Lugo in Normal Time: A Story from Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events

In this story from Kevin Moffett's dazzling new collection, Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events, a single father with an alcohol problem becomes an unlikely tragic hero.

Quietly convinced he can steady a weekend already slipping away, he shadows fourteen-year-old Erica from room to room, measuring out brandy while helping her hunt through moving boxes for a school project.

Later that afternoon, eager to display a steady paternal concern he cannot quite summon, he turns up unannounced at his ex-wife's backyard pottery studio to offer help she never requested.

Always acting against his good intentions—both before the story begins, with his ex-wife and during it, with his fourteen-year-old daughter—Lugo is an earnest, doomed protagonist in which we will all see something of ourselves.

• Family Dynamics: Erica's weekend to-do list balances geometry homework against the quiet obligation of visiting her father.
• Dark Comedy: Digging through old moving boxes unearths bizarre yard-sale relics, including a dual-colored fondue set and a bag of clipped hair saved from infancy.
• Father-Daughter Relationship: A past childhood obsession with a roadside Popeyes sign reveals how quickly a teenage daughter outgrows her father's memories.
• Second Chance: Lugo's nostalgic hopes collide with the reality of Irene's thriving new life, crafting customized ceramic funeral urns for strangers.