The Icing on the Cake

Natasha glances up from her phone at the sound of the cake shop’s door chiming. She recognizes the woman before her - she had just been reading about her on her phone. Natasha bursts through the employee door to embrace Hanna excitedly.

“I’m so happy for you! I was just reading that your ex-roommate got 35 years?!”

“Yes! It’s finally over; justice has been served!” Hanna replies enthusiastically.

“I can’t believe it though. Poison? That’s like, one of those things you never hear about anymore. It’s only in, like, spy movies and crap, you know? Old school.”

“I know. It’s so crazy….”

“I hope this isn’t in bad taste, but we are in a cake shop - would you like some cake and coffee to celebrate? My treat!” Natasha offers. Hanna smiles and accepts.

“Actually, I have the worst chocolate cravings. I would love some cake and coffee, thank you.”

“You got it! I’ll be right out with everything, and then we can chat!” the shop employee chirps. She first brings out the coffee and mugs, then hustles back into the kitchen for a few minutes. When she returns, she hands Hanna a large slice of chocolate cake topped with a thick, elegant frosting, and sporting a lit candle. Natasha seats herself with a bright slice of lemon cake, pours her own coffee, and toasts, “To justice served!”.

Hanna smirks, returns the toast, and blows out the candle. “Oh, it feels so nice to know it’s over!” she exclaims.

“I bet. It’s been years!” Hanna nods. “And Kristen still denies everything?”

“Yeah….”

“They ever figure out how she poisoned him?” Natasha asks between bites. Hanna nods and dabs her mouth with a napkin before answering.

“They think she put it in the frosting. When they tested the body of the cake, there wasn’t any, but the frosting included poison.”

“Wow.” Natasha says. Positioned with her back to the shop’s camera, she flashes Hanna a knowing smirk.

They’d gotten away with murder.

Three years earlier, Hanna had a terrible day. In the early hours of the morning, she woke to her boyfriend, Caleb, and roommate, Kristen, whispering to each other loudly from Kristen’s room next door.

“Break up with her this week, or I’ll tell her myself and you won’t have either of us!” she heard Kristen demand.

“Okay, okay. This week. I’ll do it. It’s the middle of the night, I’m not doing it right now. She’s asleep,” Caleb replied.

‘Not after that,’ thought Hanna. In fact, she spent the rest of the night lying wide awake. For nearly a decade she had been with Caleb. They’d known Kristen five years. ‘How long has this been going on?’ she asked herself repeatedly. When Caleb eventually entered their bedroom mid-morning, she feigned waking up.

“You okay?” asked Caleb as he dressed for work, “You don’t look well.” She shook her head.

“I don’t feel well. I’m staying in today.”

“Okay. Feel better. I have to get going though,” Caleb replied as he made for the door. It was then, with his dismissive demeanor, that Hanna realized; had she not looked ill, he may have been about to break up with her.

‘What am I going to do?’ she wondered. Similar thoughts had plagued her all night; not one productive.

Once she was alone in the apartment, she entered Kristen’s room. Usually she wouldn’t creep in, but she had to be sure. Maybe she had misheard, or misunderstood what she thought she heard. Upon entering, however, tell-tale signs became apparent: the air was heavy, permeated with the scents of sweat and sex, the bedding mussed, and, most telling, a used condom in the trash, the open end slung over the rim.

‘At least they appear to have used a condom,’ Hanna thought sourly. She didn’t know what she should feel or think. Her stomach growled, despite her lack of appetite, and with the apartment as a whole suddenly both disgusting and unfamiliar, she left.

She drew several odd looks as she walked. Without sleep and looking and feeling so unwell, Hanna hadn’t even bothered to brush her hair or teeth, shower, or change out of her pajamas. They were unsuitable for the winter cold - evidenced by the frozen pond across the street from the strip mall she had walked to and the icy sidewalks. She hardly noticed the cold; hardly noticed anything. She was simply listless. Running on autopilot.

Chocolate. That’s what she wanted.

But what kind? What form? Candy bar? No. Ice cream? No. Doughnut? Closer, but not quite. Cookie? No, not cookies….

Cake. Chocolate cake.

Where from? The convenience store was inconveniently closed. In her wandering stupor, Hanna had ambled to the nearby shopping center, but most of the businesses were already closed for the day. The last few choices were the little cake shop Kristen frequented and the neighborhood Mexican restaurant. While she had no issues with the restaurant - the tile mural of a bull near the entrance was quite stunning - she knew they did not sell chocolate cake. After her long walk over, her stomach growled more intensely.

Sulking into the cake shop, Hanna’s eyes were drawn to a small table near the entryway bearing a vase of bright Marigolds. Next, taking in the decor of the establishment, she noted various fake fruits - grapes, pear trees, apples...etc. There was a small seating area for those who came in for a quick slice and a cup of coffee, the fragrance of which melded with that of the confections. Her stomach roared with hunger.

Approaching the display case, she was cheerfully greeted by the worker behind it. The young woman’s name tag read ‘Natasha’, and she smiled brightly at the disheveled woman.

“Hi there! How can I help you today?”

“Uh… A moment, please,” Hanna requested.

“Of course! Let me know when you’re ready!”

“Thank you,” she replied. She knew she wanted chocolate, but what kind of cake did she want? So many textures….

After a long minute’s deliberation, Hanna ordered the most chocolatey, decadent, elaborate piece and a large cup of their richest hot chocolate. She hadn’t been aware of how cold she actually was until she was engulfed in the warmth of the cake shop.

“Have a membership? You’ll get 500 points for this order,” informed Natasha. Hanna shook her head.

“No, but my room-” Hanna let out a long, distressed sigh, “I’m sorry. She has a membership, and I guess she may as well have the points - she already has my boyfriend, so why not?” she added ruefully.

“Oh, honey! I’m so sorry. You wanna talk about it?” asked Natasha. Hanna shrugged.

“I’m sure you’ve got work to do - I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Nah. Close in about half an hour and I’d be surprised if anyone else shows up. Not our busiest day of the week typically. Let me get me a slice of cake and coffee, and you can tell me all about these dirtbags.”

While waiting for Natasha, Hanna absently looked out the window. The wet streets reflected the changing lights of the nearby intersection, displaying the typical red, green, yellow pattern to an unknown tempo. Her attention turned to the employee’s return. She carried with her an elegant vanilla/chocolate swirl and a steaming cup of coffee.

Hanna evaded answering the other woman’s questions, but before long the shop worker had teased enough out of her to piece things together. Once Kristen’s name slipped, Natasha scowled.

“Wait. So, is your boyfriend Caleb?” she asked. Seeing Hanna’s reaction, she swore, “Damn it, I knew they seemed sneaky about something! I know them - they come in like every week.”

“How long?” asked Hanna, “I dunno how long they’ve….” Natasha sighed heavily.

“At least a year.” A long silence ensued after she learned this information.

Some hours had passed, so Natasha offered Hanna a ride home, as darkness had settled in and the temperatures had continued plummeting. They drove in silence until Hanna indicated where she would like to be dropped off. As she got out, Natasha stated, “We have your address on file since Kristen has had cake delivered. You should expect an unmarked package tomorrow. Wear gloves.”

“What?” asked Hanna. Her companion no longer answered her, however. Eventually she closed the door and walked off, confused.

The next day, Hanna again stayed at the apartment, feeling unwell overall. And curious. Early in the afternoon, she heard a package being sat down by the door, a brief knock the only interaction. She tiptoed to the door, looked through the peephole, and saw no one - but there was the package. Wrapped in brown paper. No markings.

Hanna opened the door and pulled the box in after pulling on some disposable gloves she used for cleaning. She brought it to the kitchen counter and opened it. Inside were two other boxes. The big one was decorated with the shop’s logo, and contained an entire small, chocolate cake. On the inner lid, ‘For you!’ was written. The other box was much smaller. In it, a recipe card and a small bag of a powdered substance. The recipe card read, ‘cake frosting’ and listed the ingredients and measurements. However, one ingredient was left blank; the measurement being, “half a pouch”. Hanna examined the tiny bag again, and this time noticed a small strip of paper within that read:

‘Flavor his frosting with this. Remainder under her mattress. Destroy this paper. Piece of cake.’

Hanna gaped at the package contents. Was this poison? Was she expected to poison her cheating boyfriend and frame her horrible roommate? She considered; it would rid both her and the world of a cheater, and it was the only way she would see Kristen suffer for her misdeeds. Still, was she really going to go that far?

Her resolve broke later that night. Unable to sleep again, this time due to the implications of the package, Hanna again heard Kristen and Caleb; this time, they were definitely doing more than talking in Kristen’s room.

And what luck! Kristen - an avid baker - made some cake that night before the cheaters both got very drunk. She knew Hanna hated lemon and Caleb loved it, so that is what she had made. The cake was set out to cool, unfrosted. It wasn’t unheard of for Kristen to drunkenly bake, so when Kristen woke the next day, she assumed she had forgotten that she had frosted the cake. Caleb eagerly took a huge slice for part of his lunch.

Once more, Hanna stayed home. She placed the remaining powder under Kristen’s mattress, careful not to handle it without gloves, and soaked the small paper in water until it was soggy and flushed it down the toilet.

She received the news Caleb had died shortly after his lunch break.

The toxicology report from his autopsy showed he’d been poisoned with the lemon cake he loved. A search of the apartment for the poison produced a small pouch in Kristen’s room. Despite her claims of innocence, the theory was that she’d poisoned Caleb because she was sick of waiting for Caleb to break up with Hanna. And today she was sentenced.

Hanna says her goodbye to Natasha, thanking her for everything. The shop employee gives her a paper bag before she leaves.

“A slice of chocolate. On me.”

Hanna thanks her again and begins walking home. It is raining heavily. Slowly, Hanna realizes something isn’t right; things are slow and blurry. Suspicious, she opens the brown bag. Inside, on the box of cake, is a small, brown box. Trembling, she opens it to find a strip of thin tracing paper. The last thing Hanna sees as she collapses in the street is the tracing paper soaking up rainwater and dissolving, its disintegrating words illuminated briefly by a green traffic light.

‘At least she tipped. Farewell - it’s been a piece of cake!’

Playlist I made on Spotify for this challenge.

Tips appreciated! Thank you for your time!