My husband is dead…my husband is dead…my husband is dead. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Rowena reread the breaking news banner scrolling across her phone. Her brain refused to accept such a reality in the predawn light. In another time and place, she’d have wept with sorrow but today it was joy, and a little fear, that sent tears streaking down her cheeks. Rubbing her swollen belly, Rowena forced her phone to play music, despite her desire to listen to news. As the music f

Our stilted singing cut off abruptly as my grandmother lit her cigarette from the tip of her ninetieth birthday candle. Her painted lips cracked into a smile as she puffed a cloud of blue gray smoke towards the ceiling. My mother's hands clenched and I instinctively grabbed the knife off the table. "Let me cut the cake," I chirped, as my mother reached for it. The cake slid slightly and the iced roses I'd placed on top started to fall. They weren't pretty but it was the thoug