University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters University of Nebraska Press 2005 The Usual Mistakes Erin Flanagan Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples Flanagan, Erin, "The Usual Mistakes" (2005). University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters. 131. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples/131 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Nebraska Press at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 1 2 3 4 5 The Usual Mistakes 6 7 8 9 10 11 [First Page] 12 [-1], (1) 13 14 15 Lines: 0 to 15 16 ——— 17 * 405.0pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-1], (1) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page i / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 flyover fiction 2 Series editor: Ron Hansen 3 4 The Usual Mistakes 5 Erin Flanagan 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-2], (2) 13 14 15 Lines: 15 to 29 16 ——— 17 * 404.08002pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-2], (2) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page ii / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-3], (3) 13 14 15 Lines: 29 to 39 16 ——— 17 -102.83pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-3], (3) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page iii / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 © 2005 by Erin Flanagan 2 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United 3 States of America 4 ⅜ϱ 5 Library of Congress Catalog- 6 ing-in-Publication Data 7 Flanagan, Erin. 8 The usual mistakes / Erin Flanagan. p. cm. — (Flyover fiction) 9 isbn 0-8032-2029-4 10 (cloth : alk. paper) 11 i. Title. ii. Series. ps3606.l356u85 2005 12 813'.54–dc22 [-4], (4) 13 2005004224 14 Set in Minion by Kim Essman. 15 Designed by R. W. Boeche. Lines: 39 to 68 Printed by Thomson-Shore, Inc. 16 ——— 17 * 262.06401pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-4], (4) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page iv / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 To Charlotte Hogg 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-5], (5) 13 14 15 Lines: 68 to 76 16 ——— 17 * 402.58002pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-5], (5) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page v / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-6], (6) 13 14 15 Lines: 76 to 84 16 ——— 17 * 459.0pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-6], (6) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page vi / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 Contents 6 7 Acknowledgments ix 8 9 The Usual Mistakes 1 10 Intervention 27 11 Honda People 45 12 [-7], (7) 13 The Story of Gladys 61 14 15 Laws of Relativity 73 Lines: 84 to 111 16 Burn 93 ——— 17 * 103.58002pt PgVar 18 Any Ordinary Uncle 109 ——— Normal Page 19 In This Weather 127 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 Every Sad Detail 143 22 The Last Girlfriend 161 [-7], (7) 23 24 Circus Bezerk 177 25 Goldfish 191 26 27 Source Acknowledgments 203 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page vii / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-8], (8) 13 14 15 Lines: 111 to 117 16 ——— 17 * 459.0pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-8], (8) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page viii / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 Acknowledgments 6 7 I’d like to express my gratitude to the Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers’ 8 Conferences, the Vermont Studio Center, and the MacDowell Colony 9 for the encouragement to write and a wealth of new friends; to literary 10 journals for their hard work and dedication to new writers; to my dear- 11 est readers, teachers, and friends—Judy, Gerry, Hilda, Jonis, Charlotte, 12 Talbird, Daryl, Renae, Kelly, and Naca—for their unwavering support [-9], (9) 13 and endless readings; to Ladette for keeping me sane and working; to 14 my family—Judy, Ken, Kelly, and Olive—for their love and cheer; and 15 to Mike, for everything to come. Lines: 117 to 128 16 ——— 17 * 267.58002pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-9], (9) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page ix / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-10], (10) 13 14 15 Lines: 128 to 132 16 ——— 17 * 459.0pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-10], (10) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page x / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 The Usual Mistakes 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-11], (11) 13 14 15 Lines: 132 to 139 16 ——— 17 * 405.0pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-11], (11) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page xi / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [-12], (12) 13 14 15 Lines: 139 to 144 16 ——— 17 * 459.0pt PgVar 18 ——— 19 Normal Page 20 * PgEnds: PageBreak 21 22 [-12], (12) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page xii / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 1 2 3 4 5 The Usual Mistakes 6 7 8 9 10 11 [First Page] 12 he hospital where I work is actually a hotel—a renovated Best [1], (1) 13 Western, just south of Omaha. The doctors kept much of the 14 Toriginal décor, making only minor structural changes: the ex- 15 ercise room was expanded to include a pharmacy, the dank bar reno- Lines: 0 to 26 16 vated into a chapel, although I don’t think anyone’s ever been there to ——— 17 pray. Check-ins sit on the same red and beige floral sofas vacationers 0.0pt PgVar 18 would rest on while waiting for their sheets to be changed, in town ——— 19 for an Omaha Royals game or a trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo. Cora, Normal Page 20 the receptionist, stands behind the large, oak desk greeting patients PgEnds: TEX 21 and ringing the bell when their rooms are ready. The chandelier in 22 the main lobby still glitters and tinkles when a breeze blows in, as if [1], (1) 23 announcing the possibility of a wonderful time. 24 I worked for four years as night manager of this Best Western. When 25 the hotel closed,I forged my credentials,created a pre-med degree from 26 Creighton University with a 3.96 grade point, and voilà, I’m a medical 27 assistant. I’m no more licensed to assist in medical procedures than I 28 am to fly a plane, but I’ve been here almost eight months, and no one 29 seems to notice. 30 Many of the patients look as if they’re here for vacations, wearing 31 what can only be described as cruise-wear: shiny fuchsia jogging suits 32 with gold braided trim, khaki pants and pale golf shirts, an occasional 33 visor. It’s a private hospital specializing in reconstructive surgeries 34 and prosthetics. We do plastic surgery, although I’m not allowed to 35 call it that. Our patients like that the rooms are still decorated as hotel Buy the Book Kim — University of Nebraska Press / Page 1 / / The Usual Mistakes / Erin Flanagan 2 The Usual Mistakes 1 rooms. They say it makes them feel less like they’re staying at a hospital 2 and more at home, ignoring that, other than the car wrecks and burn 3 victims, they don’t need to be here at all. In truth, the linens, beds, 4 and curtains were thrown in at such a ridiculously low rate when the 5 hotel foreclosed, that the hospital would have been foolish to pass on 6 them. 7 I work banker’s hours, nine to five. 8 9 Cora rings me in the nurse’s lounge, room 143 next to the Coke and 10 ice machines, and tells me the two o’clock is here.