Stenciled

The stencil was delicately cut out of parchment.
She sifted the 200x sugar on top of the freshly baked chocolate cake.

“Perfect”, she thought, licking some of the extra sugar, “He will love that I’ve put so much into this Valentine’s celebration.”

Hours later as the dinner sat on the table cold, she cut into the center of the cake where the heart stencil had once laid.
Rhythmically the knife traced the heart as if she were cutting his heart out; for he had already cut hers.

Slowly she indulged in the sugary confection, playing scene upon scene in her mind. All of the times they had laughed, gotten drunk and made love.

Here she sat alone on Valentine’s Day eating her heart out, looking into the cavernous remains of the cake. The heart shape was still there, reminding her that she had dug her own grave by giving her heart away to a man who loved laughter, booze and sex more than he loved her.