The woman’s lover died quickly and unexpectedly on his front porch. He’d been drinking whiskey and now the sun was low and shown on his dead face. His dog licked his chest, right above the spot where his heart had seized up, until his wife came and found him. She put her hand to her mouth, collected the bottle and the broken bits of glass, and went inside to make the calls she had to make.
The rest may be read HERE.
Many thanks to Leesa Cross-Smith for asking me to contribute to the Kissing Booth, a collection of works inspired by her forthcoming collection, EVERY KISS A WAR, and to Justin Daugherty, extraordinary literary citizen and publisher of Sundog Lit. While you’re there, check out all the Kissing Booth stories, poems, photographs, and creative nonfiction on offer. It’s beautiful work.
Kathy!!!!! When I got to the eggs, well, I smiled big. Do you like my hat, Go dog, eggs. Love this story. Love the tension and subtly, One of your best.
Aw, thank you so much, Gay! I’m not sure everybody “got” that, but I’m glad you did. : )
Kathy, this is absolutely exquisite. Beautifully textured throughout. The rawness of that kind of grief is hard to sustain and you did so beautifully in subtle, powerful moments. And I loved the ending. Amidst the pain and loss, you left us comfort with hope. Bravo!
Jayne, thanks so much for the close read and lovely comments. I really appreciate it!
Love this piece, Kathy! I also sent you a message via Fictionaut and wasn’t sure if you got it since the site’s been wonky :).
Aw, thanks, Marcelle! And Fictionaut NEVER notifies me when I get a message there. I’ll go look for it!
Got it! I replied there….I should put my email address here on my blog. I’ll do that now. xo