by ROBERT GADKEY Otis Covington uncrossed his legs and swiveled in the brown leather chair, sliding his worn athletic socks underneath the gray tanker desk. He wore a standard uniform: faded blue jeans that tapered in at the ankle and … Read more
by AMY HENRY There isn’t much to say, I tell folks when they ask about the events of last June. How it was that Eva Lewis, my caretaker at the Sheridan House Adult Care Center, and Jordan Reed, her boyfriend … Read more
by PHILLIP JONES Teresa’s father is keeping company with the santo he is carving, San Juan Nepomuceno, martyred for not sharing a queen’s confession, now the patron of secrets and silence. A gentle man who married late, Filemón has little patience … Read more
by SANDRA HEADEN At eight months, Lena’s belly was as big as four watermelons. Must be twins, all the women said. Miss Annabelle, the town midwife, was sure they’d be boys. Lena hoped for girls, with nary a trace of … Read more
by MARYELLEN BEVERIDGE The lobster boat idled against the floating dock, smelling of diesel fuel. Its engine sputtered above the quiescent brown-green water of the bay as a crewman, pulling a length of rope, leapt onto the dock and fastened … Read more
by SHARON BARRETT Of the people who knew her, few would have said of Cathy Richards that she was spirited. At twenty-two, she was married with three children and another on the way; she appeared to be firmly on the … Read more
by KEN DERRY To hear author Ken Derry reading this piece, check out the latest episode (Episode 3: Real/Fantastical—Fantastical/Real) of our podcast, CQ Speaks. — When Ms. Martin first heard the discharge and shattered glass, she did not pause to consider … Read more
by MATT WHELIHAN Ed had sat through two days’ worth of speakers and breakout sessions at the hotel. He’d eaten the dry chicken and butter-slicked green beans served in tinfoil trays. He’d slept in the hotel bed with its pillows … Read more
by NORA BONNER No more breath for him now: lungs deflated, spirit departed. I had a week left in seventh grade. Evening after evening I walked four doors down to check for Greg’s television in the side room, and evening … Read more
