Lavinia Hughes

“Letter Carrier” by Lavinia Hughes

           He woke up five minutes before the 5:30 a.m. alarm buzzed its annoying buzz. It was still dark. On autopilot, the letter carrier went down to the kitchen, made himself a cup of instant coffee, which he liked despite the eye-rolling his daughter always aimed at it, and toasted a piece of bread for his usual breakfast. He got dressed in his postal service mail carrier uniform, which his daughter did approve of since everything matched and, looking sharp, headed to work to get th...

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“Spring Equinox” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #86

SPRING EQUINOX Written by Lavinia M. Hughes 1994: PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS. Ecstatic at not having to bundle up in three layers of clothing, Stephanie hopped in her car and headed for Route 6 in Provincetown from her home in Truro, the neighboring town. She didn’t mind observing the 45 mph speed limit as it gave her time to see the beauty of the first day of spring on Cape Cod. Her car dashboard told her the temperature was 60°F. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a cloudless, clear blue. She rolled down the wind...

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“Crystal Clear” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #78

CRYSTAL CLEAR By Lavinia M. Hughes     With a grunt, she hauled her 63-year old overweight body out of her 15-year old car. Her brother called it “a beater” which bothered Ida Bumpus not a whit. She fished her faded tote bag, the one the bank gave her for opening up a checking account, out of the back seat and made her way into the Bountiful Beads convention along with the other attendees, who were mostly middle-aged and senior women. It was the week before Valentine’s Day and Ida was sure that there would be some fre...

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“Mini-Me” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #75

MINI-ME By Lavinia M. Hughes     Loretta Draper arrived home after a punishing commute of icy roads, witnessed accidents, and detours to a kitchen of chaos. The table was covered with the ruins of a pasta supper, tomato sauce dripped down the front of her white stove, and the sink was filled with greasy meatball pans. The poor cat, Missy Draper, was staring forlornly at her empty dish and mewing piteously. Coats festooned the backs of the kitchen chairs, and shoes were indecorously sprinkled throughout the floo...

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“The Beat Goes On” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #73

THE BEAT GOES ON By Lavinia M. Hughes     Reed zipped up his wool coat to his neck to keep out the arctic winds blowing off of Boylston Street. His insulated gloves were at least doing the trick, keeping his hands warm. He always took good care of his hands, since he was a drummer and played several other instruments. He raced into his school, the Berklee College of Music, in downtown Boston and just made it to class before the professor started.     The Ear Training class was helpful in his perc...

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“My Sicilian Roots” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #72

MY SICILIAN ROOTS By Lavinia M. Hughes     I walked to my mailbox and took out the pile of mail within. As I walked back up the driveway, I flipped through the usual dreck that was delivered daily. No, I didn’t want to sell my house even if “inventory was down and property values were up” in my area. I didn’t want to buy life insurance, deeming that whole industry a scam. I DID want to take a look at the shoe catalog from England, because their shoes are very high quality, even if a bit “henny” as ...

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“For Whom the Cookie Tolls” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #71

FOR WHOM THE COOKIE TOLLS By Lavinia M. Hughes     “Mom always liked you best, Nick! You’re such a goody-two-shoes. You’re so damned square, you’re practically Amish,” said Ray, Nick’s 20-year old elder brother.     “Shut up, Ray-gun. Maybe if you’d get off your ass, she’d like you better,” retorted Nick.     “I do plenty around here. Why, ever since Dad left for that floozy, I’ve taken out the rubbish every week,” said Ray.     “O...

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“Floored” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #70

FLOORED By Lavinia M. Hughes     It figures that my best friend Darla would let me take the rap. That’s always been a thing with her. When things go wrong it’s always someone else’s fault. Of course, I did have my own ill-advised actions to atone for. Let me entertain you with my cautionary tale of betrayal.     When we were teenagers, we often babysat together. It was fun keeping each other company, dividing the chores of taking care of households with numerous kids.&n...

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“Lazy Boy” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #68

LAZY BOY By Lavinia M. Hughes BOSTON SEACOAST MAGAZINE, Nov. 20, 2020 An Analysis of A Wasted Life     Vincent McNulty never did like to work. When he was in grade school, he figured out that he could pay his younger brother to do his homework for him. Vincent was cagey about copying off of his classmates’ papers and passed tests regularly. Somehow, despite his lack of scholarly ability, Vincent developed excellent verbal skills, and his dark good looks and gray-blue eyes charmed and mesmerized everyon...

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“Soul Leaves” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #63

SOUL LEAVES By Lavinia M. Hughes     Victor Braley waved a cheery goodbye to his dinner guests, each happily clutching a small 24-karat gold pumpkin filled with the most delicious foil-wrapped Lake Champlain chocolates from Vermont. He turned to his stylish wife, Lucy, and said, “Well, that was fun, ‘Morticia.’ Their costumes were a riot. I can’t decide which was more fun, the Mr. Peanut costume, the avocado costume, or Tiger King.” “Yes, it was, ‘Gomez Adams.’ And it only cost us a few thous...

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“Dreamcatcher” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #59

Lavinia M. Hughes                           Word Count: 1,766 LHughes4277@gmail.com #204 775 East Falmouth Highway East Falmouth, MA 02536 U.S.A. DREAMCATCHER By Lavinia M. Hughes     It felt so good to get off the plane after the 6-hour flight from Boston.  That bumpy approach to the Albuquerque airport as it neared the circle of mountains was unsettling ...

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“Power Walk” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #58

    I packed up my things in my office tote bag—overstuffed purse, insulated lunch bag, and extra shoes because my new ones were tight. Digging out my car keys, I looked over at Julie, my workmate, former secretarial schoolmate, and one of my best friends.       “Julie, are you coming? It’s 5:00.       “No, Laura, she needs this typed for her early morning meeting tomorrow.”       “And she just gave it to you now?” I asked, probably too l...

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“Where There's A Will There's A Way” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #57

  WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY   By Lavinia M. Hughes     BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS: 1989.     My name is Eva Wingfield and I’m glad to be able to tell my story. I am often marginalized as the spinster in the family.    “Oh, Aunt Eva has nothing better to do. I’m sure she won’t mind babysitting for the kids.” (Five!)   “Aunt Eva’s a little eccentric, don’t you think?” (within my earshot at the last family reunion)   “I wonder why she never married. I heard she was...

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“The Cottage” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #53

Lavinia M. Hughes                           Word Count: 1,733 LHughes4277@gmail.com #204 775 East Falmouth Highway East Falmouth, MA 02536 U.S.A. THE COTTAGE By Lavinia M. Hughes     Another 10-hour day, Kate fussed to herself as she put away the vacuum cleaner, pulled the files for the next work day’s patients, gathered her things, and headed for the door of the...

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