“Bye, J.C.,” I said, reaching up to hug the big man. “It was great to see you.” We disentangled and gave each other finalfist bumps. I watched as he rolled his suitcase to the waiting taxi, got in, and waved. As the cab floated away from the curb I turned to go back into the…
Though I’d lived in the house for several years, I’d never noticed the gate located at the end of a concrete side path that led from my front door to my neighbor’s fence. I’d walked the short trail to within a few feet of the fence, where further passage was blocked by a cluster of…
It seemed like a good idea at the time. I’d just come back from India, and had lost a lot of weight on account of a worm I’d picked up there. Ten, fifteen pounds, gone in a matter of weeks. I copied a bunch of signs and stuck them on telephone poles around the neighborhood:…
The guitarist liked to play in different spots throughout the neighborhood. In recent weeks, he’d setup in the doorway of an abandoned building that used to be a hair salon. The Vietnamese woman who ran the business packed up and moved not too long ago, as did the other nearby shop owners, when an out-of-town…
“Tell me again why we’re going to this thing,” said Nash, as he buttoned the blue collared shirt he saved for special occasions. He looked down at his chest. “Ah, shoot, there’s a stain on this.” “Don’t worry about it,” said Justin. “Your sports coat will cover it up. Anyways, I told you, I kind…
“You guys both look like shit,” said Stan. “Up late at the bicycle polo tournament? Playing four square at House of Air?” “Not exactly,” said Stephanie, holding her double expresso close to her mouth. “The polo tourney was last week,” croaked Jordan, who was half sprawled on the conference table his head resting on an…
“I haven’t spoken to her in twenty-two years, and I don’t intend to start now,” my Mother proclaimed, scrubbing at the already clean counter to emphasize her point. “But Mom, it’s a silent retreat. You won’t be talking to her. In fact, you’ll be encouraged not to,” I said to the back of her head,…
“Thank you, officer,” said Chester. “Grab a houseplant for the station on your way out.” “That won’t be necessary,” said the cop. “We’d just kill it, triggered the need for a murder investigation.” He winced in recognition of his faux pas. “Sorry for your troubles; let us know if you determine anything has been stolen.” …
“So,” said Nash. “Now what?” They’d gone to Nash and Justin’s flat to outfit themselves for the dig, everyone except Stephanie bolstering their resolve by sucking on a bong shaped like a lizard. Justin had rifled through his collection of Burning Man cum camping gear, assigning costumes and equipment. He was wearing a full length…
Outside the Yankee Pete zipped up his jacket against the cold. The bar’s smoky haze seemed to have leaked outside. Grey wisps of fog swirled slowly around, like ghosts searching for their grave. He stood in front of the saloon, hands in pockets, waiting, hoping that the electronic voice that’d summoned him would appear, preferably…
“So, gene-team, what’ve you all decided,” asked Justin, as he sat down at the table. “Well, sir,” said Jordan, “We seem to be in a bit of a coo-numb-drum. Which is to say, Stephanie here is numb to the drumbeat of Operation Do-Dig.” “More like Operation Doo-Doo,” replied Stephanie, sipping her vodka. “I’m not interested…
For nearly two years, some 1,500 house calls, I sold, or tried to sell, carpet and flooring in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before taking the job I’d had a successful sales career with Levi Strauss & Company, from 1986 to 2004; the “best years of my life,” ages 26 to 44. I then spent…
It was twilight as Pete strode towards The Yankee. He hurried past a decades-old mural that featured “Potrero Hill” in once vibrant colors, its bubble-shaped letters set at a slant, a style reminiscent of Mr. Natural’s Keep on Truckin’…The fresco’s jauntiness seemed to mock Pete’s scrawny forward tilt, though both were equally faded. A mass…
Pete sat on his aging sofa in his cluttered apartment, wondering where he’d gone wrong. Twenty years ago he’d been in the thick of things, breaking important stories, appearing on local news programs to explain the complicated power struggles that made up City politics. He knew who hated who, and which of these haters slept…
I had a Saturday mid-morning call at a dilapidated apartment complex off Highway 280 in the Excelsior. I was met by a heavyset woman with a pleasant face and demeanor in her mid-60s. She told me she was the building’s owner, and needed a carpet quote for one of four identical units, occupied by her…
“Why didn’t I know about this?” asked the Supervisor. She was standing behind her desk in her City Hall office, looking down at a copy of The SF Lightning Bolt. “If you want my help you’re supposed to keep me informed.” She peered over half-glasses at John, whose body overflowed in the armchair facing the…
By Steven J. Moss Chester scooped up a litter of glass on the sidewalk, carefully placing the particles in a plastic bag. “Extra, extra!” Pete called out, as he strode towards Chester’s bent back. “What?” said Chester, straightening-up. “Oh. Hi Pete.” “Hey there,” said Pete. “Another smash and grab, eh?” He whistled softly. “It’s…
“Man,” said Chester, as he entered the nursery. “Huge snow storm last night.” “How many did they get this time,” asked Maggie, who was rearranging garden ornaments that hadn’t sold in more than a year, shifting them from higher to lower shelves. “Oh, I’d say four, including our truck. Which, as you know, has nothing…
I had a call at a single family home off Mission Street near the San Francisco-Daly City border which’d been transformed into an elderly care facility. I was met at the door by an effeminate heavyset 30ish Filipino man in pale green scrubs, who unlocked the front door and hurried away. The living room was…