In a dark corner of the yard, something shifted. The drone stopped short—clamped tight.

Shadow became shape. The shape moved in our direction. It flickered like a flame. It wobbled, watery. It picked up speed. Then—fully formed—it advanced on us like a vision of God, gnashing his great white teeth.

Flesh of my flesh—I hauled them into the house. From the rack of fireplace tools, I picked up the poker. I went back out and shut the door firmly behind me.

All of this is just to say I have seen mine enemy upon the earth—and I smote him.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

These stories first appeared, some in a slightly different form, in American Short Fiction: “The Hungry Valley”; in Caketrain: “The Baby,” “Coolly, Bluely,” “Dear Mary,” “Lemons,” “Power Tools”; in Egress: “Dear Sirs,” “Florida Is for Lovers,” “Small Pink Female”; in Everyday Genius: “Victorian Wedding Portrait”; in Fence: “The Dominant Animal”; in Gigantic: “Master Framer”; in Granta: “The Poker”; in The Iowa Review (winner of the 2010 Fiction Prize): “The Old Mill”; in Juked: “Vagrants”; in New York Tyrant: “Design for a Carpet”; in NOON: “Bait-and-Switch,” “Beef Hearts Trimmed of Fat, Braised,” “BJ,” “The Candidate,” “Derland,” “The First Whiffs of Spring,” “Happy Wife, Happy Life,” “Line,” “Live a Little,” “Mother’s Teeth,” “Playhouse,” “Please,” “The Rescued Man,” “Salad Days,” “Ta-Da!” “The Wine Manager and I”; in The Paris Review: “Yet You Turn to the Man”; in Quick Fiction: “Now This”; in Tin House: “Colonial Revival”; in Two Serious Ladies: “The Locket.”

“Shh” appeared in Pets: An Anthology (Tyrant Books, 2020), and “Master Framer” was reprinted in We’ll Never Have Paris (Repeater Books, 2019).

Thank you to these editors. I would especially like to thank Diane Williams, editor of NOON, for publishing my first story to appear in print and for continuing to support and challenge my work for the past ten years; this collection would not exist without her.

ALSO BY KATHRYN SCANLAN

Aug 9—Fog

A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathryn Scanlan is the author of Aug 9—Fog. Her work has appeared in NOON, Fence, Granta, The Iowa Review, and The Paris Review. She lives in Los Angeles. You can sign up for email updates here.

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CONTENTS

1. TITLE PAGE
2. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
3. DEDICATION
4. THE FIRST WHIFFS OF SPRING
5. THE CANDIDATE
6. BEEF HEARTS TRIMMED OF FAT, BRAISED
7. PLAYHOUSE
8. HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY LIFE
9. FLORIDA IS FOR LOVERS
10. MEN OF THE WOODS
11. SMALL PINK FEMALE
12. POWER TOOLS
13. SHH
14. MOTHER’S TEETH
15. THE BABY
16. PLEASE
17. BAIT-AND-SWITCH
18. THE IMPRECATION
19. DEAR SIRS
20. COLONIAL REVIVAL
21. THE LOCKET
22. THE HUNGRY VALLEY
23. VICTORIAN WEDDING PORTRAIT
24. BJ
25. COOLLY, BLUELY
26. LINE
27. DERLAND
28. THE DOMINANT ANIMAL
29. SALAD DAYS
30. LIVE A LITTLE
31. DESIGN FOR A CARPET
32. THE WINE MANAGER AND I
33. TA-DA!
34. YET YOU TURN TO THE MAN
35. VAGRANTS
36. NOW THIS
37. DEAR MARY
38. THE OLD MILL
39. FABLE
40. MASTER FRAMER
41. THE RESCUED MAN
42. LEMONS
43. THE POKER
44. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
45. ALSO BY KATHRYN SCANLAN
46. A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
47. COPYRIGHT