A LITERARY COLLECTION FROM VERMONT WRITERS

They gathered at the house almost three months after their father's death. Nobody had expected the suicide, even though mother had been moved to a nursing home last year and he'd become more dour and silent than usual. One Thursday morning he’d trudged down the steps to the basement, spread out a sheet of plastic in a last bit of housekeeping fervor, and shot himself in the head. David had discovered the body during his daily visit. The house sat empty since then, but Shay

Lily Blanc sat at a small round table at a favorite coffee shop, waiting for her “friend, Alyssa. Like so many others in the popular, cozy place, she whiled away the time scrolling through her cell phone apps. As she focused on an appealing New York Times puzzle, two women walked by juggling their designer coffees, sweet treats and over-sized personal bags toward the table behind her. The women seemed to be friends who hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks and were now catchi