The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

by Aimee Bender

I could feel the tears beginning to collect in my throat again, but I pushed them apart, away from each other. Tears are only a threat in groups.

I’m so interested in tears, which may sound strange to hear, but when the crying moment has passed its peak and there’s enough space between me and my own strong tearful feeling, I have found it a little fascinating to learn a bit about what they’re like—how sometimes they’re hot, and sometimes they’re cool, and this seems to relate directly to the type of tears they are, the mood, the kind of pain or feeling they’re expressing. Even their speed! And in their single vs. groupiness as well. Sometimes, if need be, you can stave off that one. But when they flood, they flood.