These hard-hitting, deeply felt stories follow straight arrows and outlaws, have-it-alls and outcasts, as they take stock of their lives and missteps and struggle to rise above their turbulent pasts. A salesman re-examines his tenuous relationship with his sister after she is brutally attacked. A...
A red, white, and blue banner behind them screams YOUR AMERICAN HEROES, but Santa is a bigger draw, with his fake snow and plywood candy canes. It’s Christmas, after all! Mommies in sweatpants and stained T-shirts drag their children past the table and into the castle, where an elf will snap a Po...
Isabel screams and kicks and slams the back of her head into Jerónimo’s chest as he watches the freight crawl past. He counts its cars in an effort to calm himself. The train seems endless. It’s another trial, Jerónimo reflects, another misery to be endured, like cold rain or a sleepless night. &...
KING TONIGHT, THE USUAL martini on the dry side, one olive. Boone pours him Sapphire, instead of the well rotgut, a little treat. And why not? Delia, the other bartender, actually showed up for her shift, and it’s been nice and slow for a Saturday. Besides Mr. King and Gin...
Miguel glances at Francisco with raised eyebrows, like, What’s up with that?, because the old man normally heads right for the shower to wash off the sweat and plaster dust before the family has dinner. The newscaster is talking about a wildfire that’s burning out of contr...