.
She watched as Henry stopped by his lopsided car. He kept toys in the backseat for her. And a briefcase full of paper and markers and a pencil sharpener and scissors and a stapler. Even a calculator. Henry’s lady attorney stood by Henry. She had long dark hair like Mom’s, and she was pretty, like Mom. Amanda liked her, and she had spoken to Amanda once, and smiled at her, and looked into her eyes like Henry always did. And even so far away she could tell Henry was looking into her eyes right then. That always made her feel so good, and safe, and loved.
Does Henry love me? She wished he wasn’t clear across the parking lot. It should be Henry and his lady attorney she was standing with.
Not Carl.
END OF PREVIEW
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