Nell and Tig's House

The short stories "First Aid" and "Morte de Smudgie" have scenes set in Nell and Tig's home. In "First Aid," Nell remembers the day that she "came home . . . just before dinnertime and found the front door open" (3). Tig's car was gone and her daughter was nowhere to be found. "There was a trail of blood splotches on the steps," that led through the house and "into the kitchen" (3). While waiting for Tig and her daughter to resurface, Nell moves about the house cleaning up. She even wipes off the bloody carrot she finds on the counter. This memory of and in the house acts as the narrative throughway into Nell's reflections on danger and safety.

In "Morte de Smudgie," Nell holes up in herwriting room in the wake of her cat's death. Although Tig is still alive in this memory, Nell's time at the house...