The Ceiling Made of Glass

   The concrete tunnel of stairs went up and up and up, MJ's outstretched hand pulled her along the cold metal railing while her black pumps echoed around her with a slow, monotonous thud.  
   Why did I wear these shoes today?  she thought.  And all for nothing.
   Her conservative two-piece suit was the expected attire of any serious New York businesswoman.  
   I don't think I'll ever reach the top.

Dicks

   There was once a time when everything made sense.
   "You are a real sonuvabitch, you know that?"
   I couldn't tell you what changed.  And I couldn't tell you why either.
   "How the hell could you let this happen?"
   "Honestly," I said.  "It wasn't my fault."
   "Like Hell It Wasn't!"
   I can't say that I can totally disagree.
   But I can try.
   "Everything happened all at once--"
   "She was Drunk!"

A Whole New You

   No matter how hard he fought, he knew how it would all end.  He would be dead.  Another would take his place as husband, father, and soldier.  There would be no alternative.
   This had been his greatest battle.
   Blood soaked the white sheets as doctors whirled around him in a blur.
   As parts of his body were carried away and replaced, he smiled tightly.
   Soon he would be gone.

The Games We Play

   The irritation began soon after the young girl washed her hands in a creek and dried them with poison ivy leaves.  The itching spread with every scrape of her nail into a rash.
   Her mother thought nothing of it.
   "Just quit scratching and it'll go away," she said.
   Soon after, the girl's hands and throat began to swell.
   A little boy ran to the girl's mother and shouted, "I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!  It was just a joke.  I didn't mean it."
   No vehicle could drive fast enough. 

Being a Hitman does have its Challenges

   I can't blame Suzanne for leaving.  But a dark part of me wants to.
   If I did, it wouldn't be enough for me to just think it--I'd have to do something about it.
   That's why I'm good at my job.  People have scary thoughts and can't follow through on them. They call me.
   Thinking and not doing is probably my biggest challenge.
   Not that I might get caught.

An Accident in my Youth

   Once when I was a child, I'd thought the world had stopped.  Everything was dark and silent.  At midnight, I prayed for a train to roll down the railway tracks, something to shake the floors and rattle the windows, something to let us know that we were not alone.  It was something that never came.  
   Not for me.  
   I was alone in the night.  
   And I would forever be alone, with only my hands as my guide, in the dark wilderness that consumed me completely.  

Tag Team

   Too many days have I gone without once having some cougar-hungry mountain man buy me a drink.

   Maybe I'm dressing too casually.  

   When I get off work I want to kick off the heels and pull back my hair.

   "Larry, can I have another martini?"

   "Sure--by the way," he added with a wink, "Banker Bill is on the market."

   Larry has always been so good to me.

#Rant

   Ranting isn't fun; it sometimes isn't healthy, but I do hate when I enjoy a good rant.  It brings the closet narcissist in me to center stage.  The one that always smiles for pictures, dances for attention, and sings for envious adoration.
   Sometimes even the words I say won't fit together perfectly, or make much sense--they just spit out snippets of bothersome information.  Too bothersome for even me.