{"id":152,"date":"2010-12-28T11:48:58","date_gmt":"2010-12-28T00:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=152"},"modified":"2013-09-27T15:50:45","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T22:50:45","slug":"almost-guilt-free-pumpkin-pie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=152","title":{"rendered":"Season 1: Episode 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mia jammed the last bottle of sparkling white in the fridge and hurriedly closed the door just before her haphazard stacking came undone. She just had to remember not to open it again in a hurry. Although her salary didn\u2019t afford \u2018real\u2019 Champagne, she had splashed out and bought several bottles of a beautiful vintage brut from Tasmania that she knew Willow liked.<\/p>\n

It was hard to believe New Year\u2019s Eve had arrived already. She and Willow had both decided to give the big New Year\u2019s celebrations a miss this year. Mia had never been one to go in for a big party, preferring to stay home on her own. She\u2019d never felt it before, but for the first time she had a pang of missing out on something. She was, once again, alone on the last night of the year.<\/p>\n

Well, not totally alone. She had Willow. And food. So much food.<\/p>\n

Willow was going through a pie phase, and Mia had noticed at least four different types of pie in the fridge that she had tried her best not to squash with the bottles. She had watched Willow with intrigue as she had baked these amazing creations. Not content with the standard meat or apple pies, Mia had seen Willow placing ingredients such as salmon, porcini mushrooms, goat\u2019s cheese and passionfruit into different dishes, with toppings like polenta and sticky date crumble replacing the traditional pastry. Willow had even made Mia a special pumpkin pie, which she had assured her was (mostly) guilt-free and delicious.
\n\u201cThere is no better way to start the New Year than with a pie,\u201d Willow had said when Mia questioned her on the pie frenzy. \u201cFrom the outside it looks the same as all the other pies, but it\u2019s not until you\u2019re into the middle of it that you realise just how different it is!\u201d<\/p>\n

The unique philosophy of Willow. It made sense. Sort of.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Mia was surprised when Ana ambled into the kitchen at 4.30pm.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re home already!\u201d she exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinished early,\u201d Ana replied. She surveyed the cupboard to see what was available before she went for the fridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t open\u2026.!\u201d shouted Mia, just as several bottles of sparkling came rolling out and across the tiled floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll just have to open one, now\u201d Ana said, as she tried unsuccessfully to fit them all back in. She popped a bottle unceremoniously and emptied her glass before Mia had even taken a sip.<\/p>\n

Ana was in a foul mood. \u00a0She\u2019d just found out Marc was not going to be at the same New Year\u2019s Eve \u2018do\u2019 she was going to. She had deliberately knocked back all other invitations under the assumption that Marc would be going to the exclusive party that one of their best clients held every year. She was positive he\u2019d said he was going.
\n\u201cMy wife will come with me to the other party,\u201d he\u2019d said running a hand down Ana\u2019s arm after one of their lusty afternoon lovemaking sessions, \u201cbut she always leaves early so we\u2019ll still be able to see the New Year in together.\u201d<\/p>\n

She should have been turned off by him at that point, but she was smitten.<\/p>\n

Ana had stopped on the way home to collect a gorgeous navy blue silk dress that she had bought during the week. It didn\u2019t leave much to the imagination, clinging to every perfect curve and hanging dangerously low down her back. Marc knew her body better than anyone and Ana knew he would love the dress. Even more so crumpled on the floor \u2013 but she had planned to drive him wild before they reached that point.<\/p>\n

So much for that plan.<\/p>\n

Well, if he wasn\u2019t going then she sure as hell didn\u2019t want to go! Her forehead creased with pain as she tried to imagine what he might be doing instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what are your plans tonight?\u201d asked Mia, taking a sip from her glass. She could tell that Ana was in a mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig fat nothing. I\u2019m going to be one of those losers who stays home on New Year\u2019s.\u201d She took another gulp of the sparkling. \u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia was a bit hurt. \u201cJust staying in,\u201d she said lightly. Ana wasn\u2019t exactly the most tactful person at the best of times, but lately she had just been downright thoughtless and rude.
\nTo her credit, Ana did look genuinely sheepish as she took another gulp of her drink.<\/p>\n

Luckily, Willow arrived home before their silence became too awkward. \u201c Hello!\u201d she sang, as she closed the front door. She waltzed into the kitchen humming a song and carrying a large bunch of red roses and a bottle of Mo\u00ebt.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor you!\u201d she said presenting them to Ana. \u201cThey were by the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana immediately knew whom they were from. There was no card and no delivery address, which meant that he had dropped them off himself.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t make it OK that he\u2019s deserting me<\/i>, she thought to herself, but at least it shows he cares<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The Mo\u00ebt was already chilled and she wasted no time downing the rest of her glass and opening the new bottle. \u201cTime to move onto the grown-up stuff, ladies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow caught the hurt expression on Mia\u2019s face. \u201cDon\u2019t be such a snob, Ana!\u201d Willow chided as she went to the fridge. \u201cYum! My favourite!\u201d she said as she caught sight of the bottles that Mia had bought. \u201cThank you, Mia!\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia smiled tightly, hoping that Ana would get bored and go out with some other friends. She was in an aggressive mood that Mia didn\u2019t fancy dealing with all night.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Willow was getting the pies out of the fridge when Ana\u2019s phone rang. Ana looked at the screen and then quickly left the room.<\/p>\n

When she returned ten minutes later, she looked as if she\u2019d been crying. Her housemates were worried. Nothing ever rattled Ana.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happened?\u201d Willow asked gently, putting a hand on her friend\u2019s shoulder. Ana shook it off and turned to face them, her eyes fiery.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to the fucking Maldives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow and Mia looked at each other. What was she talking about?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s taking his family to the Maldives for two weeks instead of going to the party. Couldn\u2019t even tell me to my face. What a coward.\u201d Tears were streaming down her face again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d asked Willow. \u201cTom?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot Tom! Marc. It\u2019s Marc!\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned and fled the room, so distraught she forgot her glass of Champagne.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho the hell is Marc?\u201d asked Mia, bewildered.<\/p>\n

Then she remembered the flowers in the hall \u2013 Ana. Thanks for this morning. M.<\/i> \u2013 the late nights, having to work on Christmas Day\u2026 The penny dropped. \u201cOh my God. She\u2019s having an affair with her boss!\u201d exclaimed Mia.<\/p>\n

Willow slowly nodded her head. \u201cI think I need some pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Mia jammed the last bottle of sparkling white in the fridge and hurriedly closed the door just before her haphazard stacking came undone. She just had to remember not to open it again in a hurry. Although her salary didn\u2019t afford \u2018real\u2019 Champagne, she had splashed out and bought several bottles of a beautiful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[197],"tags":[10,127,143,152,166,174],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1161,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions\/1161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}