“Sun and Shade” by by Katie Runde (fiction, ’12)

An excerpt from the short story “Sun and Shade” by by Katie Runde (fiction, ’12), available in Storyscape Literary Journal:

“Sun and Shade”

Liz heaved the last umbrella into the box at Sun and Shade Umbrella Rentals and snapped the combination lock shut. The beach was littered with the signs of a busy weekend day: peach pits, popsicle sticks, indentations in the shapes of bodies in the sand. Dave appeared just as she was zipping her backpack to leave, as he had every evening this week on his way home from the Sun and Shade Rentals two blocks north. He set down a greasy pizza box on a towel and passed a thermos to Liz. She took a long pull and tasted the familiar sourness of lemonade with the surprise bitterness of gin.

“Cheers, boss,” he said, already folding one slice and filling his mouth, dripping grease onto the towel and sand. “Oh and can I have next week off?” Carl had just promoted her to assistant manager this week, which meant an extra dollar an hour and that she gave the breaks on Wednesdays. […continue reading here]