When Theodore Wistang’s wedding ring slipped off his finger and went down the drain, into the garbage disposal no less, he knew he had to retrieve it. Even though it wasn’t his fault—it just slipped off in the soapy water during the dish duty—it would still cause an uproar not seen for hundreds of years.
The crowd stood up from their seats and applauded. As I propped myself up on my crutches and made my way to the podium, Annie glared at me, stone-faced and slow clapping. As Rick handed me the chip, I sensed that I was about to do one of the worst things I’d ever done, drunk or sober.
“I’ve changed,” Ivy argued. “The Ivy you married doesn’t exist anymore.” She desperately, fervently tried to convince Roy he had nothing whatsoever to do with her lesbian leanings. “You know the way you love a woman’s body?” she asked. “Her lips, her breasts, her vagina, her legs? Well, I’ve come to admire those attributes, too.” It took a while, but Roy finally accepted the bizarre, surreal reality of the situation, though he was far from ecstatic about it.
The train arrived at Gard Du Nord and Jack thought he was going to be sick. He hadn’t slept on the plane and during the train journey he’d had snatches of sleep but kept waking with a start with his heart pounding in case they had arrived. This felt like a thousand first dates.
My little brother’s mouth was open. Probably mine was too. We had been sent to buy milk, bread, and apples at the corner store. Mother had told us to be good, to go to Gorzock’s store, come home, and help with fixing supper. We were diverted from our task by the circus parade, and we followed the circus people down the street. I saw old Mrs. Sherburne watching the parade too. She wore a frilled sleeveless dress that showed her wrinkled and loose arms. The trumpeter marched at the front by Heineman’s mortuary, the calliope rolled on wheels at the rear, and in the middle was the strong man wearing a leopard skin across one shoulder and a bandana at his throat. He stuck out his tongue at us children, and I jumped back and pulled on Leo’s hand.