There are days when you can see your whole life in a coffee cup, I guess. I certainly could, today.

Pinkmail
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

He barely heard the knock on the door, but he rose to open it. The dark shape slipped past him into his motel room, moving swiftly and as quiet as that knock. Wesley closed the door.

The black hooded cloak was curiously old-fashioned, like something out of a period costume drama, but its purpose was clear. He had demanded that Oliver Ramsay meet in the out of the way establishment, and that could only be done in darkness and fully shrouded. Oliver was too well known for it to be any other way.

The worst-looking car in the company lot was Jerry’s. It made no sense to Ron. Jerry was, pardon the expression, a hell of an engineer, and a beloved mentor to his younger colleagues. His skills were rare. Knowing so, he did all he could to pass them on, for his responsibility was an arcane but critically essential part of the company’s flagship product. Tens of billions of dollars worth sold; not Apple, but you’d know the name.

 
Is it a rabbit, or is it a duck? Or is it, perhaps, something wholly unexpected?

A Woman’s Eyes
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

I always thought that I had a strong face. Girls called me good looking. They said that I had “come-to-bed eyes – China blue. I never had any trouble finding girls, which is why I took advantage. I guess that made me heterosexual. If you are desired by women, then you desire them back. It is simply how things work.

Last Hallowe'en

Sarah couldn't believe the early Hallowe'en party and the guys that were here. ‘Granted, maybe She-Hulk wasn't the best costume idea,’ she thought. Yeah, she was tall and big, but that didn't give them the right to paw at her like they were doing. ‘Why can't I just find a guy that's kind, and romantic?’ she continued thinking while slipping out to find one of the tables outside. ‘Someone to talk to me, not at me,’ she sighed.

White and Yellow
By Sabrina G. Langton

***

Author's Note: I dig through my big dusty pile and read again. Find something I love.

I hope YOU like it.

***

A whole year ago today. I can not believe that we have been living in this wonderful house for a whole year.

It's tempting to blame it all on my mother; haul out some psychobabble about how I was raised and childhood trauma and such. Tempting, sure, but anyone who has stayed awake through biology class knows that it's really all due to my father. Four sisters, one lone male - me. It's a biological fact that the male determines a child's sex at conception, but you try growing up as the last child with four sisters.

Clementine
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Gabe Horton was just the scout and guide. The leader of this wagon train was Ezekiel Masterton. He was the man who called the shots. Gabe could only recommend. Pastor Ezekiel seemed to hold the will of every one of the settlers in his hand.

There are a lot of good things about public transportation: It's affordable, environmentally responsible, good for people watching, cheaper than owning a car. There a couple of bad things about public transportation: It's slow and you often have to spend a lot of time in the cold or rain walking to the bus stop or waiting for the bus. Maybe the responsible rider is lucky and has a subway stop in front of his doorway, but not so the hero of this story.

Gregory wakes up from his enforced slumber and gets the first inklings of what his punishment may entail.

The streets darkened and shadows fell across the landscape as the sun set into the horizon. Gregory Steeles zipped his jacket feeling the temperature drop slightly. This was his favourite time to walk around town, enjoying the shift into evening. A gradual change from bright, cheery sunlight to the dark, hidden shadows of night.

Ari brings a friend to poker night, but what's her real game?

Chapter 2

She looked at me wide-eyed, “I’m going to spend the next year flying with the next boss of the company? That’s wild.”

We drove to the secure parking under the office building and left our things in the back as we got into the elevator. I punched the button for the top floor.

As we rose, she said, in a very timid voice, “I’ve never been up there before, this is scary.”

I told her not to worry; Terry was a good guy and would never put anyone into a situation he didn’t know they could handle.

Jamie wakes up in the middle of the night, sweating and scared. She looks around the bedroom she is sleeping in and the pajamas she is wearing. It takes her some time to realize she is safe. She feels something wet nudge her hand. She looks down and notices it is the puppy Dakota has gotten her.

I gritted my teeth but kept a smile on my lips. While I knew this would come up in my job interview, I had hoped it wouldn’t. Even six years later I got sick thinking about it. Hope hadn’t conquered reality.

Yes, I’m the one Secret Service agent that survived that debacle. And no, I wasn’t fired. I resigned. And the reason I resigned wasn’t the death of the President and her husband. It was all the fault of the First Brat,

A Pearl Among Women
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

“I suppose that I will have to tell you everything then,” she said with a sigh.

“Only if you want to,” he said. “But come back to bed. When you are back in my arms you can tell me anything you like. You know I will listen.”

“You listeners are rare among men,” she said, waving a scolding finger at him. But she flipped the covers and slipped back to where she had laid before.

“Stop whining, Alex,” she said sternly. “it is unseemly for one whose veins carry the blood of Zeus himself. I was celebate for almost 500 years before you were conceived. Surely you can manage a week between strumpets?” Alex ground his teeth. Athena sighed again and added, “Alright, fine. You can’t. How about two days?”

Chapter 1

I had, I think, the best job in the world. Most people look at an airline pilot and think, “Overpaid layabout, sitting in an armchair surrounded by beautiful air hostesses while a computer takes the controls.”

The Mallrat Chronicles

Introduction

-24-
Blood on the Plaza

According to the sun it was around the middle of the day when Oliver, as tired as he was, followed me into the center of town. I had set a blistering pace after the bandits had ambushed us, and Oliver, though he struggled, had managed to keep up with me. Oliver was covered in blood, not his blood, but blood from the bandits that had tried to ambush us. The boy's long brown hair was matted with sweat and his feet were blistered and bleeding.