S.H. Roddey

I have returned!

First of all, thank you so much to Jean and the Tuesday Tales Group for letting me come back. The last few months haven’t been the best, as is probably evidenced by the gross little number I’m offering up for you this morning. The latest addition to a work in progress titled “Easy as Pie”, this story focuses on a young lady named Callie who has had some less-than-pleasant experiences.

WARNING: This is true horror. If your squick-alert goes off easily, I suggest not reading this. Otherwise, consider yourself warned.

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Callie began to hum. No matter how bad the situation, cooking always helped. It was the very reason why she opened the bakery in the first place. This little shop – the one thing in this world that truly belonged to her – was her sanctuary.

Turning away from the stove, Callie picked up a bowl, this one filled with chocolate chips. She drizzled over the top a few drops of corn syrup, then pulled a measuring cup from the microwave and poured heavy cream into the bowl. Picking up her whisk, she scraped and stirred until the ganache was smooth and creamy. The aromas of chocolate and cooking meat battled for dominance, causing her nose to twitch. The juxtaposition of sweet and salty made her smile. The little voice inside giggled with manic glee.

She reached behind herself to stir the meat then returned to her chocolate. Callie took a cookie sheet from the cabinet and lined it with parchment. A small plate sat beside the sink, its meaty bits still steaming from their recent stay in a pot of boiling water. She upended the contents into the bowl of chocolate and stirred them well.

Had it coming…had it coming…

“Won’t do that again, will you Matt?” she said aloud. Her voice echoed around the empty kitchen, disturbing the quiet stillness. Callie paused… she was so happy here. This bakery and its industrial, all-steel kitchen truly was her refuge, her home away from home, her quiet in the storm.

But even this place couldn’t protect her. The door with the board over it in the storefront stood as a hard, harsh reminder of that fact. When he couldn’t get the door open, he’d broken it down. She loved Matt, she truly did, which is why she’d taken so much of his shit over the last four years. But lately as his drinking increased, so did his anger, and tonight…

He deserved it… the bastard had it coming.  You know he did…

Tonight was the final straw. He pushed the wrong buttons, and Callie? She made him pay.

Placing the bowl of chocolate to the side, Callie turned back to her pan and spooned the meat into the prepared, paper-lined bowl. Pouring the majority of the grease into a coffee tin, she returned the dregs to the flame and began to throw in other ingredients. Soon she had a beautifully colored, though slightly soupy, gravy. Callie patted the meat dry, enjoying the fine, slightly gamey smell of it, and tipped it back into the pan with the gravy.

Venison…tell them it’s venison when they ask. She stirred it together and turned it down to simmer.

“I should have soaked it in water,” she said aloud. “It would have smelled so much better afterward.” With that task accomplished, Callie picked up a pair of tongs and swirled her chocolate treats around the bowl. Then she lifted each one and placed it on the prepared pan. Giggling sickly, she pulled out a container of almond slivers and laid one on the end of each, then took up a pastry bag and drizzled white chocolate across them. Her candy-coated fingers were so pretty!

“I’d call them lady fingers, but that’s not entirely true,” she said as she looked down at her latest confectionery creation. The sight made her want to simultaneously laugh and vomit.

Precious treats!

She shoved the pan away. At least she had the forethought to boil the fingers first and remove the skin and bones. In her rage she’d even replaced the real bones with some of those cute candy ones she had left over from last Halloween.