“It’s been four weeks, I’d hope so by now.” Annie touches the side of her face and thinks of how she’d looked the night JP showed up and how when he’d gently touched her bruise it felt like he’d looked into her soul and she knew they would be ok. “He called last night, and Mama seems better but he’ll be staying there for at least another month ..read more

“I got a text from Maeve around four this morning, said her flight was delayed. I was so irritated, and annoyed, I couldn’t fall back to sleep. She can’t miss my wedding ..read more

“Not sure this meets Mama’s expectations of my exceptionalism,” he smiles holding up the joint he’d just finished rolling at the table on the deck, the crystal ashtray set in the middle. “But this is a beautiful joint ..read more

“Still are,” Annie answers as she sits back down and lays her head on Charlie’s chest, feeling his fluttering heartbeat. “Sounded like you were having a nightmare earlier?” She says cautiously, sitting up and taking his hand. “You were muttering and shaking when I got here this morning ..read more

As the words leave his lips Annie is aware of the trill of a bird in the distance hum just as  the bells of St. Catherine ring out eight times, the shrill call of a crow in the branches reminds her of the bittersweet loneliness she’s felt since her arrival now muddled with her desire to never be alone again. Annie feels grounded in her decision to invite JP to visit, but her fluttering heart and nervous stomach make her reluctant to give into hope ..read more

“I love this porch, I’ve been sitting her enjoying my last cigarette of the day since the day we moved in. Feels like I’ve been a thousand different people since then, but always in this same place,” Dottie answers, picking up her unlit cigarette from the edge of the crystal ashtray ..read more

Khadijah walks toward the church rising above the busy avenue and feels her legs shaking in her four-inch heels as they click on the cement staircase. Her pounding heart feels like it’s lifting the rhinestones on the clingy pink-top and her anxiety is begging her to flee, but Khadijah knows this is exactly where she needs to be. She takes a deep breath as she lifts her bosom and pulls her shoulders back, puckers her peony-pink lips and straightens her silky black hair set as a tubular crown framing her ebony skin and hazel-brown eyes shadowed with glittery purple eyeshadow and exaggerated blac ..read more

Annie sits for moment after Father Lorenzo leaves and breathes in the musty scent of the space. She opens the door and walks into the empty chapel, the sound of her boots on the stone floor the only sound. As she exits through the large wooden doors, the bells of St. Catherine ring one single chime, reminding Annie it is already one o’clock. She stands with her back toward the butter-yellow brick wall of the church and pulls a joint from her left pocket. The afternoon sky darkens as she lifts the lighter to the paper tip and inhales slowly as she makes her way carefully down the cement stairca ..read more

“It’s funny, you know, I never asked why I didn’t have a father, I just accepted it, I guess. Maybe because there were so many men around, Papa and Uncle Tommy that I never thought someone was missing. And I was always looking at the stars and maybe I knew, maybe I was searching for Chapman Todd ..read more

One of the best things about these products is their incredible and anti-inflammatory properties. My skin feels softer and more supple since I started using them, and I have noticed a reduction in breakouts. Furthermore, it has reduced the itchiness I experience because of my skin condition ..read more