At the wedding reception, Mother admired her new daughter-in-law who wore hijab and long sleeves in the hot Texas sun. Never a guarantee. Still, this relationship seemed solid.

“Religious differences aside, she’s family now. No one will bother her!” Mother rested her hand on the concealed weapon under her blouse.

T.J. Barnum has been writing after work for a number of years, but has started submitting only recently. Barnum’s short memoir piece entitled “Daddy Jim Teaches Me To Shoot” will appear in The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature in April, 2018.