Irn Milken

Ira Milkens is a middle-aged divorcee who features in the short story “Debarking”. Six months divorced, Ira has visitation rights with his 4-year-old daughter, Bekka, and Ira seeks to get back into the dating game because he is so lonely. He has, however, a difficult time physically removing his wedding ring from his finger – a symbolic issue demonstrating that he is not yet over his marriage, though he endeavors to be so. He begins dating a woman named Zora who has an unhealthy attachment to her son, and is probably mentally unwell – but Ira looks past this due to her attractiveness and his own loneliness. In his marriage, Ira came second to other men; and in his new relationship, he comes second to Bruno, Zora’s son –for if Bruno comes to dislike Ira, Zora will break up with Ira.

Zora

Zora is the attractive mother of...