Peter Orner is the author of three books of fiction: Esther Stories, The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo, and Love and Shame and Love, a New York Times Editors’ Choice. A native of Chicago, Orner now lives in San Francisco.
To this day nobody plays pool at the Hole, even though by now the blood stains have faded into the once-green felt like a birthmark. It’s been six years since we last saw Barker, but not a night goes by…