Linda Lovendahl

“Knee to Knee, Forehead to Forehead.” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #210

It was nearing dusk but we didn’t care. We had hustled and bustled all the tedious hot hours of the day to get our commitments and chores done on this bright Sunday. It was our wedding anniversary and we had our tradition to maintain: a one-year review. We still had two children living with us. But they were older teens, quite independent and visiting friends this evening. Our truck came to a lazy stop on t...

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“The Missing Sign” by Linda Lovendahl

My adult son told me I had one weekend left on their timetable to drive to his home and see my daughter-in-law pregnant with their first child. My mouth blurted the affirmative answer to him and I stared at the phone when I hung up. I looked out the window, realizing I had a fourteen hour drive each way to accomplish the task. I estimated the amount of gas I would need for the mileage and realized I had to ask someone to...

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“Caught Between” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #207

“Cut!”All action stopped. There were only a few bird chirps floating on the air from nearby trees in the meadow as the production crew and the army of men heeding their general’s address in the field of battle were called to desist their efforts.The lead actor, Gerald Humphrey Castor, looked at the film director. He was breathless because the thunder of his message to the troops pounded through his heart and limbs. He lowered the raised sword to his side, his face crinkled with disbelief. “No way, “ he said, his voice as com...

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“Rock Tumbler” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #206

“You want out of here? Too busy to answer a few questions, huh?” said Detective Joseph Suarez. He swiped the side of his middle-aged crooked nose, the only faulty part of what would have been a perfect Latino silhouette if it hadn’t been for too many assaults in back alleys and clandestine escapades. He used the disfigurement as evidence of how far he pushed to get what he wanted.  “Not under the Fifth Amendment,”...

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“Moonstruck” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #205

We sipped red wine in crystal glasses as the cool ocean breeze lifted our skirts on the balcony of Kathy’s Laguna Beach townhouse. The full moon cast a bright show upon the distant traffic and high-end condos meandering along the terraced landscapes below. The first sweet swallows complimented our rising spirits. This was Kathy’s night of celebration. The concert hall audience stood twice for encores and her soprano voice delivered resonating solos. I recalled the passages that gripped me during the performance. They, again, gave me chill...

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“Spellbound” by Linda Lovendahl

I was down-in-the-mouth about having to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. I had a parking permit for the handicapped zone from the state I just moved from and although I could have hung onto it, I was paranoid of what I would incur financially if stopped by law enforcement in that state and they read on my driver’s license I lived elsewhere. I chided myself that it would be a quick visit. All that had to b...

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“English Required” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #198

His ball playing had tripled the attendance to high school games over the past four years. Everyone wanted to see his talents as the best slugger and runner.  He proved he was a big league contender year after year. The audience cheered every time he flipped his bat at the opponents after a home run. Teachers granted superior grades when his winning charm set them up for the best seats. That’s why it was ...

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“The Potter Knows Everything” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #193

And, strange to tell, among the Earthen Lot Some could articulate, while others not: And suddenly one more impatient cried – “Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?”1 I explained to my friends on moving day that my future roommate Korissa had c...

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“The Seedling Bucket” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #192

There it was damp and moldy stuck against the bottom of the plastic seedling bucket. “Alex, I found it!” said Sally who kneeled in the furrowed row of the grape field they owned in Fresno, California. “Found what?” said her brother who whistled while he planted fragile seedlings by hand like her in an adjacent row. “The receipt from the co-op store.” He tore his gloves off and dropped the...

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“Whatever It Takes” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #191

Her hip-length shoulder bag bounced against my knees as she threaded her tiny self through the mouse-width space between me and the news racks jammed into the corner of the train station. Surprised, I pulled back into my seat to avoid further contact. She proceeded to shove the racks out of their parallel order along the wall far enough apart so they jutted out into the waiting room at odd angles. I inha...

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“Shortfall” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #186

“Stop. You at the door cannot come into this room to speak to me if you are followed by a servant. You alone may enter with my guard.” “Sir, he is not a servant. He is my brother.” “No. He is first and foremost a black man.” “He is under my command in the Patriot Army.” “By the color of his skin, he is a slave.” “He is not a slave but a soldier on my administration staff.”...

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“Fist Bump” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #185

Wayne nudged the file cabinet drawer shut. “Only people lost in the past keep paperwork these days Pops,” said his fifteen-year-old son.  He flashed a copy of an Excel spreadsheet on his phone toward his father but seeing no recognition of this action from him, he lowered his head and thumbed one handed to more interesting sites. He murmured, “By the way, did I tell you I’ve changed my name from Jacob to Jay?” His...

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