Trifecta

This week's challenge: Create a 33- to 333-word response using the third definition of the word:

CRACK
1a : a loud roll or peal 
 b: a sudden sharp noise
2: a sharp witting remark; quip
3a : a narrow break : fissure   
  b : a narrow opening —used figuratively in phrases like fall through the cracks to describe one that has been improperly or inadvertently ignored or left out
4a : a weakness or flaw caused by decay, age, or deficiency :unsoundness
  b : a broken tone of the voice
  c : crackpot
5: moment, instant

GIRL CRUSH

Mary fascinated Tess. First there was the way she spoke. Mary’s soft, husky voice drew you in and made you feel like an intimate or a conspirator, even when she was talking about the bagels in the coffee room.

And her style! While Tess never left the house without trying more than one top or changing her earrings – and yet was still usually disappointed by her reflection in the mirror – Mary always looked effortlessly perfect.  One day, in the restroom, Tess was washing her hands at the basin when Mary breezed in brandishing a Macy’s bag.

“I made good use of my lunch hour because I found the scarf that goes with everything,” Mary announced definitively, withdrawing a bright red and blue print that looked too loud to go with anything. Tess stared transfixed as Mary swiftly, efficiently tied it around her slender, porcelain neck. And damn, if it didn’t look just right.

Mary may seem imperturbable, but Tess suspected otherwise. If her marriage was such a charmed union, why the separate vacations? Tess knew they had one child, a rambunctious toddler who looked just like his handsome father, but she’d heard Mary make fleeting references to other pregnancies – she didn’t toast the New Millennium because she was expecting … the convention she missed in ’07 because her doctor advised her not to fly in her condition.

So Tess sensed Mary’s life wasn’t as lovely as it looked. But the only real crack in the perfect demeanor were Mary’s hands. As many times as Tess saw Mary stride toward the elevator with a pack of Newport Menthols firmly in hand, she never got used to the sight. And often, when Mary was lost in thought, her arms were folded across her chest, each hand massaging the opposite elbow. Tess thought Mary looked so vulnerable and sad, as though somehow trying to comfort herself.

Yes, the hands gave her away.

CRACK
1a : a loud roll or peal
  b : a sudden sharp noise
2: a sharp witty remark : quip 3a : a narrow break : fissure   
  b : a narrow opening —used figuratively in phrases like fall through the cracks to describe one that has been improperly or inadvertently ignored or left out
4a : a weakness or flaw caused by decay, age, or deficiency :unsoundness
  b : a broken tone of the voice
  c : crackpot
5: moment, instant - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.kYt68euA.dpu

FLY (intransitive verb) 1a : to move in or pass through the air with wings

  b : to move through the air or before the wind or through outer space
  c : to float, wave, or soar in the air
2a : to take flight : flee
  b : to fade and disappear : vanish
3a : to move, pass, or spread quickly   

  b : to be moved with sudden extreme emotion   

  c : to seem to pass quickly

- See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.ozjMwpAt.dpuf

FLY (intransitive verb) 1a : to move in or pass through the air with wings

  b : to move through the air or before the wind or through outer space
  c : to float, wave, or soar in the air
2a : to take flight : flee
  b : to fade and disappear : vanish
3a : to move, pass, or spread quickly   

  b : to be moved with sudden extreme emotion   

  c : to seem to pass quickly

- See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.ozjMwpAt.dpuf

a 33- to 333-word response using the word:

a 33- to 333-word response using the word:

FLY (intransitive verb) 1a : to move in or pass through the air with wings

  b : to move through the air or before the wind or through outer space
  c : to float, wave, or soar in the air
2a : to take flight : flee
  b : to fade and disappear : vanish
3a : to move, pass, or spread quickly   

  b : to be moved with sudden extreme emotion   

  c : to seem to pass quickly

- See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.ozjMwpAt.dpuf

a 33- to 333-word response using the word:

FLY (intransitive verb) 1a : to move in or pass through the air with wings

  b : to move through the air or before the wind or through outer space
  c : to float, wave, or soar in the air
2a : to take flight : flee
  b : to fade and disappear : vanish
3a : to move, pass, or spread quickly   

  b : to be moved with sudden extreme emotion   

  c : to seem to pass quickly

- See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.ozjMwpAt.dpuf

About the photo: Life Magazine makes a library of their archive images available for free to use for “non-commercial personal purposes."