Worthing Flash

 I was lying on the couch, waiting for the air conditioning to kick in and dozing off due to the heat, a hangover, and disinterest in the ballgame on TV because the Jays were pummeling the Yankees for the third day in a row. My cat Henry was napping on my chest, and we were both startled awake by my apartment buzzer. No one ever buzzes my apartment. People call first. Actually, no one ever comes to my apartment. I meet people outside. I staggered to the buzzer. “Hello?” “Is this James Yates?” “Yeah. Who’s this?” “Police.” Police? What the... “How can I help you?” “Can we come in?” “How do I know you’re the police?” Silence. “Hold on,” I said. “I’ll come down.” I pulled on a t-shirt and went downstairs. Sure enough, it was the cops. Two uniforms, one plain clothes. I assumed the plain clothes was a cop because she did all the talking. She introduced the three of them by name but I didn’t really pay attention. Looking at her notes, she said, “Where we...

by William Kitcher I never did find out her name. For some reason, I thought it was Wanda. We met in the park. I was sitting on a bench, looking for pictures in the clouds. When I looked down, Wanda was sitting on the bench across from me. I hadn’t noticed her there before. Perhaps she had been, and I’d just been oblivious, a not unlikely state for me. She was staring at me. I smiled at her but Wanda made no reaction. “Hi,” I said. No reaction. I went back to cloud gazing. The next time I looked at Wanda, she was lying down on the bench. She looked comfortable. She yawned once, then fell asleep. I sat there for another couple of hours. No one came by. Wanda woke up, stretched, and got off the bench. She took a few steps toward me. I looked at her. Nice looking, I thought. Mature. Calm. “Do you wanna come home with me?” Wanda just stood there. I got up and started for home. She followed me. We’ve been together for ten years now. She doesn’t eat much...