Aaron couldn’t step into his future. He couldn’t go back to his past. He looked around at his life. There wasn’t much happening now. Ten months ago, his wife had come home from work, looked him in the eye, and said she was divorcing him. Then she was gone. Three months later, he lost his job. It wasn’t the best job in the world, but it was his. Now it was summer in the Midwest. He didn’t have a relationship. He didn’t have a job. He didn’t have any prospects. And his bank account was dwindling fast. He didn’t know what to do next. Hell, he didn’t know what to do now. He put ..read more

Darlene was already in a foul mood the day her mother called—drunk. Darlene’s last marriage had been one more fatal attraction that quickly went bad. The only reason she had hung on for as long as she did was that he had a lot of what she needed: money. The relationship she was in now was messy. Darlene did everything she knew to do her part. She was charming, witty, and beautiful. Attentive to his every need. And the harder she tried to pull him in, the further away he pulled. It wasn’t working. She didn’t even know why she called&nb ..read more

Steeplechase. I woke up in the middle of the night one night, startled out of a deep sleep, saying that word out loud. It had been said—yelled—to me in the dream. For weeks I wondered what it meant, and why the word had been spoken so loudly. I looked it up in the dictionary: “A race across open country or an obstacle course”? I couldn’t figure it out. It’s probably someone’s name, I thought. I was in the midst of trying to make sense out of a trip I had already taken to China and Tibet, where I had climbed the steps to four holy ..read more

He wanted to put his fist through it. Instead, he had to pick up his paintbrush and paint it. He slapped the paint on, stewing and muttering to himself. This house was a mansion. These people had more money than God. He had spent four years in college. Then he had worked for peanuts to develop a track record. He was good at what he did, too—architectural designing and business administration. Could he get a job doing what he had trained for? No. The only way he could feed himself was by painting rich people’s bathrooms and kitchens and bedrooms—rooms that didn’t need any mo ..read more

Marissa checked her e-mails. A lot of junk mail. One from a friend. Then her eyes lit up. My God. She actually heard from him.  She read the short note: Loved meeting you on the plane. Can’t wait to have lunch. Let me know what day is good for you. Jeremy.  She time-traveled back to that day they met. She’d been visiting her folks. She was tired and crabby, waiting to see if she could even get a seat on the plane. Fly- ing standby was inexpensive, but it had its downside, too. Coach had been full. Bu ..read more

She looked in his eyes and spoke slowly. It was the clearest Erica had felt for a long time. “This isn’t about you,” Erica said. “This is my fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. I can’t take care of myself and I don’t know how to love you. I’m all screwed up on alcohol and drugs. “You deserve better than me.” The nurse walked into the room. “It’s time, Erica. You shouldn’t have seen your baby. It’s just going to make it harder.” Erica handed her son to the nurse. She looked away as they walked out the door. What had helped her through her months of pregnancy was knowing that for once in her li ..read more

Sally was leaving church when Kevin pulled her aside. “Have you heard?” he asked. “Mark’s back in town.” “Mark?” she said. She tried to act casual, but just hearing his name made her feel more alive. That man—that angel, that monster, that karma with feet—was the love of her life. They had been together several times over the years. Each time it was a disaster. But each time when she’d run into him again after a separation, a tiny voice in her head would chime, “Maybe this time we could make it work.” “What’s he up to?” Sally asked, forcing herself to speak slowly. “Is he living here again or ..read more

Robert was driving home from work in his Subaru that evening. It was 5:35. He pushed the tuner on the radio a couple of times, trying to find a song he liked. He couldn’t, so he turned the radio off and popped in a favorite cassette. He sang along to “How Great Thou Art” at the top of his voice. It was one of the many moments he’d had during the past year of feeling blessed by God. After his divorce ten years ago, he thought he’d never be happy again. He hoped and dreamed that someday he could find someone to love, someone who loved him and wanted to stand by his side. Then Rosemary had come i ..read more

“Maybe she won’t find out,” Greg said to Allen over the phone. “You really think I have to tell her?” Greg knew what he was going to hear: yes. “You gotta bite the bullet on this one, buddy,” Allen said. “Don’t get angry at your wife. Get honest. Then apologize.” Greg hung up the cell phone and focused on driving. He flashed back to the night he’d met Serena at a restaurant. He and his wife were having some problems then, but now they’d started going to counseling. They were working things out. He had broken it off with Serena months ago. It didn’t mean much, their affair. But now Serena was g ..read more

It was a solemn week in Coventry, England, in 1969. Two local boys—Billy and Kenneth—died three days apart. Rev. Simon Stephens was young, only twenty-three. He was assistant to the chaplain at the hospital where the boys had died. While talking to Billy’s parents, Father Stephens mentioned that another boy, Kenneth, had recently died. He mentioned Billy’s death to Kenneth’s parents, too. It was a small gesture, a small choice. The Lawleys, Kenneth’s parents, sent flowers to Billy’s funeral. Then Billy’s folks and Kenneth’s folks decided to get together to have tea and share memories about the ..read more