Tasha's Tasty Tarts

2.1 Lemon Meringue Pie

I saw Marvin sitting in his usual booth with Draper. I didn't know what to do. Babs had made me call him and invite him to have dinner with us last night, but he said he had other plans. I knew he was just hurt I hadn't called him sooner. Now he was sitting with his brother eating from a plate of doughnuts like it wasn't a big deal.

"Tasha, just go talk to him." Babs said after spending the last ten minutes watching me watch Marvin. "It's not that big of a deal."

"It is too!" I groaned, "He told me to call him if I needed him."

"But you didn't need him." Baby frowned and I let my head fall onto the counter dramatically.

"Yeah, but him saying to call him if I needed him meant that I should call him to let him feel like I needed him." I whined and felt like I should just give up and go back to bed. Babs was more than capable of running the bakery by herself and with Desmond in the kitchen, nothing would go wrong. I could avoid Marvin and the rest of the world and be perfectly fine under my covers.

"Just go over there and talk to him." Babs suggested again. I shook my head and she picked me up from the counter. "At least go offer him some coffee." She handed me the coffee pot. I took it over to Marvin's table and I tried to pretend I was fine with the whole situation.

"Hey Tasha." Draper grinned at me. "How are you?" It didn't sound like the 'how are you' I was getting a lot of recently. It sounded like a regular 'how are you' like you would get after seeing a person you haven't seen in a while.

"I'm doing okay." I tried to smile. "Do you guys want some coffee?" I held up the pot and Draper nodded quickly. He was always in a good mood, and I envied him. I gestured for Marvin to pass me his cup and he handed it to me with a smile. I thought for a second maybe I was overthinking everything, that maybe he knew I just didn't think to call him.

"I was hoping you would open the bakery back up soon." Draper said, drawing my attention away from his brother, "I missed your Lemon Meringue Pies."

"Well we have some fresh made this morning. I'll bring you a slice on the house." I smiled genuinely now and Draper cheered before nudging Marvin.

"I get free pie." He waggled his eyebrows and Marvin looked at me like he couldn't believe his brother was actually excited over pie.

"I'll be right back." I promised before hurrying away. Babs grinned at me like that short interaction fixed everything between Marvin and me.

"So?" She prodded as I grabbed a clean plate for Draper's pie. I cut a slice and carefully set it in the center of the plate. I poured some powdered sugar over it and set a fork on the edge of the plate.

"So?" I asked back, reaching for some napkins.

"Marvin?" She raised her eyebrows at me and I rolled my eyes at her. She was just being annoying now.

"Would barely even look at me." I said before I walked back over to Draper and Marvin's table. I set the pie in front of Draper. "Can I get anything else for you guys?"

"Yes," Draper said, surprising me. Usually they got their doughnuts and coffee and that was all. "Please, sit." He gestured to the seat next to him. I glanced at Marvin and he frowned at Draper.

"Draper?" I asked slowly. I couldn't really use the excuse that I would get into trouble if I sat down with them. Not only was I the one in charge, but Babs only cares about drama.

"I request that you two talk because clearly its awkward and I can't deal with this." Draper then dug into his pie and Marvin sighed.

"We can talk if you want." I said, taking the seat beside Draper. "I don't really know what we'd talk about." I tried to act casual, but honestly I wasn't sure.

"Well it's awkward." Draper said again, his mouth full of pie. Marvin frowned once more and I wondered if Draper was just picking up on my awkwardness.

"I'm not awkward." Marvin protested.

"I am." I shrugged and Draper laughed. I nudged him with my elbow and Marvin rolled his eyes.

"Why do you feel awkward, Natasha?" Marvin asked, because he genuinely cared and not because Draper wanted us to talk.

"Well, I didn't call you after you told me to at my mom's funeral." I shrugged and lowered my gaze. Marvin chuckled and reached over and grabbed the last of Draper's pie. His brother protested quickly.

"Tasha, I told you to call me if you needed me." He said seriously. "I know you're going through a lot. It's fine."

I was honestly amazed by this new information. I was jumping to great conclusions for no reason. I met Marvin's gaze and he smiled at me. I tried to smile back even though I was embarrassed by the whole ordeal.

"Okay, awkwardness evaded." Draper said, pulling my gaze from his brother. "Can I have another slice of pie to go?" I laughed and got up from the table.

"No problem," I looked at Marvin for anything he might want and he shook his head. I headed back to the counter and Babs and she raised her eyebrows at me.

"So?" She asked, tapping the counter anxiously. I glanced back at Marvin before turning my back completely so there was no chance of him knowing we were talking about him.

"So, everything is fine. He didn't even care I didn't call him." I rolled my eyes and Babs grinned obnoxiously.

"That's good!" She said nudging my shoulder. I shrugged and grabbed a to-go box for Draper's pie.

"I guess." I said closing up the pie with a little fancy napkin with Tasha's Tasty Tarts printed on it. I briefly wondered when the last time the logo had an update was. Babs handed me a bag and I poured a to-go cup of coffee the way Marvin liked it. I knew he wanted it whether he said so or not.

"So you two are back to normal then?" Babs asked. I nodded before going back to Marvin and Draper.

"To-go Lemon Meringue Pie for Draper." I handed him the bag and then the cup to Marvin, "And a cup of coffee for Marvin."

They got up from the table and I took a step back to give them room. "See you, Babs!" Draper called and waved, making Babs grin and wave enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes at them as Marvin took my hand and kissed my cheek quickly.

"I'll see you later, okay?" He asked lightly. I smiled and nodded before he followed Draper out into the street.

Crisis averted.