Cleo stomped the snow off her shoes and walked into Olivia’s apartment. Olivia had given her a key that morning and made it very clear that she didn’t need to knock or ring the doorbell when she got back from her mom’s. Both because she was always welcome in the apartment and because the doorbell […]

Noah was sitting in the backyard, drinking a beer. It was freezing, but he’d been stacking firewood for an hour, and now it was done and ready to use. And he’d managed to rake up all the splinters from the packed down snow so that he and Liv wouldn’t have to worry about Mia swallowing […]

Cleo was actually somewhat surprised to see her mother’s car in the driveway as she pulled up to her childhood home. While they had discussed the fact that Cleo was going to be here today, she’d assumed their conversation last night was all the contact her mom was going to need for the next few […]

The Christmas tree lot wasn’t nearly as crowded as Olivia had feared. A few people wandered around, looking at the slim selection of remaining trees while Christmas carols played on tinny speakers above them. “I don’t think I’ve had a real tree since I was a kid,” Olivia said as she pushed Mia’s stroller onto […]

Olivia’s kitchen was flooded with morning sunlight. Mia sat in her highchair, babbling to her sippy cup as the pancakes sizzled on the stove. Cleo sat next to her at the table with a cup of coffee while Olivia slid the finished pancakes onto a large tray. “I’m just so excited for you,” Olivia said, […]

Mia was crying. Her familiar whimpers seeped their way into Olivia’s room as she slowly woke up. With a groan, Olivia rolled out of bed and stumbled out into the living room. Cleo was asleep on the couch and didn’t move as she passed. But as she got to Mia’s open door, she could hear […]

An hour later, they were back in Olivia’s living room. Olivia and Cleo sat on one couch while Andrew sat on the smaller couch across from them. In theory, Noah was sitting in the recliner beside Olivia. But he was now telling a story with such drunken enthusiasm that he barely even touched the seat […]

Their destination was a small duplex on a heavily wooded road. Cleo pulled up behind one of the three vehicles already in the driveway and turned off the car. The night was eerily still as they got out and headed toward the front door. When they stepped inside the downstairs apartment, Olivia’s mother was sitting […]

It seemed like the night started winding down shortly after that. Cleo and Andrew sat at a high-top table a little ways away from the bar, nursing beers while Olivia stopped by to see them every chance she got. The bar gradually began to empty and even though the jukebox was still going strong, the […]

The jukebox was playing the same song it did every Friday night around this time. Noah didn’t know which regular thought this was so funny and honestly, he was too busy to investigate. But that didn’t stop the twanging guitars from pounding into his skull. He set down a couple of heavy plates on the […]