So I walked up to J and said, “Let’s do this.” I directed the hyper girls around the green giant and down the red velvet ropes. We walked a long way until we finally reached the backside of the food court. Even as far back as we were I could still see the Christmas tree. It was ok, though. A warm feeling came over me like a blanket and kept me solid. We joined all the others in a line that snaked up and down the huge mall – tons of people waiting, but that’s no surprise....
My heart was pounding in my chest as I pulled Mom down the stairs. I couldn’t wait for her to see what was outside. There was more than one kind of medicine, I decided. There was the kind that you smeared on your knees after you crashed and burned on a harsh bowl and the kind that came in a pill that you choked down and made yourself swallow. There was the kind you got out of bottles and drank even when it burned your throat and the kind that pumped through IV tubes that were stuck...
“Al – what’re you doin’?” Flint jogged up to me. I didn’t answer him but reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone. I tossed it with one hand and he caught it. He was shaking his head. I picked up the pace and started to pull harder and faster. I could see Jabari talking to someone near the wall, a girl who was gesturing with her hands. He wasn’t watching me.
“Albie! The water is freezing . . . and that’s a shark, friend!”
“A...
Dear Bess,
Thank you for your patience while I read your novel NOW AND AT THE HOUR. Your writing is vivid and your connection to the storyline gives it a real sense of urgency. I also really like the San Francisco setting.
That said, I’m afraid I didn’t connect with the writing the way I’d hoped to . . . I’m sorry this isn’t the right fit for us and I am sure you’ll be snapped up by an agent savvier than...
It amazes me how many times Sheri has intersected with my life to set me straight. There was that time waiting in line for official copies of my kids’ birth certificates, because I had totally screwed up our passport renewal appointment and had to start over. Oh, I was hot. While standing there and scrolling through my phone I landed on an old voicemail message from her, and my heart skipped a beat.
I hit play and cupped the phone to my ear. And then listened to the most glorious...
HB2 translations for those who don’t speak out of the left side of their mouths
Earlier this summer I read that a group of liberals and conservatives called the North Carolina Leadership Forum met to try to engage in respectful debate around important issues that affect citizens in this state. I suspect they were successful because...
What’s your score? You know, on your Mom-SAT. What, you don’t KNOW your score? You didn’t know you were being tested? Oh, silly, of course you did. Although in your defense, the components of this test tend to reveal themselves randomly and stealthily. You must be ready at all times.
I have never been a good test-taker.
Like when I had to take the regular SAT for my college admissions applications. The first time I took it in 10th grade, my 7th...
There was once a time when I might enjoy a bit too much eggnog at a holiday party, grab my better half’s hand, and sneak giggling away into the guest bathroom to steal a little smooch . . . so caught up in the holiday spirit and so aglow and so young and so in love that while I may be able to restrain from PDA, I cannot contain my enthusiasm for a little covert Christmas kiss.
Times have changed....
So we were at this really great Christmas party when it happened. Our kids were stuffing Christmas cookies and brownies in their mouths as fast as their little hands would do the deed, and I was across the room, catching up with a girlfriend. I hear my husband’s animated voice, beckoning my sons to come over and meet someone, a family friend of our hosts’. Wow, what an enthusiastic invitation! Just to make the acquaintance of . . . oh.
Uh huh. I see. Just to make the acquaintance...
I often say that I don’t suffer from wanderlust at all — that I am most content at home with the comfort of my normal routine and my every day life. When I really think about it, though, I don’t know if this is true. As the beneficiary of my husband’s love of travel, I can make such a claim without actually having to live with the consequences of that position.
My partner in life is happiest when he is planning a trip, on a trip, or deciding what the next trip should...