"Gravel" by Alice Munro

Last week, just as I had taken up her newest collection, Dear Life, to read, Alice Munro, at the age of 82, won the Nobel Prize. Often called our modern day Chekov, Munro is today's indisputable master of the short story.

In honor of her win, and because it's a damn fine story, here (courtesy of The New Yorker) is "Gravel," the fourth tale in what is likely to be her last collection. Munro, unfortunately, won't be attending the Nobel Prize ceremony in December for health reasons.

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2011/06/27/110627fi_fiction_munro