Dave Stanley

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2023

Stories (5)

5 Stories

74 karma pts

?

“Moving on Over” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #276

“There’s a wait so long, so long. You’ll never wait so long.” ~Here Comes Your Man, The Pixies A startling amount of life’s adventures start out in a spirit of dispassionate inquiry. At least for me they do. It is Summer, 2005, and I’m in the mood to run it up the flagpole and see. Check the flypaper, see what’s sticking. Insert any number of cheeky colloquialisms here. “There, whaddya think?” I asked Willa, my roommate. I had just shown him my tongue-in-cheek word salad—no, word vomit—that I wrote for a MySpace b...

Read story

“Fumbling Towards Relaxation” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #274

A lost love envelops me, personified in a dark-haired beauty with almond shaped eyes. No complications or messy communication. Just pure love. Rapture. Joy. She takes my hand, but I’m hesitant. Something is calling me, something that has to be dealt with before I can give myself to bliss. It’s getting louder, and the sound more and more offensive. The siren slips out of my grasp, and I’m left confused, with only myself, disappointment, and a grating sound that refuses to pass. Fuck. It’s the alarm, and no, I’m not even clo...

Read story

“Undead Reckoning” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #273

Sean has seen enough slick Netflix and Hulu horror movies to know he should throw away the invitation. Embossed in fancy, red wax seals and a hint of sandalwood odor, the invitation itself is an appealing parchment that should be destined for the recycling bin, along with his poor solo album review in the local alternative weekly paper. “No harm in opening it,” he mutters, as he trudges back to his house from the mailbox. It is three in the afternoon, and he is still in his bathrobe and slippers. Traditional time keeping has lost ...

Read story

“A-1 Recovery Solutions” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #233

Getting sober and staying sober is rarely easy, but Nathan feels that he is on a roll. Two months into recovery, and he has not had a sip of alcohol. Better yet is the fact that he is actively working on sobriety, which is better than simple abstinence. “Dry drunk,” is how his AA peers put it. This morning, the menu of Progress and not Perfection entails going to another job interview. And for the first time in two months, he wants a drink to quiet his nerves. “I miss the bitch. She was trying to kill me, but boy do I miss ...

Read story

“Happy Holiday Headaches” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #229

Tom wakes up with a headache. The stubborn alarm clock and the morning sun don’t help matters, either. Normally, this would make a random Tuesday in August a bad day. Yet malaise is compounded by the fact that this is Christmas Eve. The holiday ringer awaits—a big party with fake smiles, pretending to enjoy the company of others, trying not to drink too much, and coming up with superlatives about gifts that he doesn’t care for. And he hasn’t made one purchase towards his Christmas shopping yet. He does, however, have an engagement ring...

Read story

Author bio

Life is full of intriguing stories. I try to put them in writing. I don't shower much.