Chocolate Covered Hearts

The sound of the front door slamming closed had Rebekah hastily stowing away the heavy bag in her hands. She would take the trash out later. Her roommate was not meant to be home yet!

              “Bekah?” A man’s voice called from the living room. “Where are you?”

              “In the kitchen!”

              As she waited for him to join her, she grabbed a mixing bowl from the cabinet and pulled over the bag of chocolate wafers. She was behind on her gift, and she was sure he would have no trouble letting her know it.

              A short, curly haired fellow entered the kitchen, setting a glossy, large black gift bag on the floor. The silver and red tissue paper jutting out from the opening was a glittery mess. Too expensive, too fancy, but that was always his style.

              “I see you went uptown again, Horace.”

              “And I see you went to the strip mall again.” Her roommate smirked, pulling his tie off and tossing it over a kitchen counter stool. “Find anything worth sampling?”

              Horace always knew how to get under her skin. So what if she hunted for desserts in the cheaper part of town?  They both knew what was preferred, and her ideas always ended up holding more variety.

              “No sampling for you until after dinner.” Rebekeh replied through gritted teeth, tearing the chocolate bag open to pour it into the bowl. Was this bowl big enough? She should have checked, but it was too late now. “Go shower. You stink of rich people.”

              “And you stink of…” he paused, sniffing her up close, “cat, interesting.”

              “I found a stray, got into a fight…” she shrugged, leaning away from him, “used up the last of your antibiotic cream too on the scratches.”

              “Sure, alright.” Her roommate raised an eyebrow at her then laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him and pushed him from the room.

              It was too difficult to focus when Horace was around. He was a nuisance! Popping the bowl into the microwave, Rebekah kept an eye on it between grabbing the other things she would need.

              Cooling and setting tray, gloves, sticks for making the heart pops…should she include some sprinkles? She was not too fond of having some crunch to her desserts, unless it was the chocolate breaking apart, but maybe they would be well received.

              This was her year to win! Last year Horace definitely out shone her, but Rebekah had done some extra prep this time around. Her gift would outshine anything that brainless idiot could ever drag home.

              For her love was the greatest, the most dedicated; she did not need extravagance and wealth to show her affections. Horace was too over the top and flashy, and, while dedicated, was misguided in what he presumed to be the best way to show it.

              This year, however, he would learn what it truly meant to hold such love in one’s heart.

              Her thoughts were making her antsy, so she turned her focus on the melted chocolate as she pulled it from the microwave. Unable to resist, she stuck her finger in a little bit to taste test; it was delicious! Who needed to spend $100 on foreign chocolates when the $3 bag of chocolate wafers was just as tasty?

              She pulled her tray of desserts from the fridge and sat it on the counter, quickly getting to work with jamming in the cake pop sticks then dipping them in the chocolate to set and cool. It had taken a few years to really perfect her technique, and these were looking her best yet. Still unsure on the sprinkles, she only covered three heart pops with the pink, red, and white addition.

              All in all, a messy process, but she worked fast and soon finished, stuck in the process of cleaning up when her roommate made another appearance.

              “Smells good in here…”

              Rebekah glanced up and made a face. “Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” She tossed the paper towel she had been using, and gathered up the full trash bag. Another to add to the pile; cleanup was the worst part of this entire holiday.

              Horace shrugged, “It’s a special occasion, why not another suit?”

              “You’re so tacky, but fine. Just don’t expect me to dress up.”

              “Need me to take that out for you?”

              “No thanks,” she shook her head, keeping hold of the trash bag, “I have some extra cleanup to do later, and I don’t want you to see the mess. Can you just get dinner started? I’ve got to go change. We have enough time left to eat something before we go.”

              Horace laughed, shaking his head as he headed for the fridge. “All this time spent in the kitchen and you didn’t even start on dinner? Slow as usual, probably slept in today too, hm?”

              Ignoring her roommate, Rebekah went and tossed the trash bag into the laundry room with the rest of the day’s mess, before heading upstairs to her bathroom. Her clothes were filthy, and it was a blessing Horace had not commented on that as well while making fun of her.

              A hot shower was a blessing, but it did leave her to her thoughts which were racing from a combination of anxiety and excitement. She cleaned herself off fast, trying to keep from thinking too hard on the night’s plans.

              Unlike her roommate, Rebekah chose to dress more simply. A plain red dress was all she needed, no jewelry, so high heels, and her long hair was clipped back from her face to keep it out of the way. Her appearance was not the focal point for the night, her desserts and big plan were. Plus, she thought she looked better without clothes on anyway, and a dress took less time removing than a three piece suit.

              Back downstairs, she checked on her desserts while, admittedly, enjoying the smell of whatever dinner Horace was cooking up. Her heart pops were fully dried, and had been left untouched. The competitive nature between her and her roommate was strong, but they kept things fair and never intentionally tried to sabotage the other’s attempts.

              However, there did appear to be one of the smaller pops missing. She side eyed her roommate, who gave her a sheepish grin. “What? I couldn’t resist the smell…”

              “Shameless thief…” Rebekah sighed, “what did you make for dinner?” As she questioned him, she gathered up her own gift bag. It was red and pink, with a big Styrofoam ball inside for her to jab the heart pop sticks into. Once she had them all arranged how she liked, she stuffed some white tissue paper inside around it all. Beautiful!

              “Spaghetti,” Horace responded, grabbing plates, “I even used my special sauce recipe, simple but I know how much you love it.”

              “How kind of you…” Despite the sarcastic tinge to her response, she was grateful; it was indeed her favorite. When he had his back turned, she slipped a small, rectangular box into her gift bag. “Allow me to set the table for us.”

              They were both antsy to get going, but there was no need to rush eating. On a chilly, February day, it was not sunny enough to eat outside, so they turned on the electric fireplace and the television for background noise. Neither of them was fond of mushy, love films, so they left it on the news, which was sharing a breaking story of a beheaded body found out back of the town’s local top star seafood restaurant, covered in tossed out fish debris.

              “Gross.”

              “That was you, wasn’t?”

              Horace merely grinned.

              After dinner, they left their dishes aside on the counter, in favor of grabbing their gifts and heading out. Rebekah knew she would be the one left cleaning it all up later, but for once she did not mind.

              Their quiet drive ended in a secluded, small lot outside the Kensington Woods, a less popular hiking destination than further outside town, due to its rockier nature and less interesting sights. It was going to be annoying carrying their gift bags off the main trail, but they had walked the side route so many times now that they knew how to best traverse it carefully.

              Between their occasional bickering and mostly friendly jibes, the walk went quickly through trees and brush, over less rocky terrain, until they reached a small outcropping that hid a small cave entrance. There was energy in the air, and Rebekah could feel her body almost vibrating from her nerves. Horace probably could sense something was off about her, but if he did he did not question it. They both knew how exciting the day was for both of them.

              Horace was kind enough to hold the flashlight to light their way, until they reached the innermost chamber of the cave. Once there, they sat their gift bags down in front of an altar, and Rebekah lit the candles around it; a difficult task considering her hands were shaking slightly.

              “One of these years we should think to bring a small heater or something.” Horace huffed, taking his jacket off and setting it aside. “I don’t know how you manage in that.”

              “His grace will heat us up soon enough.” Rebekah smiled, adding her jacket to the pile and shivering a little in her thin long sleeved dress. The adrenaline was keeping her focused on other things.

              They turned their attention to the altar and in turn presented their gift bags, before calling forth their god. The ritual was done quietly and in turns, with Horace putting a bit too much flair into it as always. Rebekah had to keep herself from rolling her eyes too much, lest they rolled right on out of the cave. Both of them removed their clothing, tossing it aside to present themselves to the being they so revered.

              At the end of their chanting, there was silence for a moment, until a faint wind started tickling the backs of their naked forms. The candlelight flickered, flames dancing as their shapes were teased by breezy kisses.  A dark mass started to take shape behind the altar, growing and stretching into a fearsome shape. Both Rebekah and Horace held their positions, not at all uneased by the bony figure of death that stepped out from the thickened shadow.

              “On time…as usual…”

              “We would never fail you.” Rebekah assured the being. “Please, accept our offerings made from our love and dedication to your wellbeing and great cause.”

              She never hesitated in front of her god, her love for it never wavering. Truly, she was the superior follower, and today she would make sure Horace saw it once and for all.

              “Yes…” the being’s hollow, gravel-y voice accepted, as it approached and picked up Horace’s bag with gangly fingers, “I do not understand this human holiday, but…it is fitting you two would always choose it…to continue to profess your unwavering loyalty and love to me…the god of all that is foul in this world…”

              Horace was looking smug that his bag was chosen first. It made Rebekah’s stomach twist uncomfortably. Enjoy it while it lasts, she thought.

              The being reached in and pulled out a big black box; inside was a man’s head. The eyes were still wide opened. It was gruesome, but a tasteful gift nonetheless. Brains were a favorite of their god. It would earn Horace some major points.

              “Delightful as always…Horace…” their god nodded, dragging a dirty, long claw edged finger down the head’s cheek, “this man was…a jealous being, frivolous and spiteful…he will taste delicious.”

              Rebekah was starting to doubt her chances, but she would not give up yet. Her gift was sub-par, perhaps, but her biggest gift would make her come out on top. She was sure of it.

              Nearly interrupting Horace’s thanks with her excitement, she nudged her gift a bit closer. “It’s a shame Horace didn’t add your favorite topping to his gift, so hopefully mine will add a touch of sweetness to your day.”

              “Bit-“ Horace’s quiet retort was shut up by her elbow into his side. Shots at one another were tolerated, but bickering was not in their god’s presence.

              The god bent over Rebekah’s gift bag, pulling one of the larger heart pops free from its position. “Human…but some of these are…animal?” Its jagged, broken teeth bit into the dessert pop, a mess from the heart itself dribbling down its sharp features.

              “Fresh, from today; I changed things up a bit this year.” Rebekah replied, unable to hide the pride she felt over her hard work. “I wasn’t sure if you would enjoy sprinkles, but they are sweet, yes?”

              “Unique…and this human…I can tell was unhealthy…” their god sounded pleased, “you both have pleased me this year. I will reward you-“

              “Ah, if I may..” Rebekah interrupted cautiously, ignoring the annoyed look Horace gave her, “I have…another gift…”

              “Another one?!” Her roommate grumbled. “We didn’t agree on this!”

              Their god held up its hand, hushing him. “Go on…I am…interested.”

              Standing, Rebekah bowed her head in thanks before reaching into her gift bag and pulling out the small box she had slipped in earlier. “I’ve spent the past several years being overshadowed by Horace’s attempts to please you with disgusting rich people and frilly words. This year I wish to show you my absolute love and dedication by providing you with an offering you truly desire.”

              Neither she nor Horace had ever been so bold as to bring a live sacrifice to their god’s abode. It was risky as it was to hunt folks in town and dispose of bodies after – there were only so many parts of their victims they could consume.

              However, Rebekah knew what her god craved most – unsavory actions, dark deeds, death – and she did not come to this cave alone.

              With quick movements, she flipped the lid off the box and pulled out a sharp blade, which she proceeded to use on Horace’s throat. As he clutched his wound and fell to the ground, she dropped the blade aside and turned back to their god, eagerly awaiting its response.

              “You are…truly my most dedicated…servant.” The god tore into the dying offering with pleasure, as Rebekah bathed in the blood splatter and her sweet victory.

Of course, now she would have to think of an even better gift for next year, since it would only be her. Chocolate covered eyeballs? Boring…well, she had all year to think on it!