My flashlight found the shelf at the back, and I set my scraper down on the drop cloth real slow — because what was sitting on that shelf, in a …
A Couple Hired Me to Paint a House in Cambridge — In the Back Hallway I Found a Door That Had Been Plastered Over Read MoreI reached down with my arm to the shoulder and got hold of it, and I set my hammer on the ridge real careful — because the thing resting on …
A Fella Hired Me to Redo a Roof in Steubenville — One of the Two Chimneys Had Never Carried Smoke Read MoreI reached in and lifted it out, and I set my prybar down on the floor real slow — because the thing wrapped in that stiff old feed sack, hidden …
A Woman Hired Me to Rebuild a Farmhouse Staircase — The Third Tread From the Bottom Lifted Clean Out Read MoreI tipped the pipe down over my hand, and I set my cutter on the workbench real careful, because what came out of that pipe was a fat roll of …
A Young Couple in Marietta Hired Me to Fix the Plumbing — Then I Found a Copper Pipe That Made No Sense Read MoreI got my flashlight down off my belt and shined it in, and I set my screwdriver on the carpet real slow — because down in that hollow between the …
A Family in Parkersburg Hired Me to Run New Circuits — Then I Found an Outlet That Was Never Meant to Carry Power Read MoreI drew it out into the light and pulled the wrapping back, and it was a christening gown. Tiny and white, yellowed soft with age, the kind of long flowing …
What Was Sealed Behind the Nursery Wall Read MoreI lifted it out of the box, and it was his harmonica. The little tin harmonica Danny carried in his pocket since he was twelve years old, the one he …
The Package From My Brother, Five Years After He Vanished Read MoreI bent and picked it up off the bedroom floor and pulled the oilcloth back, and inside was an envelope. Yellowed, brittle at the folds, and across the front in …
What Fell From Behind the Windowsill After Sixty Years Read MoreI unfolded it slow, the old creases giving way like they might tear, and inside was not a letter. It was not a photograph or a medal or a name. …
What My Father Carried Over His Heart for Fifty Years Read MoreI kept the doors shut and I let her talk, and it came out slow, the way hard things do. When her mama worked late, her mama boyfriend was at …
The Little Girl Who Did Not Want to Go Home Read More