Tom sits in his father’s house, drinking a beer and watching TV on Valentine’s Day. His father sits across from him, and Tom’s mother is asleep behind them. Tom see’s conversation hearts on the table and picks one up that reads “I love you.” He eats the heart and looks at his father, then tells him that he used to love him. Tom then asks his father about a night several years ago, in which Tom’s father cheated on his mother. The conversation reveals the broken father son dynamic, a relationship that had been fractured for years. Throughout this conversation Tom takes charge of the pacing, catching his father off guard. Father makes several excuses for what happened that night, which angers Tom. His father attempts to change the topic by finding the TV remote which was lying next to Tom’s mother. Tom stands up and stops his dad from retreating the remote. The two men get into a screaming match over the remote, where Tom restates that he no longer loves his father. His father composes himself and tells his son the truth. He tells him that he is not there anymore. That he has left the family and moved on. Tom, now standing alone, realizes this was his imagination. He pulls up his mother’s blanket and sits back down, sipping his beer and eating another conversation heart.

Directed by Thomas Bozalis (USA)