Even fools have expenses.
R M Vaughan
In the WC I spot a tooth in the toilet, a tooth in clear water, resting on porcelain. For some reason I’m reminded of my few days in Bombay.
Finnegan calls hello to the MP, says, Hey, sailor, what ship? Roberto the MP walks over warily. Finnegan comments on his gloves and hat looped so neatly on his shoulders. They remind me of epaulettes.
Roberto says his gloves, hat, and jacket were with him in Vietnam. He served in Vietnam, artillery, but that was a few years ago. I’m not sure whether to believe him. People in bars make up stories …
Bio:
Mark Anthony Jarman is the author of Touch Anywhere to Begin, Czech Techno, Knife Party at the Hotel Europa, 19 Knives, and the travel book Ireland’s Eye. He has published in journals across Europe, Asia, and North America. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a fiction editor for the Fiddlehead. Burn Man, his selected stories, was published in 2023 by Biblioasis and was a New York Times “Editors’ Choice” in 2024.