Works / Short Stories
Me & Mr. Tinkles
Publications
Summary
An aging, grieving father navigates the quiet despair of his daily routine alongside his deceased son's ailing cat. Set against the backdrop of a decaying property and an isolated marriage to his wife, Josie, who refuses to leave the house, the narrator finds his only solace spending his days sitting in his son Jimmy's rusted F-150 pickup truck. Jimmy was killed in combat five years prior, a tragedy that left his parents profoundly traumatized and estranged from the changing world around them. When an insensitive news reporter arrives to exploit the anniversary of Jimmy's death, a physical confrontation ensues, bringing the raw, lingering pain of the family's loss to the surface.