Lily had not come to the smoke shop for many months, he had not returned to the café. She had left him to drown or rescue himself and he was still unsure which he would choose.

This is what happens when you have an affair with your editor. The man no longer knows his place. Instead of “Mad Magazine’s” “Spy vs. Spy”, we have “Ego vs. Ego.” Both of ours – colossal.

What does it feel like? An exhaustive new pet you quickly tire of taking care of but love showing off to the neighbors; instead of food and water, this one requires zinc oxide and petroleum. Groom it daily and it will be kind to you.

You learn everything when you die. All of the secrets people kept from you. Where your childhood dog really went when he ran away. How your mother secretly pitied you for not being as pretty as she was in her youth. How genuinely proud your father was of you.

The sky flickered and then came those crooked currents of heaven. Like blue serpents thrown down by winged gods– to punish, to enlighten, to bless.

“My father always detested ‘M.A.S.H.’ He thought it represented the normalization of war.”

She took the swan now in her arms, began to untwist its neck. It felt like killing the thing. But a girl had to shower. She smiled at the joke of it, death by unwringing. Still she brought the terry beak to her lips before giving the neck a final turn.