What You’ll Do: The List
by Anne Anthony
- Sleep in his favorite Giants t-shirt with the streak of mustard where his belly should be.
- Drive past his office at noon, wait for the front doors to open to catch a glimpse of him heading to the deli around the corner where he’d order pastrami on rye with whole grain mustard and always, always asks for that damn kosher pickle. Unexpected delight he’d tell you, perfect with his sandwich, better than chips.
- Stand on the bottom step outside the Catholic church where you once stood fidgeting with the edge of your veil, your breath erratic, considered turning and running and never looking back but you took two, no, three deep breaths and left sunlight for darkness knowing this day might come.
- Hole up in his study on the black leather couch you both knew you couldn’t afford but bought anyway because he’d done it, he’d made it, and could add Esquire after his name.
- Wrap yourself in the frayed plaid blanket smelling of ivory soap, the only soap he used since he was a kid when his dear mother bathed his back, his face, his goddamn black-as-sin curly hair.
- Sit cross-legged on damp grass steaming from the flash of August rain and pull deep-rooted weeds gathered around his headstone.
- Hold in the wish you wish again — if only you’d been with him in the car the night it was totaled like you and your life.
- Tilt your face upwards as fleeting clouds uncover the sun.
- Drink in the light.
Anne Anthony credits her steady diet of comic books for her ardent belief in superpowers. Her gritty, tender, and amusing stories feature compelling but flawed characters. She has most recently been published in Ghost Parachute, Third Street Review, Cleaver, Flash Boulevard and elsewhere. In 2019, she released a short story collection, A Blue Moon & Other Murmurs of the Heart. The expected release of her upcoming novel-in-flash is set for 2026. Find her writing here: https://linktr.ee/anchalastudio. Or check her social media: IG/FB: @anchalastudio. Bluesky: @anchalastudio.bsky.social.
Long After, digital collage, 7.36″ x 7.36″, 16 December 2024. Click image to enlarge.