Shortly before the nation’s bicentennial, a wave of graffiti washed over Philadelphia. Before long it came to the attention of A. Edward Jaffe. In those days Jaffe was still the features editor of the Bulletin He was a skinny man of fifty with bad, bad breath like he stunk inside. He’d been with the paper […]
Lorraine and Kevin Bibby owned the largest tree in the neighborhood and when it split with a sizzling crack during a wicked summer lightning storm the whole community felt their loss. Mighty, stately, the copper beech had spread its limbs and leaves over the circular drive that lead to Gwendellin, the Bibby’s manse, for the […]
The brothers had been left by themselves for the morning in the living room of the Murray Hill apartment where their grandparents lived. The younger brother, Nicky, had been lying on his back on the deep carpet in the living room for hours, occasionally swooping an electric green action figure over his head and ignoring […]
“How does my laugh sound to you,” he said, “does it sound tinny?” “Tinny?” She asked. They were in a coffee shop on Chestnut Street called Coffee Roasters. They were in large over-stuffed chairs. She had a latte in a saucer and she had it delicately balanced on the big round arm of the chair […]
The three men were sitting in a trolley car that had long ago been turned into an expensive drinking establishment. Political figures were on the TV screen above the bar but the men were not paying attention. They had positioned themselves where the walnut and brass bar took a sharp right turn so that two […]
The large man across the counter took my form without looking at me. He was sitting in a small chair with rollers and he had it scooched to the side for more legroom, bringing him very close to a red headed co-worker sitting in an identical chair and serving a customer at the counter next […]
The man paused on the doorstep, huffed into his palm to check his breath, and then shook his jacket straight. Ignoring the bell to the side, he gave a stout knock. A girl opened the door. “Hello?” She had a wide, serious face and the kind of long straight hair that falls like a shower […]
The two men were in the locker room. The tall one was stripping down after a sweaty workout. The short bearded one sat on a stool, tiredly pulling off his work socks, getting ready for his session in the gym. The tall one said, “Rodge, I never see you. How long you in for?” “Came […]
The Girl Who Didn’t Know What to Be was in school one day when Ms. Standly, her regular teacher, called in sick and so did Ms. Moore, who was Ms. Standly’s assistant, and so did half a dozen other teachers because the Have a Bad Day Flu was going around that month. And so that […]
(Pitch Dark. Two Voices, A Man and A Woman) “Did you hear him?” “I did not hear anything.” “I heard him. I definitely heard him.” “I didn’t hear anything.” “Are you getting up?” “I was up with him at 12 and at 1 and then again at 12:30″ “How did you do that?” “And then […]
I was sitting in a booth in a diner in the Mission, typing on my laptop. In the booth behind me there was a man and a woman. I could hear them well, but couldn’t see their faces without turning. The man had a low and scratchy voice. “You get enough to eat?” She had […]
The two men were standing by the big mirror in the locker room. The older one was on the way to a workout; the younger one was drenched in sweat. The older one was wearing a light blue tee-shirt on top of a grey tee shirt. He stood slightly off balance and tilted his head […]
They were gathered around the fire on the beach after the sunset had come and gone. They were in beach chairs and pressed up against the fire for warmth in the New England evening. The flames lit their faces and the underside of the bills of the baseball caps they were all wearing. Suddenly there […]
They were sitting cross-legged at the low table waiting for the waiter to take the man’s credit card. They had been waiting for a long time and no waiter had appeared and now the man’s legs had fallen asleep. “I don’t even know how you feel about me,” she said. “I think you don’t know […]
We were driving in my car. She said, “What’s the name of this restaurant?” It was the kind of question she always asked. “Pitch….” I said and then added, “Just to give you a head’s up, it’s unusual. The idea is that you dine in the dark.” “You are kidding.” She seemed surprised. I always […]