Fine

by Michelle Wright

  When her children ask, ‘Are you happy?’ she smiles and smoothes the tablecloth.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she replies. ‘Keeping busy.’

  But, at the end of the month, when she opens the telephone bill, she sees just how much she’s been missing him. The following stories in this collection originally appeared in the publications listed below.

  ‘Great Moments in Earth-Moving History’ Sleepers Almanac (Sleepers Publishing, 2015)

  ‘Last Man Standing’ Award Winning Australian Writing (Melbourne Books, 2015)

  ‘Keeping Tabs’ (under the title ‘To Call Things By Their Right Names’) Lost Boy and Other Stories (Margaret River Press, 2015)

  ‘Moon Shiny Night’ Los Angeles Review (Red Hen Press, 2015)

  ‘Long Thin Strip’ Folio Journal (American University, Washington DC, 2015)

  ‘Blurred Edges’ Magic Oxygen Literary Prize Anthology (Magic Oxygen Publishing, 2015)

  ‘Late Change’ Overland (No: 217, 2014)

  ‘Taken’ Flashing the Square Anthology (Spineless Wonders, 2014)

  ‘Water Hours’ Great Ocean Quarterly (vol. 1, no. 4, 2014)

  ‘Family Block’ The Victorian Writer (Writers Victoria, 2013)

  ‘Fine’ BridportPrize Anthology (Redcliffe Press, 2013)

  ‘Maggot’ The Age (January 2013)

  Acknowledgements

  I want to thank the many people, both friends and strangers, who provided the inspiration for the stories in this collection. Some have been part of my life for years; others only briefly passed through. I am indebted to them all.

  I am very grateful to the judges of the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, for which Fine was shortlisted; and to the Victorian Government and the Wheeler Centre for their support of this important award.

  I am also extremely grateful for fellowships provided by Writers Victoria, Templeberg Villa and Nillumbik Council, that gave me precious time and mental space to write.

  I would like to thank the journals and anthologies who first published a number of the stories in this collection, and who do so much to nurture emerging writers and the short story form.

  Immense thanks to the gorgeous folk at Allen and Unwin, and especially to Jane Palfreyman, Belinda Lee and Ali Lavau, who welcomed me aboard with such kindness and patience, and did so much to bring this collection together.

  To my wonderful agent, Clare Forster at Curtis Brown—thank you for your hard work and belief in me.

  To Paddy O’Reilly and Toni Jordan—thank you for sharing your wisdom, advice and generous praise.

  To my loyal and talented writing buddies—thank you for your tireless support, gentle prodding and invaluable (and almost never brutal) feedback.

  To my fabulous friends and colleagues who provide words of encouragement, cheers from the sidelines and inspiration for new stories.

  To my extraordinary family (all those people who call me daughter, sis, cuz, Mitchie)—I wouldn’t be here if not for your love and enthusiasm. Thank you for all the times you’ve said you’re proud of me.

  And finally, to Philippe, Sacha and Emma—thank you for understanding how much writing means to me, for sharing in my joy, and for accepting the fact that cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping are no longer part of my repertoire.