Sitting with my legs crossed at the ankles I became painfully aware that I was only one of two women at the meeting. Across the highly polished burl wood maple conference table sat market managers from various states all gathered to make excuses for their end of the year figures. I scanned the faces but kept my glances low to avoid the uncomfortable eye cont...
IV "She sounds psychotic to me," Judith Somerfield said as they stepped out on the front porch. She didn't know what else to think... Todd Wakeman was shook up, confused, and while he couldn't quite put a finger on what had just happened -- he wasn't ready to jump on the psychiatric bandwagon just yet. "I don't know. She seems focused, almost intact, at l...
I first saw the woman at breakfast at the B&B. She was fishing for fruit from a bowl and looked up as I approached the table. She gave me a bright smile set in lovely brown cascading curls, only five foot tall, or a little more, wearing a stiff-looking white blouse and light brown shorts. I smiled back and got on with my breakfast, assuming she was attached...
Part One: The Interview I always thought it couldn't happen to me ... but it did. I am, well was, a compassionate third grade teacher and recognized in town as a loving individual believing that children come first. The problem was that teachers without tenure were "downsized" (read "fired") first when the school district experiences budgetary concerns. My...
(Cadiz, Spain, 1805) In today's movies, and in the romantic tales before them running all the way back to Homer, the hero or heroine never spends hours in the dripping rain. Cold, wet and miserable are simply glossed over in favor of thrills and romance. Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I WANT to be out in the cold and damp instead of toasting in fr...
Since Constance still hadn't had her first test, Euphemia was willing to give her and Jay another chance to try again before the real classes could begin. But... Jay couldn't sleep again. Since last night's failed consummation, the nightmares had gotten worse. However he resolved not to drink before meeting Constance like last time. His past sins were haunt...
The sun beat down on the gardens of the D’Amissi Convent’s gardens and baked the soil as Catherine Nerina knelt to the ground with her basket of ripened tomatoes to pick the next handful of small, luscious fruits. The vines were generous this season and she had plenty to gather for sale at the market in the village of Ambra. The Convent was nestled on a hill...
This story is not about cheating wives or cuckolded husbands. If that's your thing, you may prefer to read something else more titillating. Instead, my story concerns the relationship between two people who love each other, but who are struggling to deal with the cards life has dealt them. * * * Raucous laughter momentarily rose above the bland pop music s...
I'm submitting this for the "Halloween 2019" contest. Please vote and thanks for reading. The news was as shocking as it was tragic. Rick Klasman was dead. Brilliant, ambitious Rick, college engineering major and no doubt future NASA engineer, blew his head off while testing one of his homemade rockets. We learned later that two of his buddies had witnesse...
"Say something intimidating, but sexy. It can be silly, just say it with feeling." My mask slides back down over my eyes blinding me momentarily. I pull it back up and breathe deeply. My breath feels wet against the mask material. I again kick myself for choosing this mask. It covers everything which is good, but I can't do anything with it. I breathe deepl...