Andrew Cyr

Trailer trash,that’s what the kidscalled Tressa.Picture words formeda maze with a borderlessframe above the fireplace.Seeing Tressa today,gazing through the kitchen windowof her three-story home;you’d never know.As kids, they didn’t care.We didn’t care.I didn’t care.I was once that kid.I teased her becauseall the nice thingsI had to say, borderedon x-rated, which … [Read more...] about Priceless Trailer Trash, By: Andrew Cyr

It was December, and I had used a ladder to hang the Christmas lights around the house. The front piano key fence had an array of lights that flashed through a cycle of colors. The snow quickened its fall with larger flakes than the night before.Just as I stood, observing my work, Natasha stormed outside in her bathrobe.Natasha finger-pointed me out of a lineup of cheaters she … [Read more...] about Crooked Lights Lie, By: Andrew Cyr

Thanks to God, and a blanket of snow,the Snohomish Pass was closed.I took a wrong turn becauseI’d never had it in me to seethe right side of me.I was out of gas and willing to chillin a cabin without heat before the fateof meeting Joslyn’s parents sank in.No vacancy signs blinked over hotels.A man offered me shelterin a cabin that a family rented.I could stay until they showed … [Read more...] about Right Turn, By: Andrew Cyr

If I loathed Emilia,half as much as sheforgave me,when I thought shehad it out for me,I’d forgive myselffor the troubleof letting her down.I cut my eyes at her.Emilia swiveled hergaze at mine.I swallowed hard.She exhaled my fears.I cracked a grin.Gooseflesh pebbled her arms.Even in the November chill,my heart warmed our delightin the ashes of what I did.Emilia moved her hair … [Read more...] about November Apology, By: Andrew Cyr

I sat at a kitchen tablein a rented cabin.I took a sip of gin on the rocks.The burn in my mouth cooledthe anxiety in my throat.Alisha lit a cigaretteand pushed her issueswith her mother across her teeth.Alisha took a puffand blew the smoke through her nostrils.Gusts had disrupted the power.A candle flickered through shadowsof our movement as the only light,in a place we’d … [Read more...] about Thankful Smiles, By: Andrew Cyr