Short story ID
August 3, 2020 5:26 PM   Subscribe

Another ID this short story (?) question: late 90s, road trip, diamond ring carving a smiley face on the window

Wow, these details are vague. I read this short story or possibly personal non-fiction essay in the late 90s. Maybe in the early 2000s but no later than 2002. 90% certain it was a male author.

Story involved a child who was going on some kind of trip with his parents and (maybe) near age sister. It might have been Niagra Falls. They're staying in a motel one night and the kids notice a smiley face carved onto the glass window in the room; the narrator spins a story about a bride with a new diamond ring carving it onto the window on her honeymoon. The overall tone is fairly dark, although I cant remember why.

My first thought was David Sedaris, but I've reread or looked through all his pre-2000 books and I don't see a story that matches this.
posted by Ideal Impulse to Writing & Language (2 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: It’s definitely somewhere in Douglas Coupland’s Life After God.
posted by corey flood at 5:39 PM on August 3, 2020


Best answer: Specifically in the story Gettysburg!
posted by corey flood at 5:45 PM on August 3, 2020


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