Anti-Heroin Chic
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Music
  • Art
  • Comedy
  • About Our Contributors
  • Masthead
  • Issues
  • About our contributors - 2019
  • About Our Contributors - 2020
  • About Our Contributors - 2021
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Music
  • Art
  • Comedy
  • About Our Contributors
  • Masthead
  • Issues
  • About our contributors - 2019
  • About Our Contributors - 2020
  • About Our Contributors - 2021
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

​

2/1/2019

Late by Dave Gregory

Picture



Late


She is late. Eight days.
    Lying on her stomach beneath me, I position my fingertips on both sides of her neck and apply warm, gentle pressure in steady circles, hoping to relieve tension. My hands slide to her shoulders as I press with the heel of each palm, bringing my wrists almost together along the elevation of her spine. Leaning forward, I press down. A slight mound of skin rises, rolling toward her waist, ahead of the smooth, gradual motion. Reaching her hips, my hands glide from her body and I begin again.
    Switching to thumbs, I rub the back of her neck, behind her clavicle, under the rim of her shoulder blade and the base of her spine before resuming the long, weighted caress of my palms against her central ridge, fingers floating along the edges of her protective ribcage, the extent of her being. Repetition lulls her to sleep and her breathing changes.
    Nothing is exact, nothing is certain; she insists she’s been eight days late before. Neither of us is ready but, because she wants a baby, there’s an aura of predestination and determination.
    My hands drift relentlessly across her contoured landscape. Pushing down, wishing for magic, I maintain a rhythm for her body to follow.
  She radiated energy when I first caressed her through layers of clothing, straps and hooks. Then came toplessness, followed by an abundance of pale white skin, toes to forehead. Intimate massage became a prelude to love, a barrage of sparks, a release of longing. We spent two months exploring surfaces. I learned, I grew, I had everything I wanted but now she sleeps while I’m still dressed.
   Yesterday, one week late, reluctance flooded in. On a microscopic level, our blood cells didn’t correspond, DNA didn’t commingle. Against a cosmic backdrop, I watch galaxies collide as stars slip out of alignment.
  And so, I continue massaging. With futile gestures, my insufficient hands negotiate her indomitable body. Wishing for a physical impossibility, I concentrate on moving cells beneath her skin, willing the lining of her uterus to release and her blood to flow.
    We awake on the ninth day.

​
Picture
Dave Gregory used to live and work at sea but now writes in a bay-windowed, book-lined room. He is an Associate Editor with Exposition Review and a Fiction Reader for journals on both sides of the Atlantic. His publication credits include The Nashwaak Review, The Lindenwood Review and Sky Island Journal. Dave’s story "Eighteen Dollar Shoes" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Bull & Cross in 2018.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    December 2024
    November 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    March 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.