Half-Empty
She never hid her lesbianism but she never broadcasted it, either. Straight people do not have to declare their sexual orientation, so she figured why must she. But when her…
That Last Time
She didn’t want to give the eulogy. That last time they were together, cheering up each other with teary guffaws, was how she wanted to remember her best friend. Besides,…
Dress
I wrestled with wanting to look pretty for her and wanting to be true to myself: I am truly not a girlie-girl, but I chose a long dress with a…
Heart
That she’d spend all day in her kitchen preparing meals for others to eat: yams, collard greens, pinto beans, ham, and cornbread—just to give to the homeless—was only a small…
Hill
The hill was so steep hubcaps would fly off if it were carelessly descended. The fourteen-year-old girl had never given the hill much attention; to her, it was more a…
Kingdom
As she evolved so did her relationship with God. When she had once felt helpless, she prayed for miracles and guidance, but as she matured and became learned, resourceful, well-connected,…
Futures
Seeing the teenagers at the graduation so expectant, so sure of their place in the world, and so certain of their futures reminded her of herself at graduation and all…
Rear View
Through the rearview mirror, her family home faded into the distance as she embarked upon a new journey: college. She fantasized about her newfound freedom, the people she’d meet, the…
Ordinary
It would've been too much for an ordinary woman: to watch her children play with the little girl next door, to watch her husband take money and food to the…
Confidence
“I’m a good man,” he congratulated himself after giving his wife the “night off” to tend to herself for a change. His newborn daughter had slept peacefully, which may have…