Zack poked me in the ribs as we stood in the long line that smelled like wet diapers.



"Zaaacaaarrrry, stop!"



"You gonna sit on that fat man's lap, Katie?"



I snarled. "He's not a fat man, he's Santa."



"Santa's not real you know."



I knew that man in the chair wasn't the real Santa. I didn't have to be a jerky nine year old to know that, but he was a really cool im… imtation. That means phony. That's what Mommy said. She said the real Santa…

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Last night's newly fallen snow covers the street. Each step is an adventure as I try to finagle my way through the market area. Not knowing where the sidewalk ends and the street begins, is a mystery. People are gathered everywhere. I thought the storm would have kept everyone inside. Not in Russia.



We have snow back home, but nothing like here. I remember the first time I took Sloan snow skiing. She insisted we lie in the snow and wave our arms up and down. Claiming that if we made… Continue

Trust me, it's not what you think. I don't enjoy being away from Slone. God I'd give anything to be home, holding her in my arms. Listening to her breathe in the middle of the night. Sometimes, when I'm home, I wake up and spend an hour or so just watching her sleep. The rise and fall of her chest, the way her lips sometimes turn up on one side. I always imagine that she's thinking of me.



The waiter comes and I place an order for a scotch and water. Ilya nods and orders the same. I'm… Continue

Burn To Memory - Part Two

by

Susan Griscom





I'm standing in the grocery store, last in line. There are at least four women ahead of me with carts filled to the rim. At this rate I'll be here for another twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of just standing here with too much time to think about Cal's last letter. I wish I had gone with my gut feeling and just kept it. I would love to read it again.



Glancing around for some sort of distraction, I see the cover of… Continue