a taste of ‘Itch’

by  Gary Percesepe

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Itch … 26 flash fictions

She can’t wear heels, now, Danny says. Sensibles only. She goes around everywhere in flats or flip flops. She has the veins. Three kids. Christ, it’s probably my fault. Beautiful Girls

Tom knew that Elise had been having the affair but kept his mouth shut, knowing she would tell him when she was ready. And now he has nothing to say. Itch

If I didn’t kiss her it’s a shame but if I did kiss her it’s a bigger shame in a way since you’d think a girl that slutty would at least kiss you in a way that you’d remember? I Love Sara L

Quinn pronounces the benediction. He plucks a white rose from the spray on the casket and gives it to the widow, who breaks into tears. Funeral

Mitch had an image of the way all things end at the shore, there at the end of the world, and he rode the train until he saw the Atlantic Ocean crash lonely onto an empty winter beach. Last Stop

The second thing Annie Riser did after receiving her diagnosis was to find a realtor in the Yellow Pages and put her house up for sale. One More Thing

An hour later I’m at dinner with Miranda and she blurts out, “I want to fuck Don Draper from Mad Men.” Therapy

We both had wives who’d gone on to other men while we were in the pen which of course held only men. Women made me jump and I mean any woman. That extra hole made a difference. Why I Write Such Good Songs, Coyote

She’s relieved. She says she has sex less than me now, her contract is that good. I tell her I’m happy for her but no one has sex less than me. Scripts

People in LA live in denial of death, pretending the light, the wheatgrass, the pill, the new enema, the hairstylist’s guru, the botoxed face – until the earth moves and you think, Bloody Hell, give me New York, a city on bedrock. Echo Park

Two weeks ago Kim turned to him in bed and made an announcement. She was not an announcement person. In their eighteen year marriage announcements were few. They stuck to the corners, low-keyed everything. Announcement

I kited a check and put the balance on a gold Amex card and a week later the piano arrived. She never played it. Some Pianos

It takes a week to find one whose color reminds me of the streaked Italian sky. I find some black fuck-me heels in Roma, and settle in for the long flight home. The Dress

He looked down at his bare hands, and wrists. The ring had left an indentation on his finger. Girl, Interrupted

In a corner of the dark room stands a statue of Maura. Her body is elongated, thin as a nail and as big as a cigarette pack. Giacometti

American college girls came into the bar drunk. A half hour later six girls in unison kicked their bare legs in the brilliant light, to scattered applause. In Venice

Mary was at the bar in the next room. She came up to me and took my arm. A photographer wanted to take our picture. With Mary

It’s funny: I don’t remember seeing her again after that, not in high school, not anywhere, though I’m sure I must have. We lived in a small town. How could I have missed her? Gail

Finally, the impatient bartender dims the restaurant lights. We drop four twenties and spill onto 29th Street, walking east. April 9

I found your hairbrush in my top dresser drawer. Strands of your hair wove around metal prongs like Medusa’s snakes. Stab at It

Do you know, he asked, what it is to be intimate? I had to admit I didn’t. Gaspar

Rain fell that night in Vermont. We drove around the campground looking for the slot we’d rented, joking that two college graduates should be able to count. We had rented lot 45 but couldn’t find it in the dark. That’s Grace, Too

Maybe we should have fought, he says. His voice bleeds into the upper register. People fight when they have complete relationships. Snowed In

Her bare legs were tan and fit. With her small bust and toned arms, she looked built for speed, even at 7 am, after a night of dancing. Go

No girls tanned and wet from the reservoir walk by my front door or wave as I sit alone on the stoop. Just Here

She was in her wooden bed, high on the second floor, beneath the dormer. I parked in her driveway, cut the engine, listened to it tick. Christmas