A Slice is Worth a Thousand Words

"Renaldo!" Thought Isabelle, as she carried the rich morsel of multigrain bread to her lips again. Her eyes searched the distance beyond the cool kitchen pane as the moistened bite slipped down her gullet, carrying her back on a wave of memory to a childhood in the Basque country with her deposed inamorato. Sweet Prince Renaldo, heir-to-be and she, daughter of a goat herder but his chosen paramour, once baked loaves such as this in the caves amongst the hidden foothills of the illustrious Pyrenees. Loaves as dense, as nutty, as savory. They left crumbs on her lips as this one did, and together with Renaldo they soothed her fierce hunger. Isabelle bagged the rest of the bread as a tear fell from her cheek. She would not go to the gym today.