What If?
For Purple's Taste
by Janette Cole
The crown bit into her head, tighter and more painful than she ever imagined. In fact, she had never imagined it would be painful, or tight. She'd imagined it would sit lightly on her brow, just another fashion accessory that glittered prettily. Read more.
Best-Laid Plans
Like most small-town girls, Lily dreamed big dreams. She gazed out the kitchen window of the double-wide she had grown up in, washing up the dinner dishes and thinking about the roads out of town. She passed gallons of milk and economy packs of disposable diapers over the electronic scanners at Willy's Food Mart day in and day out, pining for bright lights and big cities. She fantasized about being "discovered" while sitting on a stool at the local soda fountain, demurely sipping a chocolate malted a lá Lana Turner. Of course, soda fountains had gone the way of all good things, and she'd have to make adjustments, but to what? Catching the eye of a star-maker while throwing back a 48-ounce Super Sip from the Gas 'n' Go? Not likely. Read more.
Habitual Warfare
by Phyllis Wright
The last rumble of the kids' bedtime skirmish faded. Silence eased in, broken by the neighbor's barking dog and the distant sound of the trucks pulling up the hill on the interstate. Neither sound touched her, that is, they did not draw her into some fantasy or welcome. To hold off nighttime loneliness, Alma turned on the radio and tuned it in to the country-western station. Read more.