"So, Sturges…" Vera was looking nervous as she stood with her hands behind her back, raising and lowering on her toes. "What are the chances of getting you to take a field trip?"
Sturges had stopped screwing together the parts for his unknown contraption when she'd announced her arrival to the Red Rocket. Now he cocked his head and got off of his stool to approach her. "What do you need this time, Ms. Vera?" His tone was teasing, but even so she studied the ground.
"It's kind of silly…"
"Ms. Vera, you ALWAYS think your requests are silly, but they always end up being important in a round-about way."
"What if I told you it involved pie?"
"Pie?"
"Pie."
Sturges rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Okay, that I didn't expect. But I'm sure there's a good reason…"
"I miss pie. I saw it and I wanted it but I can't get at it. I need your help."
Sturges often laughed as a way to ease tensions and reassure people, but she'd never heard him laugh the way he did just then, full and all-consuming. In fact, he had to lean on the counter to support himself he was so taken. Vera could only stand and watch in bewilderment until he could straighten up and wipe a tear from his eye. "A fair reason. I'm supposing you saw it in one of those Port-A-Diners, am I right?"
Vera folded her arms defensively. "Yeah. In a freight truck just near the Drumline Diner. It's not too far…"
"Hmph. There's a reason the pie is still in those things. Nobody can break it out, least of all those raider morons." Suddenly, a wicked smirk crossed his face, an expression she had never seen on him to date. "If your reason is pie, mine is a challenge. Let me pack up my tools and we'll see if I can't outwit this contraption."
Her face lit up. "You mean it?"
"There's nothing more pressing at the moment. And besides, a change of scenery might be nice. Are the roads pretty secure?" For a moment, his confidence flickered. "I ain't exactly handy with a gun."
"I visit the diner all the time to haggle with Trudy. The entire area is pretty well cleared out. Just in case, though, I'll go and fetch Dogmeat."
This seemed to ease his nerves. "Okay. You do that, and I'll get my things."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Sturges had been working at the thing for a while now. Vera wasn't sure what to do, seeing as he was so focused on his work that even a simple observation was met with little more than a grunt. A few times, he'd asked her to pass him a tool as he lay underneath and finagled with some unseen bolt or latch. Even with Dogmeat laying nearby and chewing contentedly on a branch, she didn't dare leave Sturges alone in case a raider or wild dog came along. In the end, all she could do was sit on the edge of the truck bed and dangle her feet, trying not to think too hard about what that pie would taste like. It had been so long… She knew people were trying to survive and make do with what they had, but seriously, nobody in this post-apocalyptic world continued baking?
A sudden thump and a clatter of metal jolted her out of her thoughts. "Bingo."
"You've got it?" she asked hopefully, spinning around in place. All she could see was his hand giving a thumbs up sign.
"Those were some stubborn mechanisms, but even a machine that withstood the nuclear war can't withstand my work. Hold on, I'm gonna slide out with the display tray…" It was a difficult feat, and it seemed to take longer than it actually did given her anticipation, but at last Sturges and his well-built physique inched out from under the machine. Following him was the display tray, and right on top of the display tray was that glorious piece of preserved pie topped with a pristine dollop of cream. Pumpkin, apple, cherry, she didn't really care what kind it was.
"Are you gonna eat it right away?"
Her response was to whip out the forks she had stashed in her satchel.
Sturges held up his hands in mock terror while chuckling. "Well then, I ain't getting' between you and the pie, woman."
Vera sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "In case you missed it, I have TWO forks, Sturges. I'll give you a hint; one of them is not for stabbing the pie thieves."
He pointed at himself in genuine surprise. "Me?"
"Of course! We wouldn't have pie if you hadn't liberated it. Besides, when was the last time you had pie?"
"Never."
Her eyes widened in horror. "Never had pie…" She passed the fork and uncovered the plate. "It's time for your rite of passage then. Once you take a bite, there is no going back."
Sturges for his part was skeptical, but he didn't argue with the slightly-crazed woman before him. He took the fork she offered and both dug in for that first bite. They even put it in their mouths at the same time. As they chewed thoughtfully, both did their best to keep their faces neutral. Sturges swallowed first, followed by Vera. "So, how was it?" she pressed.
The poor man gave a helpless grin and shrugged. "It's really sweet. Like, even sweeter than them Fancy Lad Cakes. I don't know if I can handle it, to be honest." He had a point; he'd grown up with a pretty bland diet after all. "How about you? Is it everything you remembered?"
It would have been so easy to lie, but if Sturges had been honest… "It's not as good as I remembered!" she moaned, burying her face in her hands. "Like, it's preserved so that there's no mold or anything, but it just isn't the same. Maybe it never will be unless someone bakes it fresh. I'm so sorry for dragging you out here and wasting your time for a bust, Sturges."
"Waste my time? Vera, this was a fun day even if the pie wasn't all that great!"
Her head shot up in surprise. "It was?"
"Of course it was. I got to take a trip, we got to hang out…" Dogmeat interjected with a whimper, reminding them of his presence. "…with Dogmeat. And I got to solve a puzzle. That does stoke my ego a bit." Sturges winked. "All in all, I'd call it a good day."
She sighed in relief. "I'm glad you had a good time. But now, here's the million dollar question: what do we do with the rest of it?" Both of them looked down at their plate, and then to Dogmeat, who was now sitting straight at attention, his tail wagging slowly behind him as he gave his best puppy-dog eyes. They simultaneously nodded in agreement and set the plate on the ground. Dogmeat had no complaints.
