The Last Words of Luther Wickens
She really should have gotten his permission
At first, Greta thought it was a toner problem.
The printer spat out blank page after blank page even as she stared at the black words on the screen before her.
Her finished novel. The Last Words of Luther Wickens. Five long years of hard work. Luther had been such a difficult character to bring to life. She’d had to tease him out, slowly.
His story was one that had been pieced together a thousand different ways before she finally got it right.
On Saturday Greta bought new toner. Still, clean white pages. No words on them.
Her frustration mounting, Greta called her neighbor Dan over to take a look.
“I can’t get this to print,” she told him.
“Print what?”
“This — document,” Greta pointed. “On the screen.”
“Is this a joke? I’m in the middle of The Sinner.”
“I don’t understand.” Greta’s heart started to thump.
“A blank screen is going to be a blank page. As a rule.”
When he left, Greta started to copy and paste a section to email to someone, maybe her mom. She wanted to know she wasn’t losing her mind. But she…
