It’s common for me to start one of these stories planning on making it short and sweet, but then my imagination takes hold, and it starts growing. This is Part One … of something. Barney Parmenter thought it a pleasant surprise when he saw the kid thumbing at the entrance to Interstate 35W near …
Tag: short story
Gone to the Bad
This is Episode 6 of the short story that, once completed, will probably be called “Getting to Know Darin,” though I guess it won’t be final until I get it done. The first five parts, from the beginning, were “Feeling the Love,” “Make Room for Daddy,” “The Kids Are Evil,” “Recovery in Various Forms,” …
Paydirt and Paved Roads
Last night I learned that the term “paydirt” wasn’t invented by some overheated local sports writer who decided that the dirt underneath the grass in the end zone was dirt that paid, even though it was probably a high school game and the only payoff would have been “under the table.” It was the term for …
Recovery in Various Forms
This is the fourth episode. The first three were, from the beginning, “Feeding the Line,” “Make Room for Daddy,” and “The Kids Are Evil.” In this installment, evil continues. RECOVERY IN VARIOUS FORMS Darin Fowler wouldn’t deal drugs with just anybody. Te’Quan Bodie was a smart kid. He’d been a soccer player, about the only …
The Kids Are Evil
This is the third installment in what will be a short story. The first was “Feeding the Line.” The second was “Make Room for Daddy.” THE KIDS ARE EVIL Darin and Ellen watched as Ben complimented his son for a surprising ability to fry tasty crappie. They had fish, fries, and the slaw Ellen had …
Make Room for Daddy
Eventually, this short story is going to be known (I think) as “Getting to Know Darin.” The first part was called “Feeding the Line.” Ellen Sloan was quiet. She was plain. She could have been beautiful if she cared about it. She preferred to be forever underestimated. She seemed too shy for larceny, but that …
Sweet Freedom
This is the sixth installment in this short story, preceded, from beginning to here, by “A Jogging Contradiction,” “The Good One,” “Contrary to Ordinary,” “Backsliding,” and “A Sign of Weakness.” Eliza Evermore was highly distressed to see Johnny Jacklin headed toward her office. The gray suit looked good on him. He’d cut his …
A Sign of Weakness
This the fifth installment of a story, preceded, in chronological order, by “A Jogging Contradiction,” “The Good One,” “Contrary to Ordinary,” and “Backsliding.” Surprise was Johnny Jacklin’s preferred mode of operation. He called Eliza at the Forgiveness, Inc., office, and asked if she was up for a nice drive and maybe a hike. She was, …
Backsliding
The previous installments of this story were known, in order, as “A Jogging Contradiction,” “The Good One,” and “Contrary to Ordinary”: Her lunch with Johnny Jacklin left Eliza Evermore in what seemed to her a mild state of hypnosis. She was fascinated. She longed to see him again, but he made no more appearances at …
Contrary to Ordinary
This is a continuation of the story begun in “A Jogging Contradiction” and then “The Good One”: The son of a multimillionaire evangelist, and the brother of a millionaire fraud, drove a rented Toyota Tercel. His father would have been picked up at the airport in a limo. His brother would likely have snorted cocaine …
Nightrider's Lament 