We’re seated at a round table so I can’t escape my sister-in-law’s sightline, can’t lean back in my chair so I disappear between two cousins, there’s no bad seat in the house my father-in-law would say; I contemplate a posture that most closely mimics invisibility, staving off the inevitable until everyone else has answered Carol’s how’ve you been like air released from overblown balloons. Like an ill-timed waitress she comes around to me while my face is stuffed with fried c

My father knew how the system worked; how it fed its subjects and ground their bones. He saw himself as a practical philosopher of the cold, hard world. To save me, he taught the choreography of survival: the proper tilt of the chin, the measured depth of a nod. "Refrain from using venomous words," he'd say. "They poison the air where beauty still breathes." He wanted me to move within the invisible lines. I tried to absorb his wisdom, but my spirit wouldn't settle. I stayed

The Set Of All Things contains the Ocean, and perhaps that is the only set large enough. Or so it appears sitting out here on the boat, the water empty from horizon to horizon. The wind tugs at the sail, just enough to keep way on. Daniela’s at the stern of the boat, keeping an eye on the wheel, and I’m at the prow, looking out. As far from each other as we can get on the boat. Not because we’ve argued, but to take a bit of time. Before we get sick of each other. We’ll talk a

We ate them on a muggy Spring afternoon. I skipped out from work saying I had a legal appointment, not entirely untrue. Sweat trickled down my belly and tickled my underarms during the two-block walk. I hoped I didn’t smell. Stepping through the door was like entering another era. White tiled walls gleamed, a long bar with men shucking oysters stretched down one side of the front room, and a row of small tables ran the length of the other. One table, strewn with crumpled na

Sprung Uncles “Oh shit, Uncle Cal. What’s the emergency?? Is my mom ok?” The kid has a permanently dazed look, like he’s high or he was dropped on his head. Dropped on his head is more likely given his parental situation. Still, he’s gullible enough, which is all I need for today. I tell Tyler it’s nothing to worry about, just a fun little adventure I thought he wouldn’t want to miss. “That’s a relief. I figured you might have come ‘cause someone died.” It’s spooky how t