You can now pre-order PROTECTRESS from Unsolicited Press! Here’s another little excerpt:
In Miami, Stheno has learned Haitian Creole, Spanish in three flavors,
how to administer the latest drugs for overdoses, to be knowledgeable
about Cuban politics.
She owns her little house and a set of
hand-painted plates.
For a while, far away from Florida,
she tried an experiment. She lived
with a man, also from the hospital.
He knew she was something primeval
or odd, not of his time,
but she never spoke of it;
and one day he brought home a dog
and talked of how he would likely outlive
this puppy, stroking its feet,
but he could still give it a good life.
And he looked at her and waited.
The dog slept on their bed
and they did not approach the topic
again even once,
but spent many happy weekends
at the dog park, their dog catching a ball
thrown by an immortal woman
wearing jeans and a baseball cap.
