Shorts from NYC

by Adam Jeffries Schwartz

An Armani Mistake

Your father wrapped his loneliness in Armani couture: in suits, in seafoam green suits, in shirts, in shoes, in overcoats with just a whisper of herringbone and the shoulder pads of a linebacker.

He'd have worn Armani hats if they had made them, if he'd looked good in hats. But they didn't and he didn't, so his head was bare.

This, as it turned out, was a big mistake; the heat escaped along with waves of loneliness, which hovered; you could see it a block away, you could smell it.

A Plan for Peace

It started as an accident, really. You thought he was South Korean--an ally. But when you were getting dressed he said he was from North Korea, which is another place entirely.

It got you thinking, maybe you should have sex with more enemies--maybe that would help.

The Footprint

Bracket
Friction
Envelope
Justice
Jello
Impose
Migrate
Raise
Result
Footprint

Afterwards, your footprints were everywhere.
They went up the stairs and they went down again;
They went nowhere, really.

But I kept tripping over them. So, I made some jello.

I opened the small package into a bowl, added hot water, cold, stirred, poured it into the footprints and waited for it to harden.

The Author

Adam Jeffries Schwartz is a writer and a traveler. He has stories in Descant and Grimm magazines(both in Canada), Petit Journal (Mexico) and in the anthology, Walking Higher (USA)

Online he pops up at many sites, including Ghoti (Fish) Magazine, Melange, LitBits, Magazine Shiver, Mosaic Minds, Kaleidowhirl & Anacoenesis Literary Journal.