Each month we hold a writing contest for our members, by our members. Writers are given parameters, such as a word count and/or a prompt. Entries are judged and discussed blindly. For December, writers were given a prompt and 24 hours to write a 250-word story around the theme of CHANGE.
Virtue and Vice
by J.H. Schiller
I was the business partner of perversion.
A dealer in debauchery.
A vendor of vice.
I couldn’t look upon my own creations without breaking into a full-body blush. The ladies at church would weep reproachful tears to behold the work of my hands.
I sighed and picked up my piping bag. The frosting was tinted an obscene, fleshy pink–a perfect match to the… reference material I’d consulted. I piped two globes and a shameful shaft on the final cupcake, then averted my eyes and closed the box.
The door chimes announced a customer’s arrival. I steeled my nerves and carried the box of prurient pastries out of the kitchen.
My blood ran cold when I saw who’d entered the bakery: Mrs. Drury, the wife of Elder John himself. I was stricken by the illogical but unshakeable conviction that she knew what lurked in the box.
Somehow, someway, she knew.
“Mrs. Drury,” I said, my voice shaking despite my best efforts, “what brings you–”
“Is my order ready?” she snapped.
Mrs. Drury had many virtues. Patience was not among them.
I shook my head, confused. “The only order I have is for–”
“That’s the one.” She winked. “I used my maiden name. My sister’s getting married next week. Five years since Tom died–about time, if you ask me.” She lifted the lid of the box and snorted in amusement. “Well, Sophie, you’re a fine student of anatomy.”
“But I–”
“This’ll be our little secret.”
The chimes tinkled merrily as she left.
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