The flames danced in the fire pit, inviting Dulci to relax, but the drift of smoke rising into the night sky only darkened her mood. Cora, who knew her like any best friend should, was trying to help. But some things just hurt too bad.
“Tell me again what he did,” Cora prompted. “Aimee hasn’t heard.” She held up her glass of pinot noir as if inspecting it for the details Dulci was about to share.
Aimee, the third member of their friend trio, sat across the fire. For once, she was silent, staring at her own glass.
Dulci shifted in her seat. “I didn’t see it coming.”
“Obviously,” Cora said, but kindly. “You and Rad were the ideal we all looked up to. Two people ecstatically in love, forever.” She swirled her wine. “Paul and I were envious. Not that we’re drifting apart or anything. You made it look easy.”
“Six years,” Dulci said, staring at the flames. “And the bastard couldn’t even tell me to my face.” The smoke shifted abruptly toward her, bringing instant tears. “Just a text.” I’ve met someone else. As if their past happiness meant nothing. “I love him.” She sniffed, her head spinning from the alcohol. “I want him back, but I don’t know how to make that happen.”
“You won’t.” Aimee’s words stung like a slap. She added immediately, “I mean, once a guy’s decided to end it, he’s done with you. There’s no use trying to win him back.”
Cora leaned toward Dulci. “I know you’re suffering, but Aimee’s right.”
Aimee, single again after two sizzling marriages that ended in meltdowns.
“Would you even want him back, given how he fucking dumped you?”
Point taken. Revenge, then. Rad trussed up while Dulci flailed him with a whip. Rad in chains kept in a dungeon only she knew about. Rad aflame in the fire pit, begging her for mercy.
She smiled. “Thanks. Somehow I just need to move on. Easier said than done, though.”
Her phone buzzed. Rad?
Hey, babe. Ready to roll?
What was this? Her jerk of an ex’s attempt at gallows humor?
Almost immediately, Aimee’s phone buzzed. She looked up at Dulci, her panicked gaze registering the truth for Dulci. The message hadn’t been meant for her.
“You?” she said, rising from her chair. “You’re the one?”
Cora grabbed Dulci in a firm embrace to stop her from sprinting around the pit. Their dropped wine glasses shattered on the stones around the fire, and Aimee vanished into the darkness beyond them.
Dianna’s Books
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Mist hovered over the lake like a shroud. Hope stood at the point, past the flagpole and orange mums ringing its base. Nothing moved on the dark water. Too early for even the trawling fishermen. No one to witness.
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Born and raised in the Midwest, Dianna has also lived in three other quadrants of the U.S. She writes short stories, poetry and novels. Her full-length novel, Scream of the Silent Sun, was a finalist in the 2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for first novel.
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Born and raised in the Midwest, Dianna has also lived in three other quadrants of the U.S. She writes short stories, poetry and novels. Her full-length novel, Scream of the Silent Sun, was a finalist in the 2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for first novel.
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Born and raised in the Midwest, Dianna has also lived in three other quadrants of the U.S. She writes short stories, poetry and novels. Her full-length novel, Scream of the Silent Sun, was a finalist in the 2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for first novel.
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The flames danced in the fire pit, inviting Dulci to relax, but the drift of smoke rising into the night sky only darkened her mood. Cora, who knew her like any best friend should, was trying to help. But some things just hurt too bad.
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