Her Piece of Pie · 15 August 2026
“It’s not what it looks like.”
Candace scoffs. “So what does it look like?”
“Uh…” Gary pauses. “Uh… Uh… Okay. Maybe it’s exactly what it looks like.”
Candace stands with her hands on her hips.
“Well, it looks like I am eating the last piece of strawberry cream pie. The one that you had a note on saying, ‘I am the last piece. I am Candace’s. Do NOT eat me! That goes especially for you, Gary!’ I really liked the personal note. And the all caps on ‘not.’ That was especially nice.”
Candace just glares at Gary.
“Okay. Let me explain, Sis.”
Candace continues glaring. She crosses her arms across her chest and thrusts her lower lip out.
“Yeah. Well, you see… Uh… I was scrounging around in the refrigerator for something to eat. You know, a midnight snack.”
“It’s six o’clock in the morning!”
“Yeah. Like I said, a midmorning snack.” Gary tries a smile, but gets no reaction. “Okay. So I was getting food. I set your piece of pie aside while I scrounged. You know. Just making sure that it was okay and everything. Then, I make a sandwich. Which was yummy, by the way. I am so glad that you’re the one who stocks the refrigerator. Anyway. So I’m putting everything back in the refrigerator when I look at your sad piece of pie. You know, it was sagging a bit. Leaking a bit. The bottom crust looked like it might be getting a bit soggy. It wasn’t out that long, but I thought that maybe I should clean it up a bit. You know, make sure that the crust doesn’t get any soggier.”
Candace has not moved, but Gary notices that her nostrils seem to be flaring and her breaths are heavier. Like she is trying to stay in control.
“Uh. So I peal back a bit of the plastic wrap and start moving some of the cream and strawberry juice away from the crust. You know, just using a fork to kind of move it away. Well, that doesn’t work very well, but I lick the fork. You know. To get some of that liquid. Not much, but it looked like it was going to help a bit. And it did. So I did some more. And that juice tasted so good.”
Candace is still doing the controlled breathing thing, and she starts tapping her foot.
Gary licks his lips which suddenly need the moisture. “Well, one thing led to another, and well… When I heard you coming down the stairs, I started wrapping up the rest of the piece. I thought maybe you’d think you ate a bite of it. Or a few bites of it. And well, you know the rest.”
Candace looks at the piece of pie Gary is holding out to her. Less than half of what she had is left. She screams, “Oh!”
“Ah, c’mon. Don’t call Mom.”
“It’s what I get for having siblings for roommates.”
“But you’re not gonna call Mom, right?”
[“It’s not what it looks like.”
Write a story which opens with this line.
DailyPrompt prompt submitted by BumbleBee]
© 2026 Michael T. Miyoshi
| Share on facebook | Tweet |
|
Comment
| Just Throw Something Out There |