My mother called it “around the bend.” Wherever it was, when Mrs. Dumont finally went there, she went without her skirt on. She had white gloves, I heard, and a shiny black purse. A pink scarf, I think, and then nothing else – not even shoes.

But she was wearing lipstick.

Monica Nawrocki lives on Cortes Island in the Salish Sea. She earns her living as a substitute teacher, happily impersonating someone different every day. She is the author of three books and her work has appeared in various journals and anthologies across North America. monicanawrocki.com