HALCYON

“Leave me alone!”

She screamed at him as she shut the front door against the blistering gelid winds that February afternoon. The meteorologist mentioned that it would be cold, but this was beyond the occasional forecast inaccuracy. This was grounds for dismissal from the profession. Nearby Coley and Alamance Streets were suffering from a severe case of black ice. Too bad few people could make the diagnosis, for they were slipping and sliding like it was a summer pool party. No matter what the temperature was, it was colder inside.

“Where are you going?”
“Somewhere far away from you.”
“Let’s talk about it, please.”
“I’m done talking.”

She powered through the hallway, circled around the banister, and charged up the stairs. Following her, he grabbed her arm and spun her around midway up the stairwell.

“Listen, I know you’re mad, but you’re not hearing me.”
“What? What could you possibly have to say that you haven’t said already?”
“I didn’t do it. Why don’t you believe me?”
“Because you’re a bad liar. You can’t even do that well.”
“Perhaps you’re a bad listener.”
“Let go of me!”

He reluctantly released his grip. She stormed up the rest of the stairs. The sound of a baby crying resonated from above. She turned around once she reached the zenith of the climb.

“And you know what else?”
“Go ahead. Tell me how else I don’t meet your standards.”
“The baby.”
“What about the baby?”
“For the rest of my life, whenever I see the baby’s face, I’ll see you. That is something I do not want to experience.”
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t want anything to do with you anymore. I wish you were completely gone from my life. You make me sick to my goddamn stomach. Can’t stand the sight of you. Can you understand that?”
“You don’t mean that. Do you? We can–”
“Leave me alone.”

She entered the bedroom and hurled a mound of clothes from the bed into a suitcase. She zipped it up, and threw a tote bag full of the baby’s things over her shoulder.

“I’ll be back later for the rest of my stuff.”

The woman walked to the baby’s room, and peered into the crib.

“Where’s the baby?”

There’s no answer.

When she stepped out into the corridor, she saw the man standing at the other end, next to an open window. The wintry tempest blew mercilessly through the window, down the hall, chilling them to the bone. Shivering. The man held the cherubic baby in his arms.

The woman’s eyes widened. The man took one tearful gaze at her.

“Your wish is granted.”

Clutching the baby to his sternum, the man defenestrated himself into the blizzard beyond.

He left her alone.