My surgeon departs the room.
With a reassuring smile, the anesthesiologist tells me to count down from 100.
98, 97, 96…
Before leaving, he farts loudly. He turns to me with a menacing look.
I close my eyes, pretending not to have heard. My future in his hands, I sleep.
Kevin McManus wrote this story.
Queenie, fifteen, had two teeth, no claws, and had never been outside. Yet daily, on the table by the window, she patiently watched the birds.
One Christmas a startled bird flew in when the door opened, straight at Queenie who was ready and expecting. Christmas dinner and life dream manifested!
Kevin McManus is a wannabe writer and successful daydreamer who doesn’t believe in coincidences but does believe that we create our own reality, just as his old cat Queenie did.
Joey lived by the mantra “It’s never too late”.
Then one day he had a revelation: what about his late dog Max, his ex, Vicki, that college homework assignment he never turned in, the gym membership, the organic goat cheese still in his fridge…
What if it’s often too late?
Kevin McManus wrote this story.
Mom’s Parkinsons was winning. Ringo, too, was near his end. Yet he stayed close, holding down her trembling foot, keeping her close, guarding her from demons.
Mom needed more help than we could offer, so I placed her. Mom settled in. Ringo, no longer needed, departed for his next assignment.
Kevin McManus wrote this story.