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“Well, let’s get eating,” Chloe said, picking up one of the spoons Sylvie had brought over and poking it in Ethan’s direction. “Come on – before the ice cream melts completely and the pie gets cold!”

Ethan took the spoon without argument at least, though he still didn’t quite look like he knew where to start with the pie. Finally, he brought his spoon down decisively on the very tip, slicing off a minute amount before lifting it to his lips in a way that, to Chloe, seemed almost suspicious.

The skeptical expression on his face vanished the moment the pie entered his mouth. His eyes widened and then fluttered shut as he chewed slowly.

Chloe couldn’t help but stare. She’d never seen anyone look so enraptured by a pie before.

And, I have to admit, it’s a good look on Ethan too…

She’d happily see that look of blissed-out ecstasy on his face in any number of other situations.

Or perhaps just one in particular.

Shaking her head, Chloe forced herself to get her mind out of the gutter – Well, or the heights of heaven, depending on your perspective!

“That good, huh?” she asked, and Ethan’s eyes snapped open again.

“It’s all right,” Ethan said, though Chloe could see the slight twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Could it be? Is he… teasing me back right now?!

It didn’t seem possible – Ethan was so stiff and formal. Chloe would even have said stuffy . But she hadn’t imagined that tiny smile – maybe he was just trying to make a very, very dry joke.

“Oh, it’s ‘all right’, is it?” she laughed. “Well, now I have to try some after that rave review – by your standards, anyway.”

So saying, she plunged her spoon into the pie, carving off an enormous hunk and lifting it to her lips.

Okay… okay… wow…

Chloe could confidently say she’d never had a pie like this before.

The cherries, just the right side of sour, exploded juicily in her mouth, while the jelly they were encased in provided just the perfect amount of sweetness and spice to go with them.

The crust was light, crisp and sugary – the perfect accompaniment to the gooey jelly and juicy cherries.

“Oh my goodness,” she muttered, even as she chewed. “That is just…”

Ethan had already scooped up another mouthful, and Chloe didn’t think she could blame him. She could see now that they really might need another slice – despite its size, one slice definitely wasn’t going to be enough for two.

As she swallowed down the perfect pie, however, she couldn’t help but be aware of Curtis sitting across from her. He was looking at the pie with a kind of longing – and Chloe felt guilt surging through her stomach.

“I’m sorry to sit here eating while you can’t join in, Curtis,” she said apologetically, even as she really, really wanted to just pick up the remainder of the pie and shove it in her mouth, goblin-style. “I guess you can’t eat food here?”

Curtis shook his head. ~No. At least, I don’t believe so. I do not think it would be a good idea to try.~

Chloe supposed that probably all that would happen was that Curtis’s ghostly hands would simply pass through the pie without touching it. But she wasn’t about to take that risk.

Not with this pie, at least!

“Can you, uh, eat food in the afterlife?” she asked, a little awkwardly.

Curtis seemed to consider the question.

~From what I can remember, yes,~ he said after a moment’s thought.

~Though my memories of that are also fading the longer I stay here.

But now, when I try to think about it, I recall that…

all we had to do was consider that we were hungry, and whatever it was we most desired to eat would appear in front of us. ~

“Wow. Sounds like you had it made,” Chloe remarked, as she lifted another piece of pie to her mouth. “I can see why you want to go back.”

“Maybe this pie came direct from there,” Ethan said as he swallowed the massive chunk of pie he’d been chewing on. “It’s hard to imagine that anything this delicious was made here on Earth.”

Chloe laughed. “My goodness! We’ll make a restaurant critic out of you yet!

And what’s that – are you actually admitting to enjoying something that’s not…

I don’t know… going through legal documents with a highlighter, or reading someone’s tax filings, or whatever it is you corporate lawyer types do? ”

“I enjoy many things,” Ethan shot back, looking slightly ruffled.

“Yeah?” Chloe asked, as she plunged her spoon into one of the scoops of ice cream. “Like what?”

“Well.” Ethan thought it over. “Some of my fondest memories are of going over legal documents with a highlighter.”

Chloe stared at him, ice cream slowly dripping from her spoon, unable to tell in the slightest if he was being serious or not.

Is he joking? I think he might actually not be joking.

… And why is that not the deal-breaker it should be?!

“Well, you shouldn’t be in need of highlighters,” she shot back unthinkingly. “Because you’re already the highlight of my day.”

Her brain caught up with her mouth, and her jaw dropped, her mouth desperately trying to swallow back the stupendously stupid line she’d just used.

Ethan, too, seemed taken aback by her words, his perfect lips opening to form a question – but no question was forthcoming.

Not that she could blame him. What would anyone say in response to something so asinine?

She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Curtis.

Poor guy – as if being recalled from a feast-filled afterlife wasn’t bad enough, now he was being forced to be an unwilling observer to the cut-rate romcom that was Chloe’s life.

She had never been a believer in the concept of purgatory, but now, stealing a glance at Curtis as he slid down self-consciously into his seat, she wasn’t quite so sure.

To fill the void left in both the conversation and her dignity, she swallowed the enormous mouthful of ice cream that had been balancing, forgotten, on her spoon.

It tasted good enough to distract her from her soul-crushing embarrassment for a moment – even half-melted, it was amazingly creamy, the lavender giving it a delicate floral flavor that seemed to cut through the richness and keep it from feeling too heavy.

“Try the ice cream,” she said, still not looking either of the others in the eye, and decided to try the pie together with the ice cream, as Sylvie had obviously intended.

Mmm. Maybe I am in heaven, after all.

Across the table, Ethan appeared to be having his own rapturous experience with the ice cream. Chloe sipped at her tea and watched him over the rim of her cup, simply enjoying the view.

Between the two of them the pie was quickly demolished, and Chloe had to admit that she was tempted to wait the extra time for the next batch of pies to come out the oven, even though she did not need it at all.

Chasing the last of the melted ice cream around the plate with her spoon, she contemplated their plans for the day, turning pensive. As much as she was enjoying the mystery – and the pie! – she was getting concerned about how they were going to get Curtis back to the afterlife.

And, despite the fact that she’d been blowing off non-essential tasks since yesterday, she did need to make sure that she was ready to open her clinic on Monday.

Getting her business up and running successfully was absolutely non-negotiable, and she’d have to put aside the mystery of Curtis’s appearance pretty soon.

How long did Ethan even have available to spend in Girdwood Springs? Did he have to be back in wherever he was from by Monday morning? Would he and Curtis just be stuck in each other’s company indefinitely if they couldn’t get this sorted in the next day or two?

She opened her mouth to ask Ethan what his work situation was, but then a familiar voice cut in from across the bakery.

“You’ll tell that handsome husband of yours that I said hello, won’t you?”

It was Eula – ol’ Eula, from the diner – talking to Sylvie.

There was clearly some kind of exchange of goods going on – a very tall, very good-looking, kind of rough-around-the-edges man was picking up some extremely large boxes of…

well, vegetable content , lifting them like they weighed nothing at all.

He was a bit too rugged to be quite Chloe’s type, but she could tell that the engagement ring on his finger had definitely broken a few hearts.

So Eula was getting the vegetables for her diner via Sylvie, then.

It made sense that all the delicious food in this town was apparently being made from produce from the same grower.

Chloe was getting pretty curious to know what their secret was!

Maybe Margot had cast a spell over the town’s crops or something.

Sylvie laughed, “Of course I will – I know that you’d hunt me down if I forgot to pass on your greetings!”

“I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding,” Eula said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I would hate for Gale to think that I’d forgotten my manners.”

“All set,” said the man, who at this point was so piled high with boxes that Chloe could barely see any of him except for his eyes, his scruffy hair, and his flannel-clad, extremely muscular arms.

“Thanks, Henry,” said Sylvie gratefully.

“No, thank you ,” said Eula. “That Gale of yours sells me the best tomatoes I’ve ever tasted in my life, and at a fraction of the price I’d pay elsewhere. I’d gladly pay five times the price for them… though maybe we should keep that a secret amongst us girls, eh?”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Sylvie said with a chuckle. “Now, we should really let Henry get going before he topples over!”

“I’m fine,” the tower of boxes said in a muffled voice. He started toward the door, bringing him closer to where Chloe and the others were sitting, and as he approached, Chloe was suddenly hit with the strangest feeling of… unease .