Like this:

http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/mcdonough_sp08.html

Just tripped over a link to this while looking for something else (naturally), and I thought, "You know, Pippa, this is as fine a sample of short-form writing as you've seen in a while. It has all the great elements in just a few paragraphs of a little slice of life story: drama, pathos, dialog, irony and a lesson. You should post it where someone else could see it."