“Throughout the jiggling trip, stopping and starting, grumbling motor, people getting on and off, trees and ocean whizzing by, I ignore it all to administer the silent treatment to Nick. He’s acting like he doesn’t notice the thousand cuts from my icy glares, but he’ll find out I’m not playing. Today I’m returning Nick to his parents.” 

Enjoy this audio recording of “Returns Department” by Jan Schmidt from Vol. 34:3 of CALYX Journal! Buy your copy here!

Jan Schmidt is an editor of Cable Street and lives in New York City. “Pandora,” Fiction Prize Finalist, was published in Solstice 2023. Other fiction has been published in Litro Magazine, Anti-Heroin Chic, and Tupelo Quarterly. Her unpublished novel Sunlight Underground was a finalist for the Novel Slices Award, 2021. https://contactprod.com/janschmidt/home.

1 Comment

  • Dana Posted October 21, 2024 2:29 am

    What delicious writing. Thank you Jan Schmidt for reading to me. In the wee hours. Absolutely wonderful. I specifically love the depth of understanding of music itself. But every description took me there. Thank you!

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