Ten.One Thousand, Five Hundred & Ninety-Eight

1. The second nightmare is a continuation of the first.

2. Ham and sweet potatoes and coffee.

3. I scan the bookshelves and reach for ‘East of Eden’. I sit in front of the fire and notice how many pages are dog-eared. I flip to one in the middle and see words circled and underlined in pencil.

4. The upside is that there will be time to read.

5. Unstringing lights.

6. The article outline takes shape quickly and I am relieved and confident that this one will be easy to write.

7. There really is never anything in this Target.

8. I worry that I will have to pull over on the side of the road and this is something I never have to do but I really feel like I’m going to do it right now.

9. Now they’re getting into the spirit.

10. Not again.