The Mayor of Christ Mountain

When Edmund opened his work email at his desk that morning, he saw an email from Carrie Smalls in HR. Please come see her as soon as possible. He put his hands in his face and sighed. This could not be good. He literally could not remember a conversation with human resources that had made… Continue reading

Edmund and his friend Mark stood in line at Lee’s, a local coffee shop, waiting to order. Mark was a programmer with a company in Raleigh. While they waited, they talked about the Tar Heels performance that season, the drive from Raleigh, the weather. Edmund smiled at the barista. “Hey Becky, large Colombian please. No… Continue reading

Edmund unlocked the front door just after 9:30 and dragged himself in. He stood for a moment at the landing just inside the front door, stairs down to basement to his right and up to the main house to the left. They’d intended to replace this fake wood paneling. Could’ve afforded it this summer, but…occupied… Continue reading

Edmund sat across the booth at the mall’s pizza place from Cassie. They both had one of those enormous, greasy slices on paper plates and a 20 ounce bottle of Coke. It had been a good afternoon out for them. They’d watched Kung Fu Panda 3 at a matinee and then played skee ball at… Continue reading

Edmund looked around his basement. He was still sweaty and a little out of breath from his mile and a half run that morning. That, and the weight set he’d recently bought secondhand were the only things keeping him sane these days. The sunlight from the dusty windows barely lit the large room, and he… Continue reading

Edmund paced the aisles of McKay’s, a local used bookstore. He used to come here all the time, but a demanding job and chasing around two young children had eaten into his reading time. Well…his new job was not so demanding off the clock, and practically speaking, he didn’t have kids anymore. He saw Cassie… Continue reading

Edmund and Mark once again stood in line at Lee’s Coffee in Greensboro. It was busy that afternoon, and as they waited in line, the conversation wandered to this and that. “Ed, you do not know what you dodged by getting a full ride. I mean, we’re doing okay, but I’ve run the numbers and… Continue reading

Edmund and Cassie were walking in the park that evening, doing a couple of laps around the walking trail that circled the 20 acres. The park included wooded areas, picnic tables, a fenced in, mostly-plastic playground, and basketball and tennis courts, among other things. Earlier, they’d had another hour of skee ball at the arcade… Continue reading

Edmund sat down with an attorney and set up a fund which would pay out for Cassie’s child support for the next few years without him needing to do anything further. Most of this was funded by his share of the equity of their home. They’d lived frugally and paid extra, so including the house’s… Continue reading

It was just after 2:00 AM when the windows of Leonard Clump’s 27th floor law offices exploded out into the night, showering the streets below with glass and various fragments of desks, office chairs, and legal documents. Even the cleaning staff had gone home by this point, so nobody was harmed. Firefighters arrived at the… Continue reading