When Gymkhana Smiles

by Gretchen Rix

  Against his better judgment Ellison did look. A small section of the stone wall behind them was naked to the sun for the first time in years. The thorn and rose barrier snugly sitting atop and fooling the eye into seeing a six foot high barrier was now gone; he could see strips of it precariously clinging for dear life on the backs of sister roses that were still attached to the side of the wall. He turned back to Mrs. Lennon and deliberately misunderstood her concern.

  “No, ma’am,” he drawled. “No bones broken. All body parts accounted for.”

  “Blood’s a body part,” Leon interjected. “Some of that’s missing.”

  (Excerpt and snippet copyrighted by Gretchen Rix)