GETTING A PIECE by C.V. Puerro

After receiving his freshly whipped cream garnish, the sublime Ezra Standish had been set upon a shelf, out of the way; he didn't mind, though, because it offered him a bird's-eye view of the three pies just recently placed on the counter below.

He stared down at Nathan Jackson on the left for a long while. The apple pie frustrated him; Nathan refused to trust him and certainly didn't respect him. But it was hardly his fault, the key lime pie thought. So he'd spent time being served to gamblers on riverboats between Natchez and New Orleans — that was hardly a reason to discount a pie.

Certainly, he'd had his own prejudices when they'd first met. Ezra had always been told golden delicious apples didn't make the best pies — there were many more superior varieties — so Nathan had had to prove himself. And he had won over the southerner. Only now, Ezra found both the tables and the critique turned on him; the apple pie was not as easily persuaded as he himself had been.

The key lime pie now moved his attention to the custard in the middle of the counter below, calmly cooling his crust as he surreptitiously cased his surroundings. Never had Ezra met a pie like Chris Larabee — he was so solid and firm, yet he'd been told the custard pie had suffered much and that the cracks beneath the surface ran deep to his crust. Still, Chris somehow found the willingness to help others — even others more fortunate than himself. He'd even helped Ezra, giving him a pan and a place on the pie rack when others might have thought him worth no more than day-old bread. He owed a lot to Larabee and he would never forget it.

To the right of the custard pie sat JD Dunne; Ezra couldn't help but notice how hot the cherry tart was. JD had recently shown them all what he was made of, impressing them with his pitless determination. The key lime pie had never imagined himself working with a cherry tart — not that he'd ever had the opportunity — but he'd been pleasantly surprised. There was something about the tenacious pastry, something quite appealing...

Suddenly, the key lime pie toppled off the shelf! A firm shaft of his golden crust thrust deep into the dark filling, bursting JD's luscious cherry. The unspoiled tart was so incredibly warm, readily lending his heat to Ezra's thick shard. It wasn't a mixing he'd sought, but as Ezra's sweet cream seeped deep into JD, he knew this encounter had been his destiny. He knew no one else would understand. "Lime and cherry? Together?" they'd scoff. But right then, being buried so deeply inside the tart that they were as one could not have felt more right to Ezra.



THE END





May 2002

Please do NOT repost this recipe anywhere outside of the Blackraptor website and cookbook.

Characters from "The Magnificent Seven," were used without permission and this recipe in no way signifies support of, or affiliation with, The Mirisch Group, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment, CBS Worldwide, Inc., or Betty Crocker.  This recipe belongs to the chef and will not be sold for any reason.

This is for Annie, who asked me to write something like this, and for Nancy, who showed me how it could be done.