Billy turned, looking at Ramona quizzically. “Uh, nothing. Other than the fact that she’s a stupid dog and ate the apple pie.” He feigned a grumpy face as he looked back at Powder, who hung her head. He stepped away from Ramona, taking powder by the collar and tugging her to the stairs. “I’ll put her in my room…” He shook his head as he made the first few steps up to the second floor, “Dad’s gonna be pissed…”
“Don’t worry.” Terry let out a short sigh, tossing the tin in the trash, then moving at least a small amount of his attention to Ramona. “Yea’… I gotta go get anothe’ one.” He grabbed his coat off the wall, slipping it on as he headed for the door. He plucked his snow boots off the floor by the front door as he opened it. “Shouldn’t be too bad at the store. I hope.” He closed to door behind him, sitting down in the edge of the steps to slip on his boots.
A part of her was amused at the whole thing, but the larger part was actually curious as to how in the world a dog had managed to gain access to one of the pies when it had clearly been out of her reach. She followed the beginning of the pair’s ascent until she heard her fellow college student moving about around the front door. Well, now she felt awkward standing there. The girl’s cheeked lit up as she glanced away—which happened to be toward the scene of the crime: the kitchen. “D-do you mind if I… uh… come along? I was going to go for a walk, anyway…” she stammered out the question, gaze now falling down to her own boots.
Ramona went to tuck some hair behind her ear, as it was a nervous tick, and found it to be a bit more of a challenge than she remembered due to her new haircut—which caused her to drop her arm to the side quickly. “B-but I definitely understand if you’d rather go alone!” she added as soon as she realized some clarification may be necessary. “Just… thought I might take in more of the area since this is my first time in another state. Either way.” The girl shrugged once more. Clearly, she was much more relaxed with her surroundings. She was able to smile more easily.
Thanksgiving day had consisted of cooking, cooking, and more cooking. Almost everyone had had their time in the kitchen, helping to cook something. Billy had busied himself with running back and forth between rooms relaying information and questions such as ‘Where did you leave the butter?’
But finally, there was a moment of silence in the kitchen, when everyone had left for one reason or another. This was the time that Gun Powder chose to strike. With the aid of the household cat, Ash, who walked along the counters and nudged one of the pies just enough to knock it over the edge, the mission had begun. The mission to eat the delicious pie. There was much satisfaction as the apple pie was devoured, slurp by slup, and bite by bite. Ten minutes had passed since she’d begun, and still, she sat there, eating.
“I have to get my phone. Just a sec’.” Terry said over his shoulder to Billy as he headed back to the kitchen. Who knows if Warren or the others at the mansion had texted him? He’d left it on the counter as he recalled. Of course, that wasn’t what he first noticed. He froze mid-step as he spotted Powder with the now empty pie tin. “… Oh you fucking didn’t…” he looked at her. She looked down with shame, while Ash sat on the counter licking his paw. “Goddamnit.” He paced over, reaching down and picking up the tin. “Fuck.” He frowned. “Uh… guys? I have to head out for a sec. Kind of… um… Pie.” he said blankly as he scratched his head.
Billy walked in, seeing him holding the tin, and Powder looking bashful. “Aw man! Powder!”
Cooking had always been a wonderful distraction from other things for the tiny brunette. Doing so that day was no exception, and she found herself relaxing more and more as time went by. She was able to chat more, not confident, but willing to engage and interact. Of course, nothing unpleasant had happened, so that only placed a proverbial cherry on top of the good experience cake. Speaking of baked goods, however… Ramona thought back on how Billy had spoken about his mother and that there had been no homemade pies since her… incident It wasn’t exactly an important piece of information, perhaps, but it stood out to her. Maybe because she lost her mother as well? She thought on it, and deemed that unlikely since her own mother had been unknown to her. She didn’t want to compare the different scenarios, after all. Mona shook her head from that train of thought, just thankful that she had been able to help by doing something she loved.
Ramona had gone to put on some warmer clothes as she planned to take a stroll for a short while—just enough time as everything that had to continue cooking did just that. There were some timers set in the kitchen, if she recalled correctly, and being the slightly paranoid girl she was… those times had been incorporated onto her phone as a second measure. That small, semi-obsessive action assisted in helping her feel secure.
When she finally felt that she was ready, Mona exited the guestroom, adjusting the light scarf around her neck (at least until it was time to descend to the first floor—which she didn’t trust her clumsy self to manage while focusing on neck wear), and was soon downstairs, becoming curious at the sounds she heard coming from around where the kitchen was located. The petite teen came along just in time to hear Billy cry out something about Powder, which grabbed at her attention right away. “What happened to Powder?” she asked, worry quite obvious in her tone as she peeked into the kitchen to see Terry holding an empty pie tin… and Powder sitting at his feet looking as guilty as she could ever imagine a dog looking. She moved forward, nearly standing next to Billy, then.
“Powder, you silly girl!” exclaimed Mona, though it was obvious she was just a little more amused than upset by the whole scenario she witnessed before her. Crossing her arms over her chest, she released a soft sigh and shrugged her shoulders before remarking, “Bullocks. Well, at least we know someone enjoyed the pie, yeah?”
