One of the first things my mom did after we found out that I'd gotten in was search online for a winter coat for me. She saved money and bought me a beautiful Cabela's coat. It was full-length with a ... [+]
In my family, Sundays were sacred, not for church or naps, but for what we called Ledger Night. Under the sprawling mango tree in our courtyard in Ibadan, my grandfather would bring out his battered ... [+]
The ginger stung. Real root, grated and raw, not the syrupy imitation that hides in most cocktails. Nina gulped, mascara streaking her face in crooked lines, the bartender pretended not to see. We ... [+]
Marcus was easy, and I appreciated that about him. When I told him the wedding had been canceled, he'd been sweet and uncomfortable, yielding half of our "non-refundable" retainer within minutes and ... [+]
The first time a bill spoke, Ms. Angie thought it was the lights above register three—a fly-buzz in glass. But then the five-dollar note in her palm rasped, "Don't give me to him. He's no docto ... [+]
We call it Quicksand Street, despite what the road signs say. Where the sidewalks should be, two long columns of dirt reside, that kick up dust in the summertime. In the spring, when the rain really ... [+]
Sasi leaves Vientiane past midnight. At what morning hour, she's not sure, only that she was pulled from sleep under a crescent moon. She takes the charge of lugging her family's largest ka-tip, used ... [+]
10. Ten minutes before ten, the funeral home invoices an estimate like a weather report: grief showers; today's chance of mourning, 100%. I open my grandmother's purse. The zipper is a mouth that ... [+]
"Good afternoon, gentlemen—and lady," the pitchman says, giving the little bow he practices when no one's watching. "I'm here with an incredible business and humanitarian opportunity. You're ... [+]
Between the two of them, my parents taught me everything a carny kid should know about money, the be-all and end-all of our life on the road. Mom showed me how to press the wrinkles out of bills with ... [+]
I find the ledger on a Tuesday, in a box that smells like pencil shavings and winter mornings. My father labeled everything with stubborn precision: taxes. Receipts. Appliance manuals for machines ... [+]
Stan and I sit on fenceposts six feet apart. Chicken wire loops like sideways eyelashes between each six-foot section. Periodically, we flick boogers, spit ‘t-baca,' and bet on which chicken's going ... [+]
I find the package on our splintered, leaning front porch, tossed there by the delivery driver. It feels too light for its price. I shrug and carry it up to my attic room, unlocking the door's ... [+]
WE LEAVE EVERYTHING as it is in R's hot front yard because we'll be right back. There are things we need at the big stores. We walk the half mile down the long hill to the bus stop where the one bus ... [+]
Nope, the world-famous rock star is so not flirting with me. He just wants to buy my hat. Dante's first offer is ridiculously high, though God knows I need the money—student loans, cat's surgery ... [+]
Melvin, bearded and rosy-cheeked, sat on the porch with a glass of water perched on his rocking chair, condensation staining the wood. The sleepy rays of the sun split the yard, catching in a patch ... [+]
In a high-rise apartment in Manila, the light flickers every hour like a bad joke. Mariel, twenty-eight, sits on a plastic chair with a cracked back, bent over a screen that displays hundreds of ... [+]
