Novella: Synopsis

Roger says something
Amy doesn’t like, and then
two minutes later he says it again.
Amy has a secret she doesn’t know
everyone kind of knows.
Then she almost finds out.
Clive has secrets that,
whether kept or revealed,
interfere with the proper
operation of Roger’s
peace of mind, and pretty soon
the storm traps them all
in the same shabbily accoutred
few rooms, power lines down.
Meanwhile Jessie needs to get away
to brood about Clive’s implied
rejection of her body,
and Amy decides to tell Clive
about Roger and the Fourth of July,
but before she gets to
she learns that Clive does
love Jessie, since even before
the Halloween fiasco when Helen
dropped in unexpectedly, but he—
poof the fire goes out in the woodstove
and it’s everyone’s fault
but no one will admit it.
A loud noise in the pantry
that has nothing to do with food
calls attention to Jessie
who does not emerge alone.
Everyone is sad in different ways,
especially Amy, and
for the rest of her life.