The Lie

This short story from the collection Wild Child was originally published in the New Yorker.

Lonnie is tired. He's tired of his job, the monotony of it, and tired of the predictability of his home life now that he's a father. It's a day like every other day, and he can't face the inevitability of it all. So he lies. It's a small lie, but he knows small lies become big ones. He knows it as soon as he says his daughter is in the hospital. But he can't stop himself, and he can't stop the lie from taking on a life of its own.