I’ll Have a Number 4 by Paul Beckman | Flash Fiction | #thesideshow

I’ll Have a Number 4

My neighbor cries. Our walls are thin and I can hear her. Sometimes she cries when the news is on and sometimes I hear her bawling over Jeopardy. Since our apartments are identical, only reversed, our bedrooms line up and she wakes me sometimes when she’s listening to Jimmy Kimmel. Christ, he’s not that bad—he’s actually pretty good.  I hear her ordering in from the Chinese restaurant: spring rolls, hot and sour soup and house fried rice—her standard order #4. Sometimes I try explaining her crying to company. I blame it on the MSG or the fortune cookie.

About the Author

Paul Beckman has two story collections, “Peek” and “Come! Meet My Family and other stories”. He has had over 300 of his stories published in print, on line in the following magazines as well as others: Literary Orphans, Connecticut Review, Playboy, Matter Press, Litro, Thrice Fiction, The Airgonaught, Jellyfish Review, and R.K.V.R.Y. He runs the monthly FBomb NY flash fiction reading series at KGB. Paul had a micro story selected for the 2018 Norton Microfiction Anthology.