A K, Author at Agnes and True

I came to the park again today. The bench sits unobtrusively at the top of the bluff overlooking the river. It never changes, day to day or season to season, it simply sits and waits, taunting me. The doctor says that I should either approach it and make my peace with it or stop torturing myself. But I can do neither.

I’m closer to the bench than I’ve ever been, and this makes me jittery. Beyond the bench the snow swept river valley crawls towards the city skyline, stark white against dull grey. I turn away […]

The Order of Things

by Lauren Stein

It’s time for the third glass of wine, and Bubbie is asleep.

At the kids’ table, my youngest cousin swings her party shoes into my overlong legs, and I don’t say anything. She shovels tiny bites of spongy matzah ball into her mouth, distracted by the older kids and their tablets.

Last year, I was pissed about being relegated to the kids’ table. I was twenty-one. I could drink all the glasses of wine. I could even buy them across the border. This year, my place card finally migrated to sit with the grown-ups. But without Uncle […]

About A K

The Bench

The Order of Things