“Keep those brutes back—away from my Belle,” spits the harridan. Then she
scoops up her yapping toy poodle, clutching it close to her chest.
My two mutts just keep on wagging their tails, ignoring the bitch, as we
silently continue our walk.
Noel Sloboda

I bought my nephew a Coke. He was three. We were waiting for his mother to finish her shopping at the Banana Republic. He didn’t know how to sip from a straw, so I taught him and we sipped our Cokes in silence within the noise of the
Christmas rush.
Matthew Hamilton

He said,
“Just make it easy on yourself.”
I said,
“I can’t”
He said,
“Look, you’re not getting anymore money out of me while I’m alive. So use the pillow and squeeze and the inheritance is yours.”
I said,
Blink, blink
Eyes open, eyes closed,
and squeezed.
CK Black

The girl lived in a third story basement apartment in an old jazz-age hotel on the east side.  My wife never liked the neighborhood.  She said she thought it was “beneath me.”
Tommy Mac

For years he tried cards, gifts, compliments, but she stayed clinical and detached. A persnickety robot in the bedroom. Then one day he did the dishes unprompted, and she was a wildcat, untamed.
Tom Mahony

I couldn’t understood what she ranted on about. Always scribbling something, I never found her helpful at all.
When I tried to subtly suggest something, she told me she was the one who gave hints, not me. Bottom line - Heloise was just a bitch.
Michael Solender

I drove through the rain and spotted a vixen in a purple coat sprinting to her sedan and for some reason I thought to myself, “She is going to rush home and put on a dry pair of panties.” Then I wondered what the hell was wrong with me.
Adam Graupe

Irritating, not loving, each other. For one year we’ve slept apart. Your desire is to rest in the sunshine, but I insist on exploiting the shadows. Our dreams have become our secrets, and we no longer care to share or live them together.
We worship the fickle gods of circumstance.
offbeatjim Wittenberg

Breathe deep, shut your eyes, do not move. Cannot sleep.
Get up, drink some milk, go back to bed. Cannot sleep.
Turn again, count sheep, empty thoughts. Cannot sleep.
Hug John, be still, hold your breath.
PINCH, PINCH, PINCH JOHN!
John is awake and angry but your eyes are shut and you are drifting away.
Jelena Vencl Ohlrogge.

I thought I’d broken her neck. Mistake. She was a tough old bird, her breasts large but her skin had seen better days. I raised the cleaver and brought the steel down on her throat. Blood spurted across the table. Next Christmas I was going to buy a frozen turkey.
Dave Barber