Tom walked out of the 7-11 with two coffees in his hand, one for him and one for his wife Gayla, who had waited in the car while he pumped the petrol. He stopped for a moment to watch children clambering on the Wonder Wall which made up the west side of the shop, and which Tom supposed caused more parents to stop here for petrol and soft drinks than might otherwise. The wall interested him because walls were his business. Tom was a manager in a company that rendered residential and commercial exteriors. Usually, as jobs go, it was pretty good; but this year had been tough. He regretted the decision they’d made two years ago, as an executive team, to change their…

“Say, hey, good lookinWhat you got cookin?How’s about cookin somethin up with me?Say hey sweet babyDon’t you think maybeWe could find us a brand newrecipe?” Della’s sneakers hit the asphalt as she stepped off the bus from school, and immediately she regretted not having worn her better shoes. The rubber soles of this pair were rubbed so thin that the heat coming off the street seared the bottoms of her feet. “Like two catfish in a frying pan,” Janice would say later over dinner, laughing when Della told her the story. “I told you to stop wearing those ugly things a while back, didn’t I?” Janice was good natured, and would not give Della too hard a time about it; nevertheless, she relished handing…