Category Archives: Elizabeth Kate Switaj

Locked in the bathroom, all the pale woman could hear was his snoring and her own heart thumping. She scratched the pink polish off another nail and looked at her phone again. This time, there was a signal. She called … Continue reading →

The Inauguration Day Windstorm had blown out half the downtown lights to celebrate its twenty-first birthday. Two old friends flecked with gray snow and white hair sat on the boulders that kept the Sound from sweeping away Myrtle Edwards Park. … Continue reading →

Benjamin did everything by the clock. He ate when the little hand pointed to five and the big hand pointed to six. He danced when the little hand pointed to three and the big hand pointed to seven. He slept … Continue reading →

Normally, after her shift, Linda would make herself a latte, untie her apron, and study at one of the tables. That evening, however, KEXP kept playing songs with grating guitar riffs, and loud laughers were everywhere. She chugged her coffee, … Continue reading →

Sky: Snows, turns dark. Street: Freezes. Remains on a hill. Traffic: None on this block. Two: Did I miss the bus? One: You either missed it, or it didn’t come. Two: Hasn’t come. One: One or the other. Which one? … Continue reading →

Despite the newly bright bricks and the working clock, Cassie couldn’t help but take a deep breath before entering King Street Station. She had always tried to hold her breath when her family cut through it on the way to … Continue reading →

I got a rash under my wedding ring. I took it off and filed for divorce the next day. Mike begged me to stay. But when you can’t trust your judgement, you have to trust the signs. Mommy had a … Continue reading →

The first indication I had of what I look like came when a man put me back on the rack, remarking that I was too pink. Over the weeks that followed, I gained a few more ideas about my appearance … Continue reading →

Before they ever spoke, Linda and Meg had sat next to each other in the cramped lecture hall for three weeks, their thighs touching, while Dr. Laurens showed slides of ancient Japanese art. Meg’s eyes never left the screen, but … Continue reading →

When Jenna started wearing long sleeves in the summer, her friends advised her to get a new haircut. —It’ll give you your confidence back. A co-worker gave her a card for Wicked Salon on 15th. As soon as Jenna stepped … Continue reading →

Cherry was America’s least favorite pie. Her mother made it every year for her father’s birthday because “daddy doesn’t like cake.” America had to wash the bowls, the wooden spoon, the plates and finally the Pyrex dish. Her brother got … Continue reading →

. Here Lies Jack Family Man, Community Leader, and Honest Businessman with two families Here Lies Jack Beloved Husband and Father of two wives, which I guess makes him a tax cheat too Here Lies Jack Look, I don’t know … Continue reading →

The ticking must have gone on for an hour before Kathy realized it wasn’t a clock. When the line finally moved, the rhythm changed. When the queue stopped again, she glanced behind her and noticed a woman in torn jeans … Continue reading →

—That was harsh, said Jen as the bathroom door slammed behind Melanie. —Mel’s my best friend, not yours. She needed to know that shade of blue doesn’t go with olive skin. —Viv, you said she looked like a whore. —That’s … Continue reading →

When we were very young, we didn’t tell because we didn’t know any better. Now we are six, and we don’t tell because no one has believed us since we told the story about the vampire upstairs. Now we’re twelve, … Continue reading →

the blonde the redhead dye job henna the pretty one the smart one pink & khaki black & white makeup lip balm straightening iron unbrushed bun daddy’s little girl father’s daughter gymnastics hiking 1100 calories vegan cheerleader KEY Club swim … Continue reading →

His father didn’t drive his mother to drink. He hit her to it. And left her to it. There was another woman, of course. The last time he saw his mother, she was yellow and bloated in a hospital bed. … Continue reading →

Ann was the third child. Her father died when she was three. Her brothers called it lucky that she couldn’t remember him, so when she moved out, she rented a third-floor flat. When she bought shoes, she’d buy two pairs … Continue reading →

Emotional distress, injury, acts of God, acts of war, lightning… —Bubonic plague, really? —Madam, you’re not required to read it. The gray-suited functionary scratched his mustache. He would have to trim it soon or face regulation court. Mandy knew how … Continue reading →

Kelly typed “Thrift Store Work” and hit CTRL-P. That title was crap, but the poem was good enough to workshop. “So happy birthday to me.” She started on the bottle of Two-Buck Chuck. No need for a glass. No need … Continue reading →

Kayla thew her head down and pressed her tear ducts. Why had the eyedrops started to sting so much? Overuse? She sat down at her desk again, opened and closed a book without noticing which one she had picked up, … Continue reading →

—Can it wait until morning? Emily was shaking Mark’s foot. —It’s 1 am. The Leonids will peak in an hour. Two cups of coffee later, they headed for the woods. Mark kept a hand on his wife’s shoulder because she … Continue reading →

Emily’s family wasn’t poor. Their apartment didn’t smell like Jackie’s did. Emily knew poverty stank because every year they cut through King Street Station, where bums lived, on the way to watch the Mariners lose to the Yankees. Emily’s mom … Continue reading →

Mark had wondered what had gotten into his wife. Emily was never that aggressive in bed. When she confessed, he faked a sneezing fit to get away. —Sorry. Must be my hay fever acting up. Now, as he watched her … Continue reading →

It was disgusting, but Emily couldn’t stop looking at it. Every time she came into the garage to get a book or a box of next season’s clothes, she’d open up the freezer, and no matter how long ago hunting … Continue reading →

Sam sat for the last time among the basalt tidepools she had come to know so well that weekend. Her eyes followed ghostly crabs climbing past anemones, but she didn’t see them. Even on the climb down from the campsite, … Continue reading →

The car had always been the one place he could smoke, at least as far as Jenna knew. She knew when he got up in the middle of the night that he was going to sit in their little yellow … Continue reading →