[Disclaimer: All Brian Fuller's wonderful characters. I'm just taking them out for a spin.
A/N: This is a series of Pushing Daisies ficlets/drabbles. Hope you like them!]
Plumberry Pie:
Four-letter Fruits
"Plumberries!" Olive spat out as she pulled another burnt pie from the oven.
"Plumberries? Are they really a fruit? Can I try?"
"No," Olive yanked the pie away before Chuck could touch the blackened crust, happy that Ned had just walked in. Good. Let him explain.
"The Piehole is a family-friendly business," he said, "and families get unfriendly when certain people start cursing at the oven…Olive's been working on alternatives."
"It'd be easier not to curse if the oven stopped killing our pies."
"It'd be easier if it actually killed the pies," Ned muttered.
Chuck smiled.
"I like plumberries," she offered. "I think they'd taste great."
"Sure," Olive tried not to snap. "Plums, berries, burnt pie, what's not to love?" (Okay, so maybe she wasn't trying very hard. At least she didn't wander around kitchens unemployed and unannounced.) "Anyway it's not easy, going cold turkey. Shouting 'sugarpuffs' when you stub your toe just doesn't feel as good as 'son of a b-'"
"-lueberry. Blueberry." Ned finished.
"And it's bad enough working around sweet-smelling pies all day, now that I'm suddenly spouting ingredients like I have Tourette's I've been getting serious snack cravings."
Chuck glanced at Ned, ignored the slight shake of his head. She knew where that was coming from, and Emerson could deal. "We were actually just about to get something for lunch. Non-pie, but there could be fruit… what do you think?"
Olive had seen the shake, too. "Thanks, but someone should keep things going here. You never know when business will get hungry and want pie."
"Okay, if you're sure…"
Olive watched as the pair left, together and smiling and happy to be alone. She grabbed a fork.
"Nectarines." she muttered as she took a bite of her ruined pie. "Nectarines, bananas, and son of a pear."
Do you like these ficlets? Let me know! : )