by Ann McMan
“You’ve certainly got that part right.” She walked down the steps toward her waiting car. “I’ll call you later.”
Diz stood in the doorway and watched her leave. Then she went outside and sat down on the top step. It was cold today. The sliver of sky that was visible above the canopy of trees that lined her street looked bleak. The street was wet. Diz held out a hand. Tiny snowflakes landed on her palm. It looked like it was going to be a white Christmas.
She smiled through her haze of confusion and elation. Nothing about what was happening made any kind of sense.
A cardinal landed on the wrought iron railing that flanked the steps to her row house. Diz and the bright red bird stared at each other through the gauzy curtain of swirling snow.
Last night had been surreal. Today was on the other side of surreal. And tomorrow? Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve with Clarissa. She sure never saw that one coming.
Clarissa was right. Sometimes Diz did miss the biggest clues.
But it didn’t really matter, because, right now, all the omens were looking good.
She gazed at the bright red bird that continued to perch there staring back at her. Here he was, impossibly ahead of schedule. A talisman to signify the end of her darkest days . . . like the icon at the end of a string of rosary beads.
“Hope is the thing with feathers.” Isn’t that what Emily Dickinson said?
She smiled at the crimson metaphor, and extended her hand.
“Hello, gorgeous.”
About the Author
ANN McMAN is the author of six novels, Jericho, Dust, Aftermath, Hoosier Daddy, Festival Nurse and Backcast, and the short story collections Sidecar and Three. She is a recipient of the Alice B. Lavender Certificate for Outstanding Debut Novel, and a two-time winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award for short story collections. Her novel, Hoosier Daddy, was a 2014 Lambda Literary Award finalist. She resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with her wife, two dogs, two cats, and an exhaustive supply of vacuum cleaner bags.
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