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Close to You
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If I Didn't Care
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'If I didn't care more than words can say If I didn't care would I feel this way?'
It had been one week, seven days, 168 hours and 10,080 minutes since the Piemaker's accident.
Everyday and every hour since then, the hospital had a daily rotation of lonely tourist Charlotte Charles, female piemaker Olive Snook, and grumpy detective Emerson Cod. All consisting of visits, gifts, heart-felt speeches and apologies that the Piemaker would never hear.
Olive had considered shutting down The Pie Hole temporarily until the Piemaker got better, but Charlotte Charles; better known as Chuck went against it. Knowing that he would want his beloved shop to continue on if anything happened to him that wasn't permanent.
'If this isn't love then why do I thrill? and what makes my head go 'round and 'round While my heart stands still?'
To put it simply, The Pie Hole was in disastrous disarray. Charlotte "Chuck" Charles and Olive Snook hustled and bustled about without saying a single word to each other. Dodging contact and direct diverting of the eyes at all costs. Coming and going, serving and baking, cleaning and tidying, all that and not even a mere whisper left their emotionally fragile lips.
Due to that, The Pie Hole was uncharacteristically filled with an insufferable awkward silence, much like the feeling of being stuffed in a corner of an crowded elevator, instead of its usual family like warmth for the entire week. For both were far to worried about the Piemaker to speak, as well as other things that festered in their hearts and minds and refused to go away.
The events that happened the week before did not disappear easily like day old dust, but lingered on very much like unkempt coffee stains.
In short: Chuck's heart was filled to the brim with remorse while Olive's heart was stinging with guilt. They both sensed it and they both avoided even mentioning it to one another. The customers all agreed that every single one of those pies tasted like tear-soaked ash that week.
'If I didn't care would it be the same? Would my every prayer begin and end with just your name?'
Blue neon lights on the phone belonging to disgruntled private eye Emerson Cod flashed furiously on and off from being ignored upon hours on end. Since the accident, Emerson ignored all the murder cases that came his way, and spent most of his time, in other words trying to keep his mind off the grisly memory, by reading/making pop up books and pitiful attempts at crocheting. Knowing full well that without the silent, life-defying help of the Piemaker, he wouldn't get the results that were expected of him. And knowing that same help was in the hospital at this very moment, it would simply leave a bad aftertaste on the tongue of his conscience.
'And would I be sure that this is love beyond compare? Would all this be true if I didn't care for you?'
The facts were these:
One week prior, Chuck and the Piemaker got into a one-sided argument about her father, and whether or not he should bring him to life again, if but for a second. The Piemaker declined over and over again, only acting in her best interest, which merely seemed to make her more upset. In the telling of her saying "I can't talk to you for a while", the Piemaker fled to the comforting arms of The Pie Hole, where Olive Snook, who was left behind, was cleaning up.
When the emotional vomiting was out of the way, the male and female Piemaker locked lips that were in desperate need of connection. That very same connection Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles ended up witnessing at the exact moment when she tried to set things straight. In turn, she fled to neighboring former rival Dilly Balsam, owner of Balsam's Bittersweets Taffy and Sweets Emporium across the street.
Following much emotion and taffy analogies, Chuck ventured home to the Piemaker who was worried sick. And after much hopeless debating and much chagrin at the Piemaker's expense, he once again fled to the arms of The Pie Hole, with the company of Emerson Cod, much to the latter's despair.
It was then where grumpy detective Emerson Cod, who was much more grumpy than usual, talked the Piemaker into doing something beyond his comfort zone. Making a choice and accepting whatever the outcome may be. The Piemaker in his nature dodged and scurried away from trying to decide, and eventually took a slap to the back of the head by Emerson himself to help make up his mind.
After much delegation and being very much exhausted, emotionally and physically, the Piemaker thanked his friend and stepped too far into the street, which brings us to right now, at this very moment.
'If I didn't care would it be the same? Would my every prayer begin and end with just your name? And would I be sure that this is love beyond compare?'
Olive and Chuck tapped their foot anxiously in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for the ok go to see the Piemaker when he awoke. Emerson semi-nonchalantly flipped through 'Crochet's Monthly' quicker than usual. Even he was a little bit eager to see his fallen friend up and about again.
A nurse with a skirt far shorter than the cut-off walked up to them with a clipboard and green pen in hand.
"You're here for the guy who makes pies and got hit by a car right?"
They both stood up and nodded swiftly. "Yep!" "Uh huh that's us!"
Emerson looked up from his magazine. "Uh huh."
She flipped to a new page and eyed the three of them. "Names?"
"Emerson Cod."
"Olive Snook!"
"Chuck Charles!"
The nurse raised an eyebrow.
"Well, actually it's Charlotte Charles, but I'm known as Chuck! To him, and most."
"Right. I'll be right back."
The girls being too excited to sit back down, stayed standing as they watched the ample nurse disappear behind white walls.
The Piemaker indeed was alive and well. Upon hearing he was the owner of the famous shop The Pie Hole, the staff gave him numerous brand new magazines about pies, baking and seasonal fruit, which were all sprawled across his bedside table. Unbeknownst to the doctors and nurses, they remained unread and untouched, for his sole gaze had been focused on the wall in front of him, barely looking away the entire time.
"Excuse me sir?"
The voluptuous nurse poked her head into his room, tapped the door, and read off the names she scribbled onto the paper.
"You have visitors. A man named Emerson Cod, and two girls. Olive Snook and Chuck Charles."
His gaze left the wall and the Piemaker turned his head to face the nurse, his eyebrows furrowed. He responded with a simple but puzzled,
"Who?"
'Would all this be true if I didn't care for you?'
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Fin
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