Stories
In the Blink of God's Eye
In 1901, Ruth and Aubrey Patterson struggle to adapt to harsh realities of urban life in Washington, including encountering a bundled baby tied to a tree
Spanish in the Morning
Resurrecting Methuselah
Old Boys, Old Girls [5]
Caesar Matthews is sentenced to a seven-year sentence in Lorton,, D.C.'s prison in Virginia, for second-degree murder after evading arrest for shooting another man. Upon his release, Caesar is connected with housing and a dishwashing job when he reluctantly reconnects with his brother, Alonzo, a corporate attorney. He also reconnects with a former girlfriend, Yvonne, who lives in his building.
All Aunt Hagar's Children [6]
A twenty-four-year-old veteran of the Korean War is living an "undistinguished life" back home in D.C., nine months home from duty, and preparing to head to Alaska to hunt for gold with a war buddy. He is unexpectedly approached by a closely-knit group of women with a long history together in Alabama — his mother, his Aunt Penny, and Miss Agatha — to investigate the murder of Aunt Penny's son, Ike.
A Poor Guatemalan Dreams of a Downtown in Peru
Arlene Baxter enjoys a happy childhood with her family in rural Maryland until a natural disaster takes her family, but spares her. It is the first of several deaths she witnesses throughout her life of witnessing, being miraculously saved from each.
Root Worker
In 1963, Dr. Glynnis Holloway's mother, Alberta, suffers another of her "head plagues" which have intermittently afflicted her for many years. When doctors at St. Elizabeth's Hospital are unable to treat her, the Holloway family, along with Alberta's caretaker, Maddie, return to their native North Carolina to enlist the treatment of Imogene Satterfield, a renowned root doctor of many decades. Tensions arise between Glynnis and Imogene due to their contrasting methodologies and credentials in treating illness.
Common Law
Adam Robinson Acquires Grandparents and a Little Sister [7]
Noah Robinson reflects on the disappearance of trees in Washington while riding in a cab with his wife of forty-seven years to take their grandson, Adam, home from social services.
The Devil Swims Across the Anacostia River
Laverne Shepherd unexpectedly comes face-to-face with the Devil wearing a splendid gray gabardine suit while grocery shopping in a D.C. Safeway. Both of her grandmothers had warned her that she would know the Devil when he appeared and upon their meeting, Laverne recalls a supernatural episode that happened on a beach along the Anacostia River fourteen years earlier.
Blindsided
Roxanne Stapleton, a renowned partier who left her daughter behind with her parents in her native Louisiana, suddenly becomes blind while riding the D.C. Transit bus. Her neighbor, Agnes, a devout Catholic, and her partner, Melvin, become her caretakers and try to help her adjust to the new reality of her condition.
A Rich Man [8]
In 1977, Horace Perkins retires from a career at the Department of Defense and moves into an apartment for senior citizens with his wife, Loneese, of forty years. In their new home, he intends to become a new man and respect his marriage vows after unhappy years together.
Bad Neighbors [9]
Twelve members of the Bennington family make a bad impression upon moving into their house on 8th Street, N.W. owned by a white man in Arlington. Their disruption later prompts the good neighbors of 8th Street to raise money to buy the house to rent to more agreeable people.
Tapestry
Anne Perry marries a sleeping car porter, George Carter, which she begins to question immediately following their nuptials in early 1930s Picayune, Mississippi.
