Object No. 5 of 50 — Significant Objects v3

[The auction for this object, with story by Jim Hanas, has ended. Original price: $1.50. Final price: $27.00. Previous installments in Hanas’ series “Why They Cried” are here. Proceeds from this auction will go to Girls Write Now. ]

Why They Cried: Jacqueline

Cause: Sharp, icy wind

The air was cold and the wind was sharp, causing Jacqueline’s eyes to water in a manner resembling weep-based tear production—a fact she tried to explain to Rex, the bastard, when (of all the luck) she ran into him as she emerged from the food co-op, a basketful of fruits and brans and probiotic solutions hanging from her bent right elbow.

“I knew you missed me,” he said, seeing the tears streaming down her red cheeks. “I knew you couldn’t live without me.”

“I don’t miss you and, yes, I can live without you,” she said, erasing the tears with her tightly gloved fingers. “It’s the wind.”

He smiled.

“Yes I suppose our love was like the wind,” he said. “Subtle, omnipresent, powerful.”

“No, no, asshole,” she said, frantically running the heel of her free hand under each eye. “I’m not crying. The wind got in my eyes and…”

“Bracing, kind…”

“I wasn’t even thinking about you,” she screamed as she swung the basket at Rex’s left temple, showering the sidewalk with clementines and five whole grains, which strangers happily helped pile back into Jacqueline’s basket as the paramedics loaded Rex onto a stretcher.