Short stories are fiction's R & D department, and failed or less-than-conclusive experiments are not just to be expected but to be hoped for.
Walter KirnSome strangers become more important to you than family, maybe because you're not expected to love them. You can leave them whenever you want to. They can, too. Every moment together is a choice.
Walter KirnWhat was more humiliating, I wondered: having to beg for someone's cold chicken bones or being offered them?
Walter Kirn