“Decoys,” by Alyson Dutemple (Fiction ’19)

“Decoys,” a piece of flash fiction by fiction alum Alyson Dutemple, was recently featured in the Atticus Review. Read an excerpt below:

Decoys

On dull stretches during these anniversary trips, we’ve found it helps to point out places along the way, little things we pass together in the car: rest stops, Waffle Houses, personalized license plates. Graveyards, road kill, churches with services just letting out.

Once we saw a bride and groom emerge from the gloom of ceremony and into the sunlight holding hands, looking, for all the world, like they weren’t sure how they got there, or what they were doing, or whether their eyes would ever adjust. Remember how they squinted? Remember how we waved but they didn’t wave back, and we agreed that it was because they couldn’t see us, or that maybe they just didn’t want to let go of each other’s hands, they were holding so tight? I said, “Were we ever that young?” but maybe what I meant a little was “Were we ever that in love?” and you, you said, “No, not never,” but it wasn’t clear which question you weren’t answering.

Read the piece in its entirety here: https://atticusreview.org/decoys/