You stupid girl! Of all the words ever spoken to Sophia, these were the ones that grew the deepest roots, surfacing from the dark recesses of her memory when she made mistakes. They slid from her lips while she scanned a poor report card, failed a test, or fumbled a simple calculation. It came as no surprise to her when her college application was denied, the car wouldn’t start, or the power went out. After all, she was a stupid…
Ruth stared at her sagging fence and shook her head. The honeysuckle had looked beautiful as it climbed up her mailbox, but now the vines had worked their way onto the fence. Their weight made it buckle ever so slightly, and she could not abide such nonsense, but if she yanked them off, would it harm the ones still encasing her letterbox? Uncertain, the question buzzed around her like a honeybee in search of pollen. She couldn’t stand there pretending…
Jack settled himself at the piano, foot hovering above the brass pedals as he took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. He didn’t need a sheet of music to know the melody that had haunted him all day, and warmed up with a few scales, fingers dancing across the ivory keys. The house was still and quiet when he paused and stretched his neck. A quick nod, and then he set off, notes pouring out as his body swayed…
Gareth left the kids in the tub as he went to round up pajamas and towels. All he had to do now was convince the boys to get out of the bath. He never could relate to parents who said bath time was a challenge because their kids hated the water. If they’d said it was because they couldn’t convince their child to get out, he’d have nodded along, listed a half-dozen different excuses his kids always used despite the pruning of their…