Pie of the Tiger

Spruce rolled his eyes, but smiled.  His boys were a headful each, but he loved them more than anything in the world and as tough as it was to raise them on his own since he and Michael divorced when they were babies, he wouldn’t change a day. “I wasn’t even making them work that hard, but they couldn’t wait to get out of here,” he said with a small laugh.  “You’ve got it,” he told her, plating up the order.  “After 13 years, it’s not easy, Oak actually came up with that one, not bad for an 11 year old, right?”  He handed the plates over and pulled up the stool he kept behind the counter so they could catch up a little.  “How are things going? This little angel is giving you trouble? I can’t believe it.”

The Kiwi to my Heart

Comparing Apples to Oranges

Dragonfruit Me to Hell

Spruce had lived in Heartsdale all his life, minus a few years when he was in college, and when he came back, boyfriend in tow and bought a bakery, the people in town helped him out and rejoiced with him when he got married and when their twins were born.  They kept him sane when his partner left them and helped him keep his head above water over the years and he couldn’t imagine ever living anywhere else.  

After the death of his mother, when he was 12, Spruce’s father, Barker, had spent a great deal of his time at Matt’s family’s tavern and even though Spruce was nearly a decade older, the two had always gotten along well, and now, as adults they’d become friends, especially because his grandmother had a standing order from the bakery, and Matt picked them up and the two usually spent some time talking if they weren’t too busy. 

On this particular day, Spruce was getting ready to close, and his boys were sitting at one of the out of the way booths, doing their homework.  He knew Matt would be coming by, so he had the pie boxes waiting as he cleaned and when the bell above the door rang, he already knew who it would be.  “Hey Matt.  I’ve got some extra Key Lime left if you want to stick around for a bit, it’s on the house!”

Out of nowhere, Spruce had been hit with a huge influx of delivery orders and he’d been running around like a crazy person all day, and when his boys finished with school, he’d put them to work as well and by the time 5PM rolled around, everything was finished and the delivery company had come to pick everything up.  “Alright boys, go upstairs, clean up and start your homework.  I’ll order a pizza and bring it up when I’m done here.”  The two flour covered 11 year olds ran out the door and up to their apartment, nearly crashing into someone as they left.  

Spruce sighed, “I’m sorry about them.  Take a seat anywhere, we’re open for another hour yet, the Pie of the Day is “If You were a Fruit, You’d be a Fineapple” which is Cream Cheese, Vanilla and Pineapple, otherwise just let me know how I can help.” 

“Don’t get up on my account,” he said, leaning against the counter instead of finding a seat for himself. “How are you feeling? Sick kids does not sound like a good time. I’ve been pretty lucky so far this year, but that’s probably good. I think they get me sick every time one of them catches anything.” He glanced at the counter and smiled at the pie of the day sign. “That a new pun or one you’ve used before?”

Spruce was never sure what it was about him that Rai was drown to, but he was glad they’d developed the friendship they did.  Whenever Rai came to him needing advice, Spruce did the best he could to be helpful, though he was never sure how helpful he was actually being.  Spruce did what he could to make a good, stable life for his kids, as they’d already had to grow up minus one father and that meant they already didn't have the life he envisioned for them and he was motivated entirely by not wanting to fail them. 

He didn’t get up, but he lifted his head and pulled up one of the stools he kept behind the counter.  “I’m alright, it’s just a headache, I’ve been up since 3 and with the boys I have haven’t been sleeping much the past week anyway, combine that with being dehydrated and I’m just having a rough day, I’ll be fine.”  He looked over at the board where he wrote the pies, “They’re always new, as far as I know I’ve never repeated one, but in the past 13 years there might have been some similar ones.  Do you want to try it? I think it’s a pretty good one.” 

50 Ways to Leave Your Guava

One of the effects of his condition was that he was prone to dehydration and he was definitely feeling it now, he needed to stay on top of his health, as the slightest thing could knock him out of commission for weeks. Unfortunately when his boys needed him, his own needs fell by the wayside and it didn’t take long for him to feel the effects. He pushed it out of his mind for the time being and kept taking care of his customers, only stop to give his boys quick hugs before they ran off to get on the school bus.

The bell above the door rang, but Spruce didn’t look up, with the boys gone and his breakfast rush fizzling out, he’d leaned against the counter and rubbed his temples with his eyes closed. “Take a seat anywhere, I’ll be with you in a moment,” he said, still not looking up. When he finally forced himself to stand, he realized it wasn’t just a customer, it was Rai.  “Hey! Sorry I wasn’t paying attention, it’s been a long week.  How’s it going?” 

If You Were a Fruit, You’d be a Fineapple

Hi everyone! Spruce and I are so excited to get to know you all.  It’s not really an intro, exactly, but here’s all the info you’ll need to know about Spruce at this link HERE.