Collected Stories

by R.K. West

The Famous Writer’s wife is amazed by his work, not because it is good–although it is quite good–but because it seems to belong to a completely different person. The critics admire his “minimalism” and “terse style,” but at home he expounds for hours about all the annoyances and disappointments that plague his daily life, including step-by-step details of everything she has done wrong that day, or that week, occasionally interrupting himself to bark, “Don’t turn away when I’m talking to you,” even though she is dead on her feet and just wants a glass of water. The Famous Writer’s publisher requires at least two sex scenes per book. The Famous Writer’s wife finds his pragmatic descriptions of carnal performance mildly arousing, which makes her laugh, because he hasn’t been able to get it up in years, and even when he could, it was never like that. The book jacket photo was taken when he still had most of his hair, and before the bourbon started to show in his face. The Famous Writer’s wife sometimes stares at that photo, trying to remember what life was like then, and looking for something in his eyes that isn’t there any more.

6S

R.K. West lives in the Pacific Northwest, writing flash fiction and indignant but anonymous blog posts.