Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance

by Alison Espach

Thankfully, Valerie turned on a tape recording of her dishwasher before bed. “I hope you don’t mind,” Valerie said. “I’m addicted.” Valerie had recorded the sound of her own dishwasher before she went to Disney, so she could listen to it in the hotel. And I’ll admit, it was nice. Easy falling asleep like that, right next to Valerie, knowing that all her mother’s dishes would be clean by morning.

Confetti cake, obviously. Because everybody, even dead people, likes confetti cake.

She starts confessing things with surprising intimacy, a quality I’ve always liked, but something I like more and more in a person as I get older. “Did you know I’ve never had a lobster before?”