He loved her.  She was pretty sure he loved her. Yes, he must love her, or he wouldn’t be here now, stroking her hair. as if she were a dog kicked as if she were his dog, then soothed through whimpers What if he left? It seemed she was always getting in his way, bringing […]

The notes came as she tried to find his eyes.  It was so important that he hear her vulnerability. The words tumbled one after another, the pianist muscling the chords underneath. She began to realize that she was alone in the limelight — holding his hand on this holy stage that they shared — where they […]

**We rejoin Tom at the beach for this 100 Word Song entry.  Catch up on Tom and Shelley here.** Dead?  The word had no meaning, yet, to Tom; death was abstract.  But Shelley was real.  Real, here, in front of him, radiating a palpable, gut-churning fear that made him wish, for the briefest instant, that […]

***Read the previous episode of Tom and Shelly here*** “I just can’t remember…” her voice trailed off, chasing the breeze. Tom did a golden retriever head-tilt. “You remember at least a bit, or you wouldn’t be this scared.” He watched as something subtle vacated Shelley’s face, a part of her retreating from his statement of […]

And… break. Wait for it. Feel his breath in his splayed fingers across the small of my back. Relax the taut, feel the floor, hear the music in the space in between. Smallest guidance. Barely there movement. Hint of a shift, my weightlessness in his arms. Repeat, repeat, repeat. The tap tap tap on the […]

Tears from him. In that hotel room, in the dark. Unmanning me. “I can’t… just can’t!” His voice pleaded, pulling the sheets up, aborting the moment. Me, Munsch’s Scream, silent, gaping.  Not breathing. Pulse frenetic. I couldn’t hear.  Something about another girl, no — a woman. Another woman.  He loved us both. She in Ohio, […]