Roberta Marstellar is a writer and storyteller and has been for most of her life. She recently completed her second book, When Someday Comes, a spirited memoir about her midlife meltdown turned culinary adventure abroad. Her work has appeared in Bacopa Literary Review and garnered their 2018 prize for creative nonfiction. A second piece is forthcoming in Under the Gum Tree.
My freshman homecoming date rumbles away in his dad’s Ford pickup with his older brother—dressed in a clown suit—at the wheel. I huff the sweet exhaust and watch their red taillights burn out of sight. I take it slow up the front steps to the house, wondering how I’ll make it past Mom without her seeing that my dress is… Read more →
My damp legs make a gross thwapping noise every time I peel one from the chair, but the ripped vinyl itches too much for me to keep still. The windowless American Legion kitchen where Mom works nights as a short-order cook is blazing hot. “Indian Summer” my teacher called it. Mom is in a mood on account of the thick… Read more →