Kathleen Gullion

Kathleen Gullion is a writer whose work has appeared in Esthetic Apostle, Coachella Review, F Newsmagazine, and onstage at various theaters in Chicago. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also serves as Assistant Editor at Sundress Publications and is currently based in Houston.

SEALED by Kathleen Gullion

The day of my baptism, I wear a neon orange swimsuit underneath my white dress. What was I supposed to do, go naked and let everybody see my brand-new nipples? As I wait by the river, bullfrogs jumping from bank to bank and croaking like a choir, the swimsuit keeps finding its way up my butt crack, giving me what Paw-Paw would call the “cowboy’s hello,” a term he coined for what happens to underwear on a saddle. “That’s why cowboys go commando, Darlene,” he always said. I yank the suit out of my crevice. Mom, perched up on dry…

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