Palm Springs

by Mathieu Cailler

It's a chilly 49-degree desert night. Tom Petty blasts in the car cabin with the windows down and the heater and the heated seats up high. 9.6 miles to go, but the Chrysler has more than 2/3 of a tank left. And this open road pulls and beckons with its smooth asphalt and glowing green lights. And it's tempting to blast by home, hit repeat on the stereo. Drive and drive until the gas-gauge needle spoons the E.

6S

Mathieu Cailler is the author of six books. His short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in numerous national and international publications, most notably in The Saturday Evening Post and the Los Angeles Times. He is the recipient of a Shakespeare Award, a Short Story America Prize, and a New England Book Festival Award. Heaven and Other Zip Codes, his debut novel and most recently published book, has been hailed “a postmodern masterpiece” by Midwest Book Review and was named the winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Book Festival. For more information, please visit his website or find him on social media.