Communication Breakdown

My first sentient memory was waking in an empty bed in a bright room to a dull headache. I looked at my digital clock. It flashed midnight. I am a heavy sleeper, so I keep several clocks. The analog clock on my nightstand told me it was just after eight. I woke again, closer to [...]

Read Full Post »

Compromise

“Do it again, Dad, like Kermit!” I did it again, like Kermit. Lillie laughed. “Okay, now do it like the Martian!” I did it again, like the Warner Brothers’ Martian. She laughed. We came back from our southern sojourn with a fresh batch of inside jokes. Collie and Lillie developed my favorite. Whenever someone did [...]

Read Full Post »

On Her Own

On the drive south, and again on the return journey, my family charted a course through the Shenandoah Valley to visit with my daughter, Rachel. Originally, the plan had been to pick up Rachel on the way down and return her on the way back, as is our annual custom. We were particularly keen for [...]

Read Full Post »

A Day Like Any Other

“Hello?” “Hello, Henry. It’s Lucy. Can I speak with the kids?” “Sure, just a sec. Jason? Your mom is calling.” Our typical exchange. A handful of words, the bare minimum necessary for Lucy to convey what she wants, and for me to meet her request. Anyone else answering the phone would have received a more [...]

Read Full Post »

Mama’s Boy

What a tender kiss he has, I thought. Verdad and I were making out at a party. I ran my hand up his nude arm to his shoulders, then to his smooth cheeks. His soft skin sparked my fingertips. I traced a lazy finger along his forehead, his brow, his aquiline nose. My touch returned [...]

Read Full Post »

Sis

That night, after my talk with the teenagers, the sex dreams took a turn for the incestuous. Following our afternoon on the boat, Lynn’s boyfriend had broken up with her via telephone. Lynn made a tearful call to break this news to her mother, my brother Jesse’s ex wife Teri. This got me to thinking [...]

Read Full Post »

Catch And Release

“Dad! Hey Dad, look at this!” I was lugging an ice chest down to the pier. Lillie was beside me in her bikini, her hair tied back, taking each of the fifty-three steps one at a time. “I’m looking Collie. What are you doing?” “I’m casting off! See, watch.” I stood and watched as he [...]

Read Full Post »

Uncle Hank

I was already formally engaged, as we used to say, to the girl I was going to marry. But still, I sometimes went out on the town with girls of a different sort. And during the very week before the date set for the wedding . . . “Hey Uncle Hank! Uncle Hank!” I looked [...]

Read Full Post »

Drive South

My children were asleep in their beds, splayed in configurations wildly different from those into which they had originally been tucked. My parents were asleep in my bed, side-by-side, as they have been every night for over four decades. It was a little after three in the morning. I closed the bedroom doors after checking [...]

Read Full Post »

Mrs Rock and Ms Hard Place

“Well hey, y’all!” I hugged Mom. Dad patted my back. “Howdy, howdy!” I hugged him, kissing his cheek. I stood back and smiled. “Y’all look great! Come in, come in . . . how was the drive?” Within moments of being with my parents, I could already feel my accent thickening, my New York skin [...]

Read Full Post »