Sugar and Cream

Description

This story was originally published in Day One , a weekly literary journal dedicated to short fiction and poetry from emerging writers. When they met the previous summer, Ben seemed to think Holly was bold and carefree. But she knew that, in reality, he was much more daring: after all, he’d been in an actual war. Now, as their flirtation moves toward a tentative intimacy, Holly realizes that Ben hasn’t quite recovered from his past—nor is he willing to talk about it. In order to spark their stalled romance, she suggests a trip to an ice-cream factory. But the road trip doesn’t match her fantasy, and the change of scene might not be enough to wake something that’s dormant, or open something that’s long been closed. Wry and darkly funny, Sugar and Cream is the story of one couple’s last-ditch effort to save a dying relationship.