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."

A good reminder ...

… that as much as I love my cats, they're still just cats.

A couple months ago, the vet changed their diets. Since then I have noticed less ... um ... "solid waste" in the litter boxes. No one is acting as though they're uncomfortable, but I want to nip any gastrointestinal problems in the bud with OTC kitty laxative. There are a couple brands available, both similar: a petroleum jelly base with mineral oil and caramel coloring/flavoring that appeals to felines. You administer it by putting a dab on their paws and they lick it off.

Except for my three.

All three responded well to the smell of the cat lax on my finger. Then, when I left the dab on their front paws, they wondered why it was no longer on my finger. And wondered and wondered what happened to it. Was it on the carpet? No? Oh, well. Then they gave up and went about their business.

Charlotte finally found it first licked it off rather completely. Next Reynaldo figured it out. Joe, by far the sweetest but definitely the least likely to get into Mensa, discovered it right around eventually.

Finally!

My friend Barb's birthday is mid-June and we just now got around to celebrating it. We had a delicious La Cantina, and they were nice enough to bring us a celebratory slice of cake.

Barb, a most indulgent dog owner, listened with sympathy and amusement as I brought her up to date on the travails of Reynaldo. And we gossiped a bit about our former coworkers.

So why aren't I happier? She's a good friend to me and she had good news …

•  She and her husband went on vacation to Hilton Head … and came home with a condo. They bought a 2BR condo where they will spend long weekends and holidays, and where they'll probably retire in the next few years. It's furnished and they paid cash for it. Now she has two homes that are nicer than where I live now. And I'm broke and scared.

•  She's planning a vacation to France. She's so excited because before she married John seven years ago, he had no interest in doing anything on vacation but camping and fishing along Illinois' Chain o' Lakes.

•  She bought the next series of theater tickets for us and I owe her more than $250. It's a great deal and she doesn't expect repayment right away. But ... it's another expense I hadn't budgeted.

I told her about how I expect to be let go next month and asked her if she could give me freelance year-end. She told me that she can't imagine my agency will let me go and that she'll "see what she can do." I had hoped for a more enthusiastic response. I know she'll help me out if she can, but I wanted an "of course, Gal!" And I didn't get it. There are no sure things in this industry, I know. But it would have been nice to hear.

I feel like a bad friend that I'm not able to just enjoy her happiness. I know it's silly and counter productive to compare my life to hers. In fact, at one point, I said to Barb, "Can we just take a moment to bask in how cool your life is right now?" I believe it intellectually. But in my heart, I'm scared.