Family Rosary
Janna D. Tierney
back against the green sofa, her skirt stretched from knee to knee
like a table. On this platform she arranged her pink rosary, settling
the rough plastic beads into an artfully lopsided oval with the cross
“Mommy, when are we goanna start yet?”
“Patience, Abigail.”
“But I already did my part! I wanted us to start early.”
Mrs. Sanders exhaled and closed her eyes for a moment
before turning her attention back to the warm soapy water and
the wet washcloth with which she was cleaning the last plate of
the night: Franciscan Ware, 1957, Desert Rose pattern. Its surface
was marked with circular grey scratches, indicating generations
of stainless steel forks scraping up mashed potatoes [