When a ne’er-do-well cousin dies unexpectedly, Mary Ellen and Charles Hawley agree to take his young son Steven into their home. The boy’s birth mother, who is mentally ill, has already inflicted some psychological damage, but Mary Ellen is determined to help Steven start over. This act of charity soon takes its toll on a marriage that is already quietly fading. As Mary Ellen struggles to adapt to new parenting challenges, she begins to withdraw from her husband and cling to their two-year-old daughter. Finally, in a fit of longing for her former life, Mary Ellen indulges herself in a shopping trip and misses an afternoon pickup from school. And Charles, who must take up the slack, discovers a secret.
“Surrender, Dorothy,” an essay in Tiny Molecules
“The Bicycle Messenger,” a novel excerpt, in Last Syllable
“Third Wheel,” a short story in The Windhover, Issue 27.2
“Balloons,” a short story in Boudin, the online home of The McNeese Review
“A Friend of the Family,” a short story in Dappled Things, Lent 2023
“My Sacred Flesh,” a short story in Amethyst Review
“A Position of Trust,” a short story in San Antonio Review
Joan Elizabeth Bauer 