At the last minute, I changed “lazy” to “dreamy.” Middle-aged women might not like the implication that they are lazy just because once in a while they get a decent night’s sleep—just because once in a blue moon their husbands might drag themselves out of bed before them and mow the goddamned law...
“Sorry, I’m having trouble getting out of here,” she explained. “There was this parent-teacher conference. This kid’s parents finally wake up and realize Brittany’s probably not gonna graduate. What are we gonna do to help her, blah, blah, blah… . Then I was trying to get these stupid journals gr...
Only you acknowledged the mishap. You mentioned it offhand when you came to give me yet another paperbound book from your home collection: Beyond the 38th Parallel. I didn’t confess it then but will confess it now. I hadn’t even read the last book you gave me. You told me it wasn’t exactly an aca...
I missed my brother, I told Matthew. And I missed Mother, in my own way. And there was shopping to do for Christmas! I explained that to him most exuberantly. I wished to lavish my baby daughter with gifts that could not be had here in Haverton. Oh! How girlishly bubbly I made my needs appear. Ma...
In the middle of the table was a Martha Stewart–style wedding cake fashioned out of diapers, ribbon, receiving blankets, and tightly rolled-up onesies—all hip and cheerful fabrics, alternating stripes and polka dots of dark brown, baby blue, and white. A stuffed monkey emerged from the top, one f...