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Literary Fiction Mystery insurance minimalist poetry Murder coffee story poetry plums adultery
By Phillip T. Stephens
Jun 4, 2019
·
999 words ·
4 minutes
Story art by Phillip T. Stephens.
From the author: Murder, cold plums and coffee and a lost scrap of poetry.
Still Life
Plump plums in white bowl. Nestled. Like lovers spooning. Black coffee steaming.
Character Study
(In Four Acts)
Act I: The Farmer
Seventy degrees at seven a.m. In May. Bill Farmer sweated even with a breeze blowing Mary’s lilac window curtains into the kitchen. The hem brushed across the tin mug where his coffee steamed. Poured fresh from the pan, hobo style, which Mary never stood for when she was home.
Bill leaned against the icebox frame, fingers gripping the edge. Stiff-armed,...