Pushcart 2026 L: Richard Bausch, “The Widow’s Tale” from Ploughshares, Winter 2023/2024

Illustration of a table-turning séance from Félix Roubaud’s 1853 text, Les Danse des Tables Whenever Susan Bridge heard friends or family talk of inklings from the other side, or of being watched over by a lost loved one, she inwardly dismissed the idea even as she strove to be loving and attentive in the circumstance. She felt sorry, of course, but considered that in each case, bereavement was dictating to the senses. Yet now, here was her younger sister, Moira, claiming visits in her sleep from Susan’s husband, killed nearly a year ago in a one-car crash on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. “I’m telling you, Susan, he’s himself, and it keeps happening. Last night was the fourth time. He says quite clearly that he wants to talk to you. There’s a red dial phone and he hands me the receiver looking sad but there’s interference on the line. And I think the interference is your refusal to take this seriously.” “But it’s been ten months. What can I do to take it more seriously than I have?…