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Ashley Ulery

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2021

Stories (4)

Comments

Library

2 Followers

1 Following

4 Stories

67 karma pts

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Spoiled Meats

Ashley Ulery

Submitted to Contest #155

Warning: Contains strong language. “Hey, Lauren called off. You’re working a double.” A statement, not a question. I turn my face toward Tacky Tie Guy, also known as the deli and produce manager, to say something, but before I can lift my eyes, I see the heel of a creased pleather shoe stepping around the corner. I smile, close-lipped, and turn back to slicing deli ham, on sale, for $4.99 a pound. Well, at least that’s more money to put in my savings. Ten hours later, I limp through the automatic double doors of the grocery store, stiff-le...

5 likes

Under Pressure

Ashley Ulery

Submitted to Contest #154

There was very little to harvest in the years after the Great Wash. I was fortunate. My family grew up poor but pleasant, and I was raised on canning jars of beans and venison. I remember having bountiful years of humid summers where we barely had enough jars. I also remember having depression years of dried plants that barely produced a handful of fruit. In those years, my grandmother somehow made every last vegetable stretch through the winter, so we never suffered for hunger. It was because of my childhood knowledge that we made it throug...

7 likes

With Sugar, Please

Ashley Ulery

Submitted to Contest #152

Silica dust swarms my head as the day’s sweat invades my vision. Breathing through a bandana, I glare at the men spraying flint stone from a hose at all angles except on the roadway. Construction inspection was not my game plan five years ago, but if you want to have anything in your name, you go where the money is. “Hey girlie, you’re in the way!” They know my name. We’ve been working on this same project together for over a year, but I’m still girlie. I move to the shoulder, no doubt in my mind that I am in fact in the way. Spatial awaren...

5 likes

Arlington

Ashley Ulery

Submitted to Contest #112

It feels unnatural to smile here, but I’m laughing aloud, mouth open to the sky. Our first visit, and we arrive at a crossroad, one to the Kennedy Gravesite and one to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He tells me how he viewed the ceremonial switch of Guards when he was in Scouts, and starts explaining the ceremony’s meaning to me, so I start walking up the hill to the left. As we approach the Tomb of the Unknown, I hear camera clicks and clucking tongues, which seems more unnatural than smiling. It’s the ceremonial switch of the Tomb G...

6 likes