Daniel grabbed his buzzing cell phone from the coffee table and his mother’s words spilled out at an incomprehensible pace. He said ‘okay’ several times and listened carefully for clues that might explain her hysteria. She had taken his sister, Beth, to Hartford General Hospital, where she gave birth to a 9 lb baby boy. The City of Hartford, population 130,000, was a captivating blend of heritage and art, colleges and mus...

Since her high school days in the 1980s, Martha enjoyed Christmas shopping at the Mall of Minnesota. She loved the costumes, the lights, the music, but one mall tradition never appealed to her – up-skirt peeping. She never knew any men who got up-skirted. She considered up-skirting the men playing bagpipes near the mall entrance, but it was impossible with everyone watching. Martha rented a locker to store her snow boots...

Part 1 – Community Buzz Nancy Drool locked the door of the Community Buzz coffee shop as her coworkers, Stacy, Darcy, and Marci shook their ponytails loose. Watching the prettiest girls and sleaziest guys mingle on a Friday was exhausting, but she allowed the prettiest and sleaziest to stay after closing time. Frank sat in a large booth with his back to the window, watching the girls seat themselves with loose blouses bar...

“Ciao. This is Amara at Papa Pizza Pies. How can I help you?” “I’d like to order a large sausage for delivery.” “Oh yeah, I hear ya. I love a large sausage.” Greg chuckled, “I beg your pardon?” “I love the long, cylindrical shape of a large sausage – so juicy – firm, yet flexible.” “Yeah, uh, me too. That’s an odd thing to say. Are you sure I got the right place?” Amara said frantically, “Don’t hang up! You’ll regret it f...

Sylvia, my wife of 16 years, wanted a life of excitement and nothing I did was enough to satisfy her insatiable appetite for adventure. She demanded lavish vacations, dream houses in exotic locations, sex acts I wasn’t inclined to perform. I was only focused on the future, not the present. The pandemic changed that. We had been saving since I began my career as an accountant and Sylvia insisted it would be a perfect oppor...