July 21, 2026

drifting

Along the coastline the beach clubs have emptied, signs in the sand dunes
replete with warnings; a mystery pathogen has entered certain mid-Atlantic
ice cream shops. An early investigation points to a dozen unrelated culprits.
In the rippling heat, no one can remember what they ordered. Confined
to air-conditioned hotel rooms, families weave between 90s television reruns
and jigsaw puzzles with a handful of edge pieces missing. Outside, seagulls
congregate around abandoned picnic tables. Squadrons of ants carry remainders
of waffle cones to the outskirts of parking lots. In the sea, conversations between
waves find an old rhythm, tenor notes drifting all the way to Montana, where
a girl in high tops dribbles a basketball up and down her driveway, keeping time.