Dinner Parties Where Place Cards Leave No Choice in Seating by Chella Courington art by Robin Gowen If she felt his leg brush against hers, should she ignore it, commenting on the arugula with pine nuts, "Strong tastes for champagne"? Or should she stand, dropping the linen napkin as if she must go to the powder room? And would he instantly rise, "May I be of service?" Or should she cross her legs? Let him feel her resistance, know she meant no when the steamed lobster was placed before her. Should she tell him that in March she dove for lobster in the Florida Keys, catching as many as twelve on a single afternoon? Would he crack the shell, marveling that a woman, a slight woman like Adele, could be so adept with a tickle stick and net? Or would he say nothing? No, he must not be indifferent to her past if he wanted to play in her present. Would he dare touch her silk pants while raising the chardonnay to his lips? She crossed her legs. Was it a hand brushing against her thigh? How could he think her available amid the clanking of glasses and dropping of vowels? What had she said? Or did he assume anyone seated next to him ought to be interested? What could she do if his fingers paused? Adele once read in a novel that a heroine, flushed by her brother's college friend, stabbed him with a salad fork. Where, she wasn't sure, maybe his forearm. "And what do you do with a dozen lobsters? Throw dinner parties like this?" She heard him, his eyes never looking up from the plate. Should she uncross her legs now or survey her choice of forks? Read the interview. Nominated for the 2009 Best of the Net Anthology and the 2009 Best New Poets (University of Virginia), Chella Courington teaches literature and writing at Santa Barbara City College. Her recent work appears or is forthcoming in The Los Angeles Review, lo-ball, Gargoyle Magazine, Opium Magazine, Pirene's Fountain and Everyday Genius. "Diana loved anything orange" was runner-up in The Collagist 2009 flash fiction contest. Her first chapbook was Southern Girl Gone Wrong, her second chapbook, Girls & Women, was released by Burning River in March, and her third chapbook, Paper Covers Rock, will be released by Indigo Ink in September. Robin Gowen, born 1957 in Nebraska, has lived mainly in New Hampshire, Nigeria and California. Her husband, a paleobotanist, advises her on the biology of her impressionist landscapes, which have been represented by Sullivan Goss gallery in Santa Barbara for more than 13 years. All content in SmokeLong Quarterly copyright 2003-2012 by its authors. Issue Thirty-Three (October 2, 2011): Egg Toss, August 1989 by Meagan Cass «» Dinner Parties Where Place Cards Leave No Choice in Seating by Chella Courington «» Sovetskoye Shampanskoye by Berit Ellingsen «» They Live in Black and White by Danica Green «» Watermelon Seeds by Micah Dean Hicks «» Gwendolyn by Robert Hinderliter «» Sleepless #7 by Joe Kapitan «» Mutual by Henry S. Kivett «» Wolf Cry by Sara Lippmann «» Jamila by Carmel Reid Mawle «» When I Lose Track of the Children, 5 & 7, Near the Magazine Section at Costco by Christopher Merkner «» Finally by John Minichillo «» I'm a Woman For Sure by Kate Nesheim «» Exposure by Katy Resch «» The Road to the Casino Del Sol by Mather Schneider «» Never Never by Amber Sparks «» The Language of Hairzilla by Chris L. Terry «» Interviews: Meagan Cass «» Chella Courington «» Berit Ellingsen «» Danica Green «» Micah Dean Hicks «» Robert Hinderliter «» Joe Kapitan «» Henry S. Kivett «» Sara Lippmann «» Carmel Reid Mawle «» Christopher Merkner «» John Minichillo «» Kate Nesheim «» Katy Resch «» Mather Schneider «» Amber Sparks «» Chris L. Terry «» Cover Art "Sparta, NJ" by David Ohlerking «» Letter From the Editor Interested in subscribing to SmokeLong's weekly newsletter? Click here. An email should be created. Send it as is, and you'll be subscribed. If the link does not work for you, send an email to imailsrv@smokelong.com with Subscribe slq-info in the body of the email (no subject is necessary). You'll receive updates detailing the release of new issues, new reading periods, contests, etc. We do not make our mail list available to anyone else.