Getting My Feet Wet

by Beverly Tjerngren

"I don't know," he exclaimed, clearly exasperated. "I'll figure it out when I get there, okay?"

"I just worry, Dan, when I don't know when to expect you," I answered, hearing and hating the plaintive note in my voice, but continuing anyway. "What should I do about dinner tomorrow?" Read more.

Crossing Line

by Susan Griffin

She told the last lie that morning when she said "I love you, too."

It was always the last thing Mark said to her just in case he died before he saw her again so that she could sit and remember that the last words he said were "I love you." And if she hadn't lied and told him the same with each little word, he would have suspected. "Me too" was not an option. That could be misconstrued. It might not mean "I love you." Besides, he never admitted the real reason he said it: so that the last thing she would say to him was "I love you, too." Just in case she didn't make it home that night. Read more.

Gold Coins

by Rachael Sage Payne

there's an old person on the sidewalk
clothed in layers of scraps and mismatched coats.
man and woman can both be found in the face, in the hands,
in the deep, old laugh that crunches in the snow.
passersby drop coins without a glance,
leaving a ring of untouched gold around the unnoticing person. Read more.

Claudie-A Claudie-B

by Rachael Sage Payne

*(an account of those couple of days in Sydney after I said goodbye to my new best friend at the international airport, and was left to fill the hours.... And how a few colorful characters helped to distract me.) Read more.