Coffee with Clara
Mabel Brings Pie
Some recipes are written on recipe cards.
Others are written in the people we love
The familiar knock never came.
Instead…
The screen door eased open just enough for a cheerful voice to call through it.
“Now don’t either one of you get up.”
Clara laughed before she even turned around.
“Mabel?”
“I’ve got my hands full.”
A moment later, Mabel stepped onto the porch carrying a warm pie wrapped carefully in a faded purple kitchen towel.
The buttery crust filled the air before she said another word.
Clara smiled.
“I told you not to bake anything.”
Mabel raised one eyebrow.
“And I told you I wasn’t listening.”
Clara took the pie from her hands.
“It’s still warm.”
“It ought to be.”
“It came out of the oven about seven minutes ago.”
“You timed it?”
“I always time pies.”
She looked at Clara with a grin.
“People…
not so much.”
Clara set the pie carefully in the middle of the old porch table.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know.”
Mabel settled into the rocking chair beside her.
“But I’ve discovered over the years that pie has a remarkable way of finding the people who need it.”
Clara smiled.
“And who needed it today?”
Mabel looked directly at her.
“You.”
Clara looked down into her coffee.
“You’ve always known when something was on my mind.”
“Oh honey…”
Mabel chuckled.
“You forget.”
“I’ve raised children.”
“I’ve fed teenagers.”
“I’ve survived church potlucks.”
“There isn’t much I can’t read.”
Both women laughed.
For a few minutes they sat quietly, watching a breeze stir the flowers around the porch.
Finally Clara asked,
“What made you decide to bake today?”
Mabel leaned back.
“My mama used to say…”
She paused.
“If you don’t know what to do…”
“Bake something.”
Clara smiled.
“Really?”
“Oh yes.”
“If somebody’s celebrating…”
Bake.
“If somebody’s grieving…”
Bake.
“If somebody’s lonely…”
Bake.
“If somebody’s coming home…”
Definitely bake.”
Clara laughed.
“That’s a surprisingly complete philosophy.”
“It hasn’t failed me yet.”
Just then…
TT stretched lazily from the rocking chair and wandered toward the pie.
She sniffed once.
Twice.
Then looked up at Mabel with hopeful eyes.
Mabel smiled.
“Don’t even think about it.”
TT blinked innocently.
“I know that look.”
“You’ve been practicing it for years.”
TT sat down politely.
Mabel laughed.
“See?”
“She’s hoping manners earn pie.”
Clara grinned.
“They usually earn treats.”
“That’s because you’ve spoiled her.”
“I prefer…”
Clara smiled over her coffee.
“…well loved.”
Mabel reached into the pocket of her apron.
“I almost forgot.”
She laid a small recipe card on the table.
Clara looked down.
Written across the top, in careful handwriting, were the words:
Honey House Pie Crust
“You brought me another recipe?”
“I did.”
“I’ve been writing them down.”
“So someday…”
She gently touched the card.
“…someone else can keep making them.”
Clara looked at the neat handwriting for a long moment.
“They’re more than recipes.”
“I know.”
Mabel smiled softly.
“They’re memories with measurements.”
The two women sat together, sharing pie that was still warm enough to steam when Clara cut the first slice.
Neither of them hurried.
Neither of them needed to fill every silence.
Sometimes friendship was conversation.
Sometimes…
it was simply knowing someone had shown up carrying pie.
Eventually Mabel stood.
“I should probably get back.”
Clara smiled.
“I was wondering when you’d say that.”
“I’ve got bread rising.”
“And if Walter wanders into my kitchen before I get home…”
She shook her head dramatically.
“I’ll never see another slice of pie.”
Clara laughed.
“I’ll warn him.”
“You do that.”
Mabel picked up her empty pie towel.
Halfway down the porch steps she turned back.
“Oh…”
“I left one thing behind.”
“What?”
“The recipe.”
“I meant to.”
Clara smiled knowingly.
“I thought you might have.”
Mabel winked.
“Some things are meant to be shared.”
Clara watched as Mabel disappeared down the path toward the Honey House kitchen.
She looked down at the recipe card resting beside her coffee.
Then at the half-finished pie.
Then toward the empty rocking chair.
Some people leave behind silence when they go.
Mabel…
Left behind supper.
☕ Before You Go…
Thank you for spending a little time Clara and Mable today. Some visits leave us laughing. Others leave us thinking.
And every now and then…
You may also enjoy:
👴 Walter Never Stays Just a Minute
🌿 Mary Whitaker Visits from Blackwater County
🚪 Continue Through the House
📚 A Reading Room is taking shape… (Coming Soon)