Longlist – 2026 Gooseberry Pie Annual Writing Competition
by Rebecca Tiger
They put me on the street with $100 gate money and no plans but six months off the sauce made me an eager date, so the first thing was a jaunt to Bev Warehouse, a few nips to calm the nerves like an overdue hug from a long-lost friend. I just needed wheels, a night in an Econo Lodge, then I’d figure something out, I always did, but as the booze cleared my mind, I saw an even better plan: a couple mile walk to my buddy Roy’s place, a quick hello, his wife would make me up a nice bed on their couch so I could save the dough.
The second bottle turned my intended beeline into a zig zag, so when I got there, it was past midnight and the lights were off – I do get to my destination even if late – but I spied Roy’s Corolla in the driveway and wasn’t it just like him to keep it unlocked, so I used my old skills, started it right up, backed out, veering a bit to the left, nothing that couldn’t be corrected, then went straight. I had the Smirnoff between my legs, my hand on the steering wheel, figuring Roy and I would share a laugh about this and maybe I did doze off – it’s hard to get a good night’s shut eye inside with the constant noise and fluorescent lights – waking up in Brandywine Creek, a cop pulling me out, my jeans and sneakers all wet, me trying to say “I’m fine” but even I could hear my slurring words.
I was lying in the hospital bed, my head pounding, and I don’t usually go in for self-pity but man was I feeling sorry for myself, thinking that I always messed things up even when I intended to get them right – I was just a kid when my mother left me behind, how was I supposed to learn that when something feels so good it still might be bad? I bawled like the orphan I was, snot pouring down my face when in walked Roy, shaking his head, my lips quivering too much to say “I’m sorry” and Roy sat down beside me, he leaned down and grabbed me; my best friend in the whole world said: “You fucked up big this time, Anthony, but we’ll get you right one of these days.”
Rebecca Tiger is as sociology professor who divides her time between New York City and Athens. Her stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She is the flash fiction editor for Blood+Honey Lit.
