Pi Day (Sean)

[Macie Wyatt]

Macie had just taken a seat in a booth at the diner, knowing from Talia and other colleagues that Bessie's was supposed to have the best pie in Vermont. And it was Pi Day after all, so she was willing to participate in the playful holiday. She finally had a chance to try it and so here she was, gazing at the menu with all of the pie flavors, overwhelmed by the possibilities. Did she want a fruit pie or a cream pie? Ugh, blueberries....but chocolate! Or banana...it was so hard to choose. 

She chewed on her lip, debating over the menu and telling the waitress several times that she needed more time. She was sure that she'd annoyed the poor waitress and made a note to leave a good tip. Just as she'd thought she'd finally decided, a familiar face walked in the door. A face that made her slightly nervous, but she was also happy to see. Sean Neville. She waved from behind her menu.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

((OOC: This takes place on March 14, 2015, as that was Pi Day.))

Sean had never been much of a math geek, and, unlike his nephew, had never self-identified as a geek at all. He identified as a hippie, albeit one with an excellent grasp of science, medicine, and the math necessary to grasp the other two disciplines. As a student, his math grades had been on par with the rest of his academic performance, but pure mathematics for the sake of it had never been one of his interests.

In fact, he far preferred pie to pi.

Pie brought him to Bessie’s Diner at least once a week, and often more frequently than that. He appreciated everything on their menu and the fact that they brewed strong coffee, but he particularly enjoyed their pie. He considered it some of the best in Vermont.

A text from his nephew had wished him a “Happy Pi Day” followed by six emoticons. It was March 14, which did, technically, make it Pi Day, and, as he often did, he wondered about how had the time or the energy to come up with this niche holiday ideas.

However, he had only managed to settle in his booth when he caught sight of a wave and a familiar face.

Macie Wyatt.

He smiled back at her and then gestured at his booth, silently inviting her to join him if she didn’t want to sit alone.

[Macie Wyatt]

Macie didn't mind sitting alone. She'd gone to Mimosa Sundays on her own on her birthday and it was Pi Day and Talia was busy and so here she was. She really should have more friends at her age, but the reality was that most of them were co-workers and she wasn't yet ready to go out to pie with Adonis. Of course, he'd probably bake her a pie instead.

So she stood up from her table, taking the daunting pie menu with her and plopped down opposite him in the booth. "Hi," she said with a small wave. She often waved at people when she was so close to them and wasn't sure why, but she'd stopped questioning it. She was concerned with the informality of her greeting though. Sure, she wasn't a student anymore, but she still needed to treat him formally and she felt slightly embarrassed, a blush spreading across her cheeks. She pulled at a kinky curl that was hanging in her face. "Happy Pi Day!"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean smiled to return the greeting. “Hello.” He adjusted his posture in the booth, making sure to leave her plenty of leg room under the table by repositioning himself. The curse of his size meant long legs, and long legs had difficulty folding under typical-sized tables and booths at diners. But he could make it work.

He managed to make it work when out with taller people than Macie was. (Technically, Josh was far taller than she was, but neither he nor Josh cared if their legs draped over each other when out at restaurants.)

“Happy Pi Day.” Sean lifted his complimentary water glass in mock toast to the fake holiday. “Did you come here to celebrate the day?”

By which the telepath meant to ask if she intended to order pie. He did. Given that his favorite menu item at Bessie’s was the pie, he would have ordered it without the coincidence of the date, but the excuse meant that his order might be slightly more festive.

From what Ryan had described of his young social circle (filled primarily with engineers and nerds), they intended to take the day far more seriously than Sean could ever imagine. There were Irishmen and literati who celebrated Bloomsday with less flair than some of the attention paid to Pi Day this year.

[Macie Wyatt]

Sean almost looked slightly awkward trying to fit into the booth, but Macie would never tell him that. She had the opposite problem. She was so tall and skinny she thought she might slip between the booth and the table. It was handy however if you wanted to avoid seeing someone.

She picked up her water glass as well, a little bit sloshing over the edge and onto the table. She smiled. It was cheesy, sure, and it wasn't an official holiday, but it was something to do. "Yes, I am. I guess they have the best pie in Vermont here. So I've been told." She looked at him in all seriousness. "Is it true?" She assumed he'd had the pie here. She was here because it was an excuse to eat pie, possibly two slices.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean hadn’t experienced the ability to duck behind something since he had been a young child. Although he’d had growth spurts like all children, he’d also been near the taller end of the bell curve from a young age. Somewhat tall and lanky for his age as a boy, before filling out in puberty and growing to his full adult height and figure. If he tried to duck under a table, there remained a good chance he might knock it over.

Nobody chose their size.

He smiled before he answered, “If it isn’t the best, it’s in the top five.”

He considered himself something of an expert in that area. Not as a baker – his baking skills were competent and born from his love of baked goods themselves. But if one had lived in Vermont for as long as Sean had and had eaten as many different pies from as many different places as he had, then it gave one some level of expertise.

“I’m fond of their blueberry,” he admitted, as he picked up the menu as well. He knew it by heart, but it was always nice to check the specials. “But I’m considering strawberry rhubarb for myself unless I see something else to make me change my mind.”

[Macie Wyatt]

"So where else has good pie then?" Macie realized she was talking loud and quieted her voice, as if talking about another place that had good pie was horrible to do in Bessie's. Did he have a top 5? Macie had only had amazing pizza, and that's because she had grown up in a suburb of Chicago, so she definitely had a top 5 list for pizza, but not for pie. Of course she'd always been made fun of because she'd been the only one in her family who would order plain cheese pizza every single time. Her brother got every single topping on his and laughed at his sister, telling her she was a plain Jane.

"I'm torn between chocolate silk pie and banana cream," she admitted.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“Do you want a full list?” Sean asked, only half serious with his question. If pressed, he could rattle off where all of the best pie in Pilot Ridge was, as well as in Burlington, and, even, back in the Village as long as some of his favorite places hadn’t gone under due to gentrification or the lingering effects of the Great Recession. He had no reason to believe that Macie wanted that full list.

“If you like fruit and honey, I recommend Ari’s. He does all of his baking from scratch, and he adds new items to the menu weekly, sometimes daily during holiday seasons.” Additionally, he was a good friend. “Abe Milton’s sandwich shop also has some good pie, although not as good as Bessie’s.” He added with a smile, gesturing at the dessert case behind them.

“I’d get both and bring one home with me, if I had that predicament.” Sean subscribed to the philosophy of moderation in most areas of life, but he never turned down baked goods, and he could always find a way to try an additional type of pie. One with lunch or for a snack and one for dessert after supper.

Then again, the way to his heart was through his sweet tooth.