Barry Abrams

The Wrong Coat Barry Abrams

Our coats are quiet, obedient servants, reliably there for us when we need them . . . until they're not. What happens when, either by accident or design, we find ourselves in possession of the wrong coat? Eighteen writers answer this question through short fiction, poetry, or memoir. Within these pages are ordinary people whose wrong coat affects their lives in surprising, sometimes life-changing ways. Their journeys are poignant, funny, sometimes chilling. You'll meet a fascinating array of characters: A rabid Chicago White Sox baseball fan confronting a horrible choice in a barber shop; A vulnerable high school girl in the midst of a secret friendship with a man on a bus; A poet who is approached by a pauper with an intriguing request; A shy girl living in the shadow of her popular Queen Bee twin sister; An older woman afraid of falling whose vertebrae comes from cadavers; A rich Parisian lady and her two pampered poodles who ruthlessly compete for her favor; A woman who encounters a man from her college days; A mysterious person plagued with questions that go unanswered; A man not exactly mourning the death of his selfish twin brother; A woman who wonders what to do with a windfall that isn't rightfully hers; A college student not quite prepared for a brutal winter storm; A coat check girl in love with a rich, older married man; A single mom who wins an unusual prize; A struggling actor with ADHD tendencies and a father who disapproves from the grave; A young woman who has just escaped an abusive boyfriend; A young Midwestern man visiting his exotic Argentinian girlfriend in Buenos Aires; A school boy searching frantically for something he lost; A mother who discovers something disturbing about her teenage daughter; A man whose wife is expecting their first child. The eighteen writers in this anthology explore how wrong coats can become instructive or vindictive when they've left their rightful owners. Learn what can happen when the wrong coat meets the wrong person. It could happen to you.