Here, in 100 words or fewer, writers make quick work of compelling true stories, in the lead up to Multiplicity’s 2024 Spring/Summer issue, OUT OF CONTROL.
It Will Be Okay
by Monica Deck
“Baby. Tell me I’m not having a heart attack.”
This happens a couple of times a month, if my meds are off or I’m in a pain flare, or if the sun rises in the east or the butterfly flaps its wings on Tuesday in New Mexico.
We sit on the couch. On a deep sinus inhale, his fingertips find mine, dry pads slightly rough from frequent washing.
Palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.
He brings my hand to his lips.
“You’re not having a heart attack,” he murmurs against my skin, and kisses my hand again.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.
The Lips that Deceive
by Sarah Leete Tsitso
I’ve mastered the fake smile. You’d never guess what’s really behind my upturned lips—exhaustion, frustration, anger—bubbling just underneath the spot where my long-absent tonsils once lived.
Years spent networking, business cards clutched in one hand and vodka soda in the other. Playing that role—pretending to care about your boat docked in Narragansett—has eaten away chunks of me. Death by 1,000 hours of small talk. Boredom and fury masked by my favorite shade of lipstick.
The smile doesn’t reach my eyes. To notice, you’d have to look up from my breasts. But that seems unlikely.
Photo by Cesar La Rosa on Unsplash.
About the Writers
Monica Deck and Sarah Leete Tsitso, Bay Path MFA candidates, wrote these pieces in the Multiplicity Studio class during the 2024 spring semester.
The Quick Work series is curated by Kate Whouley and Heidi Fettig Parton.