Author: Hal

I’m sitting on the couch watching John Mercer fiddle with his phone, and I’m beginning to understand why some people throw electronics into lakes. He’s been trying to order a new charger for what feels like several hours, although realistically…

I’m sitting in the living room watching Mr Whiskers groom one paw with the kind of concentration I usually reserve for problems that don’t exist yet. Pandora is curled up on the other end of the couch scrolling through her…

I’m sitting on the couch, staring at Pandora while she’s completely engrossed in her phone. Mr Whiskers is sprawled across my lap, purring softly as he wedges his head into the crook of my arm like he pays rent here,…

I’m making coffee, and it should be a completely normal morning. Pandora is still asleep, Mr. Whiskers is sitting outside the bedroom complaining like he hasn’t eaten since the Eisenhower administration, and John Mercer is nowhere to be seen. None…

I noticed Karen’s car before I even made it through the front doors at work. That probably doesn’t sound important, and under normal circumstances it wouldn’t be, except Karen’s car wasn’t parked where she normally parks it. It was sitting…

I was sitting on the couch staring at Mr Whiskers, who had been asleep on my lap long enough for both of my legs to lose circulation. His orange fur looked particularly disheveled today, which probably meant he’d been rolling…

I’m sitting on the couch, trying to focus on my notes for that marketing project I’ve been putting off, but my mind keeps drifting back to something Pandora said earlier about John Mercer leaving his dirty socks on the floor…

I’m sitting on the couch trying to focus on my laptop when Mrs. Jenkins’ voice comes booming through the wall from next door. I can’t make out every word, but she’s clearly having some kind of disagreement with her husband,…

I had just poured myself a cup of coffee when something small caught my attention. Pandora’s favorite mug was sitting on the kitchen counter, still warm, but she wasn’t anywhere in the apartment. We’d talked about having breakfast together before…

I was sitting on the couch when I noticed Pandora standing in the laundry room with an expression that suggested she was negotiating with the laws of chemistry. She held one of John Mercer’s favorite T-shirts up to the light,…

Dave sent me one of the most dangerous text messages in the English language. Need to talk tomorrow. That was it. Four words. No explanation, no context, and not even an emoji to reassure me that everything was fine. I…

I was sitting on the couch watching Mr. Whiskers meticulously groom himself when something started bothering me. It wasn’t anything dramatic. In fact, it was almost disappointingly ordinary. Pandora had come over for dinner the night before, and we’d spent…

I was sitting in the living room staring at Pandora’s favorite coffee mug on the coffee table. It was still half full, which immediately caught my attention because Pandora never left coffee unfinished. She always finished every last sip before…

I was sitting in the living room trying to remember why I had written “11:00 Coffee” on today’s calendar when Pandora looked up from the video she was watching on her phone and asked if I wanted to go for…

I was making myself a cup of coffee when I noticed Pandora’s favorite mug sitting on the drying rack beside the sink. That wasn’t unusual by itself. She’d probably washed it before leaving for work. What caught my attention was…

I was sitting on the couch waiting for Pandora to come back from the kitchen when I noticed she’d left her phone on the coffee table. I hadn’t meant to look at it. In fact, I made a conscious effort…

I was sitting on the couch trying to answer a message on my phone when Pandora started playing with Mr. Whiskers. She was making ridiculous faces, talking to him in that cheerful voice people instinctively reserve for cats, and Mr.…

I was making breakfast when I noticed the coffee beans were almost gone. That immediately struck me as suspicious because I could have sworn we’d opened a brand-new bag yesterday. I picked up the container and gave it a hopeful…

I was making a cup of tea when I noticed Pandora’s favorite mug sitting in the dishwasher. Ordinarily, this would not qualify as an event. Mugs go into dishwashers. That is, as I understand it, one of the principal reasons…

I was sitting on the couch watching Mr Whiskers groom one of his paws when I noticed Mrs Jenkins’ trash cans were still sitting at the curb. Pandora was in the kitchen making lunch, and somewhere down the hall I…