Recipe Index

Inside, laughter swallowed the hiss of the grill. My sister-in-law, Blair Harrington, greeted me with a smile that tasted like acid. “Still chasing clouds, Corwin?” she called, loud enough for half the backyard to hear. A thin joke. A thinner lie. I lifted my plastic cup of iced tea and tilted it like a salute….

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside the produce ledger, leaving a dark ring on the old pine kitchen table I kept threatening to refinish every winter and never did. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the shelf above the sink beside a chipped ceramic crock full of…

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside my keyboard, leaving a dark ring on the corner of the kitchen table I kept meaning to replace when life stopped behaving like a dare. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the shelf above the sink beside a chipped mug full…

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside the folded mail, leaving a dark ring on the walnut side table no one ever refinished because in my family, maintenance only mattered when guests could see it. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the built-in shelf near the living room…

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside the mail, leaving a dark ring on the walnut kitchen table I kept promising myself I would replace when life stopped feeling like a dare. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the shelf above the counter beside a brass clock that…

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside the mail, leaving a dark ring on the narrow kitchen table I kept promising myself I would replace when life stopped behaving like a dare. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the shelf above the sink beside a chipped ceramic bowl,…

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside the mail, leaving a dark ring on the narrow kitchen table I kept promising myself I would replace when life stopped behaving like a dare. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the shelf above the sink beside a chipped ceramic bowl,…

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside the mail, leaving a dark ring on the walnut dining table my mother still called the good table, as if wood could tell the difference between prayer and manipulation. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the shelf near the china cabinet,…

There was a sweating glass of iced tea on a cork coaster beside the mail, leaving a dark ring on the walnut kitchen table I kept promising myself I would refinish when billable hours stopped eating my life. A small folded U.S. flag sat on the shelf above the counter between a chipped white pitcher…