“Happy twenty-first birthday, Stephanie.”

Linda raised the beer can to the sky and took a sip.

“Sorry we have to share, but Mary would only give me one.”

She bent next to her best friend’s tombstone and poured the rest of it out, leaving the cemetery with a heavy heart.

Melissa J. Crispin was born and raised in Connecticut, where she still resides today. She is currently working on a novel, as well as shorter works when the mood strikes.