You gave me quite the fright! But I did say any time, and I meant it. Yes, yes, come in, come in! Leave your boots on the mat and let me take your coat. Funny, the only person ringing my bell these days is the mailman! Highlight of my day’s the sound of the utility bills dropping through my mail slot. Doesn’t hurt that he’s got spectacular calves, if you know what I mean! All summer long, he wore his shorts uniform—weee-oooo! Just between you and me, I’ve been having fantasies ever since. Now, when the doorbell goes, I’ve gotta catch my breath before I open the door. To be completely honest, it’s a relief you’ve popped by—I was just numbing the old brain with some Netflix, trying to keep my nose clean. I know I’ve mentioned my pledge to sobriety at our Saturday morning staff meetings, but I had a feeling I should put a bottle of white in the fridge. Every once in a while, a girl’s gotta let her hair down, right? Let’s just keep this whole Desiree’s-got-wine-chilling-in-the-fridge thing between the two of us. One teensy glass won’t send me tumbling too far from the wagon! After all, Barney’s…
“Bette Howland” & “Barbara,” CNF by Raymond Abbott
Photo Credit: Magic City Books Editor’s Note: We’re excited to announce two pieces of creative nonfiction by FC member and former Featured Writer, Raymond Abbott. He details two events from his career as a writer. Bette Howland, Chicago Writer Bette Howland has been dead for more than two years. I have had ample time to consider some of the things written about her. She received the MacArthur Award in 1984, and receiving the grant seemed to compel her to stop writing. I had heard of this kind of thing before, but I don’t know that I believe it. What slowed her down when I knew her was the pain she suffered when a man she had been seeing for a long time unexpectedly married another woman. Bette wrote and published several books, including W3, Blue in Chicago, Things to Come…
“My Sister,” Poems by Susan J. Wurtzburg
My Sister My sister enacts meal provider, family clustered around the table. Sustenance for body and heart, hollowed out by this year. Muffled emptiness behind my ribs muted by video calls. Strands across the Pacific from my island to her wooded home. My sibling draws me back to Canada, closed pine borders. Each call a step closer, but still stranded on a rock in the ocean. ** The Toad Heavy rains, another toad in the garden, poison to my dog. Buffo catching, my new pastime, followed by a marsh trip. Bye Mr. Toad. No whimsical talking character, Wind in the Willows cute. Instead a mammoth, warty body, with venom sacs behind his ears. Toad number seven in a lineage, a hopping invading force. Beady eyes, fire-plug body, strong jumping legs, garden bane in Hawaii. Islands replete with outsiders: frogs, rats, goats, even tourists. If the toads arrived with…
“Demon Road,” A Short Story by Derrick R. Lafayette
I lived in a castle made of mud. Solid enough to make you feel caged. Light barely escaped the brown warped walls. The house had so many ancestors pass away inside, that layers of its spirit fought each other seasonally. I was doomed. I believe it was late autumn when my stomach’s emptiness corresponded with my heart. After fifty-five days in solitude, the hunger monster devoured me. Food was to be acquired. There used to be another person to handle these things during the summer. However, the sunlight tempted her to search for buried treasure in the cityscape. She thought there were buildings, roads, and regular life beyond the mountains, past the desert plain. All things inside the dome. I located the area map before she did and destroyed it. I thought about her wandering hopelessly every night. Helped me sleep. The gun seemed to gain ten pounds since the last time I…
“Head Space,” Poems by Ted Millar
Head Space I still know my childhood best friend’s telephone number even though I’ll never dial it again. I’ve taught certain poems so many times I can recite them on demand, yet some claim that has no practical application. Most find my ability to name the American presidents by years in office amusing before urging me to remember “something important” (like last night’s winning Powerball numbers?). I embrace my savant-esque ability to rattle off every Bob Dylan album and the songs featured on them. I prefer not to cram my head with empty crap on the radio and celebrity gossip, thank you very much. Want something proofread, I’m the resident grammarian, but if it’s scores to last night’s game, I suggest turning on ESPN. I’ve actually read the whole Constitution, not cherry-picked excerpts. Ditto the Declaration of Independence, the United Nations’ Declaration of…