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  "description": "by Mauri Pollard Johnson  |  What the heart wants.",
  "path": "/and-saltines/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-01-28T12:15:30.000Z",
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  ],
  "textContent": "When I caught a stomach virus this summer and was bedridden from the nausea, my husband researched remedies to steady the motion sickness swirling through my veins. He made a list and told me he would leave work early and stop by the store on his way home.\n\nHe had his list, but I called and asked if he would please buy me chicken soup. _And saltines_ , I added by text a few minutes later.\n\nThe last time I’d eaten a cracker was probably in my early twenties, before dieting turned into anorexia turned into treatment centers turned into _something I’ve just learned to manage_. I knew I wouldn’t eat the saltines, but I asked for them anyway.\n\nAt home, my husband unbagged Pepto-Bismol and Dramamine, a Gatorade, chicken soup, peppermint gum, and a large box of saltine crackers. He admitted he had needed to go back for the crackers: I’d sent my text after he had already paid and left the store and was sitting in his truck. My husband was there for the dieting and the anorexia and the treatment center. He knows it has been years since I’ve eaten any type of cracker. But he went back for the saltines anyway.\n\nI simmered the soup and left the saltines unopened. Then I rested my head against my husband’s shoulder, and he let me steady there; he let me stay there.\n\n* * *\n\n**Mauri Pollard Johnson** is an essayist, writing teacher, and amateur poet. She earned her MFA degree in Utah, where she lives with her husband. Just as much as she values writing, reading, and analyzing “highbrow” literature, she also values and enjoys watching reality dating shows, reading hockey romances, and listening to Taylor Swift. Her work has appeared in  _Phoebe_ ,  _The Normal School_ ,  _Silk Road Review_ , _Under the Gum Tree_ , _Punctuate_ , and others.\n\nThis essay is a _Short Reads_ original.\n\n* * *\n\n****Help keep**** _****Short Reads****_****going.****\nBecome a supporting subscriber or make a one-time donation.\n\nShare this essay on: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Bluesky\n\nThis issue of __Short Reads__ was 🤢 💻 edited by Hattie Fletcher; 📱🏢 fact-checked and proofread by Chad Vogler; 🚗 ↪️ designed by Anna Hall; and 🍲 😌 delivered to our 2,418 subscribers by Stephen Knezovich.\n\n****PS/**** We’re looking for flash nonfiction reprints. See the submission call →\n\n### **From the archive**\n\n\nJan 29, 2025\n“Charring Light”\nby Karin Hedetniemi | Small joys.\n\nJan 31, 2024\n“Flinch”\nby Sonja Livingston | A game without winners.\n\nExplore the entire Short Reads archive.\n\n* * *\n\nWe’re looking for flash nonfiction reprints. Guidelines →",
  "title": "And Saltines",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-02T17:40:53.286Z"
}