“fortune cookies” by Kathleen Hellen

Photo Credit: Sam Wong

The air had been muggy all day, the sky had the tint of a storm. When the doorbell rang, the woman got up quickly. The delivery boy handed her the bag with the receipt stapled to the fold, and she slipped him the five she had rolled up in her fist. What did you tip him? the man asked, as soon as she shut the door. He was sitting in the La-Z-Boy in front of the old Zenith, the stack of Forbes between them. The bp monitor. He’d been watching a game show … phrase … ten seconds …. He asked again, looking straight at her this time. How much? She looked away. She knew he kept track. Every bill. Every receipt. I saved it from the groceries, she insisted. How much? It was that voice. Matter-of-fact. Businesslike. The same voice when he told her there was a safety deposit box at the bank. If he died, if something happened, she would be taken care of. Five, she said, her voice a whisper. He grumbled. For what? Handing you a bag. The chow mein smelled strongly of garlic. She passed him a plastic fork, apologizing. There’s the gas. He has to pay for gas. He returned to the tv. … your chance to win …. Now they wouldn’t talk. She would fetch him a tall boy. They would go to bed. She reached in the bag and took one of the two cookies out of its wrapper, broke it open to reveal the little slip of paper with its fortune. She remembered when he’d booked the separate flights. Two flights like two throws of dice. Like insurance. He was slurping noodles. His eyes were still fixed on the game show. …  and the winner is …. 

Artist Statement

Since 1982, when the deadline passed, and the Equal Rights Amendment failed to reach the required 38 states, I have been writing furiously about women's issues as a defense against despair.

Kathleen Hellen is the author of three collections and two poetry chapbooks. Her writing has appeared in Four Way Review, The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Massachusetts Review, North American Review, SmokeLong Quarterly, and elsewhere. Hellen’s work has been nominated multiple times for Best of the Net, the Pushcart and recently, Best American Short Stories. A third chapbook, young girl in the flower of time, is forthcoming in 2026 from Lily Press. https://www.kathleenhellen.com