Ways to Spend the Night

Clare and her oldest friend from college had been planning this visit for the past three months. But only yesterday, her arms full of towels and pillows, Clare realized that it was too soon for her husband's study to become a guest room. First she needed to talk through her anguish and anger at finding him there, slumped over his desk beside the empty vials of pills, finding his folded note that said "Clare."

A widower finds his stolen car and begins a relationship with the thief; a woman whose sisters levy accusations against their dying father wonders why he chose them, not her; a divorcing couple celebrates a final beach weekend with their closest friends.

In fifteen stories of loss and recovery, including two Pushcart Prize winners, Pamela Painter cements her status as a master of the contemporary story.