Shared Patio, “The Shared Patio”

“The Shared Patio” takes place on the shared back patio of the duplex where the narrator lives. The patio serves various narrative and symbolic functions. For example, it is both a literal and metaphorical representation of the narrator’s interpersonal connection with her neighbors. This connection is involuntary and circumstantial, but the narrator hopes to parley these circumstances into a deeper connection with her male neighbor.

Small Town, “The Swim Team”

The main narrative of “The Swim Team” takes place in an unnamed small town where the narrator used to live. She moved there temporarily for a job at a non-profit. She befriended her three elderly coworkers and gave them swim lessons on the floor of her apartment. The narrator no longer lives in that town, but she often thinks about her (potentially now deceased) former coworkers with a sense of painful nostalgia.

Film Set, “Mon Plaisir”