If there was one thing Ezzy couldn’t care less about, it was who in the town of Tan could bake the best blueberry pie, but for about two weeks every July that subject drove the people around her into a frenzy. It was the only subject of conversation on porches and in sewing circles where women gathered, with past accomplishments rehashed, rumors of new recipes and baking equipment shared, and boasts passed as freely as glasses of iced sweet tea. Their husbands, brothers, and beaus followed suit, and information about ripe blueberry patches became a closely guarded secret that led to more than one fistfight between some of the rowdier young men.

The next weekend Tan would hold the 33rd Annual Blueberry Pie Bake-Off, and following that Ezzy knew the town would quickly return to the normal range of gossip, imagined slights, and pride in any number of mundane or useless achievements. But for now, the world revolved around blueberry pie in a way that left the town’s newest resident, though she’d lived there for seven years, baffled and slightly annoyed.

“Ya’ sure you aren’t gonna enter?” Vanessa asked her as they sat on the large porch of the medical clinic where Ezzy lived and studied. The clinic was a cozy stone and wood building with blooming hydrangeas in front, located on one of Tan’s two dusty dirt streets. Supplied with two tall glasses of tea and a basket of mending, the front porch was shady spot perfect for passing a hot summer afternoon.

“Completely sure.” Ezzy didn’t even look up from the bed sheet she sewed at with methodical care. She didn’t particularly enjoy mending, but if she set out to do it each stitch would be small, neat, and even, without fail. “I only learned to bake last winter, I’ve never even tried to make a blueberry pie. Besides, Mrs. Jay is a judge, and it wouldn’t look right.”

“Well, you’re not really related… but I guess you’re right. It wouldn’t look too good if Mrs. Jay said you won, bein’ she’s been teachin’ you clinic stuff, and probably taught ya’ to bake, too” Vanessa agreed. “Besides, y’all are practically family.”

Ezzy just nodded. It was a view shared by most of the town, though Mrs. Jay had tended the sick and delivered babies there for decades with no Mr. Jay or any family in sight, and Ezzy had only arrived in town seven years ago to study under her. It was a testament to both Mrs. Jay and the town that despite the long list of ways Ezzy stood out, from her black hair and dark eyes to her black dresses and thorough focus on her studies, she had been welcomed into the social circle of young people her age.

“Well in that case I know you’ll be rootin’ for me. Mine’s sure to win this year, I got some ideas from a magazine and used ‘em with my old family recipe.” Vanessa smiled sweetly and smoothed her fashionable flowered dress, which she had also seen in a magazine. “I guess somethin’ new oughta be enough to give Carolyn a run for her money.”

Ezzy shook her head without looking up or pausing in her work. “I’m not choosing sides in this mess. I’m sure your pie will be wonderful, and I’m sure everyone else’s will be as well.”

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “You sure that isn’t ‘cause you’re rootin’ for Mary Ellen?”

“I don’t see why I should want Mary Ellen to win any more than you,” Ezzy said. She looked up as she heard a pair of heavy boots on the porch steps. A small smile appeared on her face at the sight of the tall red-headed woman dressed like a man, in blue jeans and a flannel shirt.

Maddy hopped up to sit on the porch rail with an easy smile. “You oughta want Mary Ellen to win ‘cause ya’ know her pie is gonna be a damn sight better than whatever Nessa’s makin’ this year.”

Ezzy set aside her mending. She usually found it impossible to focus when Maddy was around. “As I was telling Vanessa, I honestly don’t care who wins.”

“Well you oughta, cause I got five bucks ridin’ on Mary Ellen. I been eatin' her cookin' for half my life, I oughta know it's good." Maddy grinned at Ezzy. "And I know ya’ don’t want me to lose the money, gas for the truck ain’t cheap.”

Ezzy knew that Maddy's bet was out of loyalty to the sister-in-law who'd helped raise her after her parents died, and Maddy didn't care about the contest anymore than she did. Still, Ezzy raised an eyebrow. “Then you shouldn’t have bet five dollars on pies. I’m staying out of this.”

“You’re right that Maddy was a fool to put a bet on this,” Vanessa said, taking a drink of her iced tea. “She’s just sore she can’t enter herself.”

“Shit, ya’ got me.” Maddy laughed and raised her hands in surrender. “I go to sleep cryin’ every night cause I can’t make a goddamn blueberry pie.” She shook her head. “Nah, it’s easy money. Mary Ellen’s the best cook in the hills.”

“She was the best cook,” Vanessa corrected. “Soon enough everyone’ll be sayin’ that’s me. If that doesn’t make Mike snatch me up, nothin’ will.”

“Is that what this is about?” Ezzy rolled her eyes. “Vanessa, you would have been married to Mike ages ago if you didn’t storm off every time you hear he’s been drinking with Maddy.”

Vanessa frowned, pouting slightly. “It isn’t polite to talk about, but you know darn well what goes on in those woods, with Maddy around.”

Maddy gave a snorting laugh. “And you know damn well I ain’t screwin’ Mike these days. Not since how he acted when we were together. He’s all yours, and good riddance.”

“Then I guess he oughta act like it.” Vanessa gave a toss of her head.

“She has a point,” Ezzy agreed. “He was very concerned with how you should be acting, it’s only fair that the woman dating him should be equally concerned.”

Vanessa nodded. “It’s what you shoulda done, if you wanted to keep him.”

“Well, as it turns out, I didn’t want him, 'cause of him bein' a jackass. And I let him know it loud and clear, too.” Maddy shrugged. “If I did want him, I can’t see how I’d care if he wanted to go out drinkin’, and I don’t rightly know why he cared if I did.”

“Anyone who wants to keep you from drinkin’ is a selfish son of a bitch who don’t wanna let the rest of us have any fun,” Lee Sellers said before he even set foot on the porch steps. He came up and joined the women, leaning against the rail next to where Maddy was perched.

Maddy slapped him on the back. “Damn straight.”

“What brings you by, Lee?” Ezzy asked. He was a good friend of Maddy’s, but he almost never came along when Maddy stopped to visit.

“I wanted to ask ya’ a favor, Ezzy.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s about the contest.”

“Oh dear.” Ezzy rolled her eyes.

“Daisy’s enterin’ her first pie, and she’s damn good. I know you don’t got folks around here, and I was wonderin’ if you’d let her know you’re pullin’ for her.” Lee gave a friendly smile, seeming almost cherubic when combined with his concern for his little sister.

Ezzy sighed. “As I’ve told both Maddy and Vanessa, I’m not rooting for anyone.”

“And I ain’t buyin’ for a second you care if Ezzy wants Daisy to win,” Maddy said, eyeing Lee suspiciously.

“Why on earth would he come here if he doesn’t care about that?” Ezzy raised an eyebrow. Lee did seem to be fidgeting under Maddy’s gaze.

“Can’t rightly say,” Maddy said, keeping her stare fixed on Lee.

“I shouldn’t be surprised to find any of y’all here,” yet another voice, Carolyn, said as she climbed the porch steps.

“It seems to be a popular spot today,” Ezzy muttered.

“Nice to see ya’ too, Carolyn,” Maddy smirked at the woman in the plain, starched dress. Then she turned back to Ezzy with a smile. “Ez, me and Lee are gonna head out and do some drinkin’ and cussin’ and all sorts of other stuff Carolyn always figures we’re doin’.”

“I’ll see you later,” Ezzy said, smiling as fondly as she could without offending Carolyn. “Would you like to join me and Vanessa, Carolyn?”

“I guess I’d better.” Carolyn huffed, sitting straight and tall on a porch chair. “So, just what are y’all talkin’ about?”

“The contest,” Vanessa said with a sweet smile.

Carolyn glared at her. “I figured.”

Vanessa didn’t let her smile waver. “I suppose you’ll be enterin’ the same pie you make every year?”

“It’s a family recipe. I guess you know it well, since it won two years in a row,” Carolyn said, raising her eyebrows.

“Aw, honey, everyone knows ten years ago it was the best darn pie in town!” Vanessa gave Carolyn a pat on the shoulder.

“And it still is,” Carolyn said. “We’ve just had bad luck in the bakin’ since then.”

“You’ve had bad luck in the other folks makin’ better pies,” Vanessa took a sip of her iced tea. “You oughta change it up some. I found some real good stuff in a magazine.”

Carolyn sniffed. “I guess that’s fine if you’re tryin’ to impress folks that read magazines.”

“Well, I guess Ezzy’ll like it, and she doesn’t read magazines,” Vanessa said, raising her eyebrows.

“It doesn’t matter if I like it,” Ezzy pointed out. “I’m sure I will, but I’m not a judge.”

Vanessa waved a hand. “Well, Mrs. Jay doesn’t read magazines either. And I bet y’all agree on a lot of things.”

Ezzy nodded. “While that’s true, I have no idea if it extends to blueberry pies.” She thought for a moment, then went on, “I’m not even sure why it’s so important that the judges like the pies. I’m sure your recipe is very good, Vanessa, and that Mike will appreciate it. Carolyn’s family recipe is probably good, too, and I’m sure the Wests like Mary Ellen’s pies and the Sellers like Daisy’s. Does it really matter which ones wins?”

“Sometimes it does,” Vanessa nodded sagely, then leaned in to gossip. “They say Jim Mathers turned down Ellie Cutter ‘cause she entered a pie that was burnt black. He ended up marryin’ Katie Sue, who cooks real good.”

“I’m sure the pie wasn’t the only hint that Ellie Cutter couldn’t cook,” Ezzy said, shaking her head. “Everyone knows that Maddy can’t cook, and she’s never entered a pie in the contest.”

“Well, that’s just what they say.” Vanessa shrugged. “And I’ve heard that Rose Wilton stole Jane Bowie’s recipe, and Miss Jane hasn’t spoken to her since.”

“She never did,” Carolyn insisted. “She got hers from her ma, it was Miss Jane who found it in a dress pattern she borrowed, without askin’, I should add.”

Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “Well now, that’s just what Miss Rose would tell her daughter-in-law, isn’t it?”

“Anyway, that isn’t why they don’t speak,” Carolyn went on. “They weren’t speakin’ over the dress patterns first.”

Vanessa frowned. “Miss Jane winnin’ the contest sure didn’t help.”

Carolyn nodded. “Cause she’s a thief.”

Vanessa waved a hand. “She returned the patterns, my ma said. She said they weren’t real pretty, either. That recipe was probably the only good thing she got outta them.”

“It’s the same one Ma Rose still makes. Jonas thinks it’s not as good as mine,” Carolyn smirked.

“I bet he tells his ma yours aren’t as good as hers,” Vanessa said, rolling her eyes.

“I doubt it. I’m sure he’s very honest.” Ezzy was almost certain that Jonas wasn’t bright enough to lie for the sake of keeping peace.

“He is.” Carolyn nodded. “His ma didn’t like it, but it’s just the plain truth.”

Ezzy shook her head clear of the town's history of useless gossip. “This still doesn’t explain why it’s important. There are many things people could compare to judge each other and get on one another’s nerves. Most of the year we get by very well without it. So why, for a week, do we decide to focus on who can make a blueberry pie?”

“You ask the strangest questions, Ezzy.” Vanessa grinned at her. “It’s just for fun!”

Ezzy raised an eyebrow, but thought better of continuing. She picked up her mending as Vanessa and Carolyn went back to disagreeing over the most important moments in Tan’s blueberry-filled history until the need to help with making supper pulled them both reluctantly away.

---

Despite the clinic house sitting on one of Tan’s main, and only, streets, no one who passed expected Ezzy to nod. Usually she was lost in the battered medical book she studied constantly, or so focused on some chore that remembering to interact with people would likely startle her. She wasn’t regarded as shy or unfriendly, it was just how she was, which was enough explanation for most people from Tan.

She sat there with her book the next day, hoping that she had totally exhausted the subject of blueberry pies and might be left in peace. Her non-interventionist stance on the subject of the contest had been made clear, she thought, so she couldn’t think of a single reason why anyone would care to visit the porch of the clinic to attempt to engage her on the subject.

In fact, she tried very hard to think of that reason when Vanessa and Carolyn marched onto the porch, each holding a plate with a slice of the all-important pastry. She expressed her continued confusion with a weary sigh.

“Hello, girls. I’m guessing you each decided to take your pie for a walk, and decided to stop here to say hello?”

Vanessa smiled broadly. “Well, I just made a practice pie this mornin’, and it came to mind that you might like a piece. I was just tryin’ to be friendly.”

“I had a feelin’ Vanessa was gonna try to be friendly, so I decided it’d only be fair for me to be friendly, too,” Carolyn glared at Vanessa in a less than friendly way.

“I see,” Ezzy said, her face level.

Vanessa ignored the looks from the other women and went on cheerfully, “So, how about if I just go get ya’ a fork, and you can try both of ‘em and see which ya’ like better?”

“Or you can skip Nessa’s, if you don’t feel like tryin’ some crazy magazine pie,” Carolyn huffed, setting her slice of pie on the table.

Ezzy shook her head. “I honestly don’t want to try either of them.”

“Just have a bite. Ya’ wouldn’t want it to go to waste!” Vanessa protested, motioning the pie slice towards Ezzy.

“Why don’t you take it to the men who sit outside the grocery?” Ezzy raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure one of them would appreciate some fresh baked pie.”

Vanessa pouted. “Now, Ezzy, I—”

“Mornin’, Ezzy!” Lee said, climbing the porch steps. “Daisy just finished bakin’ a pie, and I was thinkin’, 'I bet Ezzy ain’t had a blueberry pie this good,' so I brought you by a slice.”

“You were thinkin' that, were you?” Vanessa glared at him.

Carolyn set her face in a line even more disapproving than usual. “Lee Sellers, you’re as bad as Nessa!”

“No I ain’t!” Lee’s eyes widened. “Nessa’s way worse than me!”

Vanessa’s mouth fell open. “What’d I even do?”

Lee shrugged. “Damned if I know, but Carolyn can’t just go and say I’m just as bad as you!”

“Both of y’all know perfectly well what you’re doin',” Carolyn said with a stomp of her foot.

“Well if we do, I guess you do too, Carolyn Wilton!” Vanessa glared at her.

“What, exactly, does everyone think everyone has done?” Ezzy asked, looking from one party to the other with a bewildered expression.

“They brought ya’ pie to taste,” Carolyn snapped.

“Oh. Well then, yes, I suppose you’re all guilty.” Ezzy rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, resigned to confusion.

“I was just bein’ friendly!” Vanessa insisted to Carolyn.

“I can be friendly, too!” Lee added.

Carolyn crossed her arms and sniffed at Lee. “Funny time to start bein’ friendly to Ezzy.”

Lee raised his eyebrows. “Well at least I started being friendly to folks, you never been friendly a day in your life.”

“I’ve been best friends with Vanessa since school, and friends with Ezzy since she came here.” Carolyn turned up her nose.

“Some best friend you are, accusin’ me of bringin’ pie for Ezzy,” Vanessa shot back.

“What in holy hell is goin’ on here?” Maddy’s voice bellowed as she took the porch steps in one leap.

The three guilty parties paused to glare at each other, but none of them offered Maddy an answer.

Ezzy shrugged from her seat. “I honestly have no idea. For no reason I can fathom, everyone has decided it’s very important that I taste pie.”

“I reckon I can guess why.” Maddy glared at all three of them. “All y’all weasels best get off this porch, right now.”

A full chorus of protests started:

“Maddy West, how dare ya’—”

“I swear, I wasn’t doin’ nothin’—”

“I wasn’t about to let Nessa—”

“That wasn’t me askin’ 'bout it.” Maddy cut in, crossing her arms in front of her. She pulled herself up to her full height, several inches taller than even Lee, and stood as firm as a statue of some mythic woman warrior. All of those present knew the comparison would be apt, if Maddy was pushed any further.

Carolyn turned up her nose and stalked off, grabbing her pie as she left. She was followed by Lee, who slunk away, avoiding Maddy’s eyes.

Vanessa just smiled sweetly and set her slice of pie on the table. “I’ll just go on and leave this for Ezzy…”

“You do and you'll be wearin' it,” Maddy said raising her eyebrows.

“Fine.” Vanessa snatched it back up. “Ezzy, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you then, Vanessa.” Ezzy nodded as Vanessa flounced away. Then she turned to Maddy and motioned with a hand to the retreating pie soldiers. “Do you mind telling me what that was all about?”

Maddy’s face fell into a smile, and she chuckled as she leaned against the post of the porch. “Nessa and Lee are sneaky bastards, they’re hopin’ that if you like Nessa or Daisy’s pies, you’ll tell Mrs. Jay and maybe that’ll push her for them. Carolyn knew that’s what they were up to and wasn’t about to let Nessa get a jump on her.”

Ezzy just stared at her. “I thought this couldn’t have gotten more ridiculous. I should know by now not to underestimate our friends like that.”

“They’re just doin’ what they do.” Maddy shrugged. “Most of the older folks that sneaky just go straight to Mrs. Jay or Judge Preston or the other judges. I guess that bunch just figured they’d have better luck bein’ sneaky with you.”

“Well, I suppose that would be true if I cared even slightly about this whole thing.” Ezzy rolled her eyes. “I don’t even like blueberry pie that much.”

“Well if you woulda just decided one of ‘em was best, you wouldn’t have hadta taste any of it,” Maddy pointed out with a grin.

“I made a strawberry pie last night. Would you like some?” Ezzy smiled and raised an eyebrow at Maddy.

Maddy raised one back. “You know I want whatever kinda pie you make.”

Ezzy stood and nodded to the door. “Let’s go inside.”

The two walked through the front room of the clinic, with it’s two beds and a small sitting area with two rocking chairs, and made their way back to the kitchen. Maddy took a seat at the table against the wall, while Ezzy uncovered the pie and cut a slice for each of them. She joined Maddy, sitting across from her, and offered her a plate.

“Now, tell me about something that’s happening that doesn’t have to do with pies.”

Maddy took a big bite and thought while she swallowed. “Unless you wanna hear about how many fish I caught, I don’t reckon there’s much else goin’ on. Folks only got room for so much trouble in their lives, and right now it’s all pie.”

“I suppose that’s true. I’ve been here for seven years now, and to this day I don’t understand the fuss about blueberry pies,” Ezzy said, taking a bite of her slice.

Maddy leaned back in her chair, tipping it onto the back legs. “The pies are just the town, I reckon. Folks are gonna fight, they’re gonna court, they’re gonna have a good time. Sneaky folks are gonna be sneaky, and they’re gonna get caught at it. It’s just what folks do, so they might as well bake a pie and do it.”

Ezzy considered that for a moment while she ate her pie. “So, you’re saying this could be about anything, but they’ve simply decided on blueberry pie to express it?”

Maddy shrugged with a smile, then leaned forward again. She took another bite and said with her mouth full, “Carolyn and Nessa are fussin’ with each other. What day of the week ain’t they fussin’ with each other over somethin’?”

“I see.” Ezzy nodded. “And I suppose might as well listen to Carolyn and Vanessa bicker over pies as over Vanessa’s new dress.”

Maddy chuckled. “They’ll get back to that next week.”

“Especially if one of them wins the contest,” Ezzy said, with a look of trepidation.

At that, Maddy burst out laughing. “Holy hell, that’ll be a scene. I almost hope one’a ‘em pulls it off just to see that catfight.”

Ezzy covered her eyes with a hand, but she was suppressing a smile. “That’s because you’ll just run off somewhere with Lee, Dave, and Mike. I’ll still have to sit on the porch with them.”

“Yeah, but we can laugh about it later,” Maddy pointed out.

Ezzy nodded, letting her smile show. “I suppose we can. They both like awful dresses, anyway.”

Maddy raised an eyebrow, looking down at her dirty farm clothes, then to Ezzy’s plain black dress. “Ez, girl… you seen what we wear?”

“Point taken.” Ezzy nodded. “Of course, I also prefer strawberry pie.” She took a bite.

“Ya’ know I don’t mind.” Maddy shook her head. “It’s just a shame you landed plumb in the middle of this.”

“It’s absurd,” Ezzy agreed. “I can’t even tell two blueberry pies apart.”

Maddy thought for a moment, finishing her slice of pie. Then she shrugged and wiped her face on her sleeve. “You could tell Mrs. Jay ‘bout all this. Ya’ know she’d make sure none of that bunch wins.”

Ezzy frowned. “I don’t think they deserve that. They weren’t trying to drive me mad, it just comes naturally.”

“To be fair, you’re halfway there on a downhill slope,” Maddy grinned.

“Yes, but I don’t need help,” Ezzy pointed out. “So how can I convince them it doesn’t matter what I think?”

“You could stay out at the farm with me ‘till the contest.” Maddy gave a sly smile. “I’ll squish over real far in the bed, ya’ won’t even know I’m there.”

Ezzy blushed, knowing that it would be impossible not to know that Maddy was in the same bed with her. But that did give her a thought that was, surprisingly, totally unrelated to Maddy.

“I think I have an idea. I’m going to find Mrs. Jay and have a talk with her.”

“I reckon your idea ain’t us sleepin’ in the same bed?” Maddy teased.

Ezzy rolled her eyes with a smile. “No, it is not.”

Maddy smirked and leaned her chair back again, stretching her arms over her head. “Then I like my idea better, whatever yours is.”

---

Ezzy had had a busy afternoon yesterday, hurrying from Mrs. Jay to the other judges and explaining her idea. But it was worth it, because it meant that when Vanessa came storming up on to the porch, Ezzy could sit quietly and roll freshly washed bandages without fear of being accosted with blueberry pie.

“Ezzy, darlin’, this is a disaster!” Vanessa said, falling dramatically back in a chair.

“I take it you heard about the change in the contest.” Ezzy continued her work, barely raising an eyebrow.

“Of course I did! It’s all anyone’s talkin’ about.” Vanessa crossed her arms, pouting. “It just doesn’t seem fair!”

Ezzy offered a sympathetic smile. “It’s actually more fair. If the pies are anonymous, none of the judges can be swayed. Anyone could judge this way, without worrying about them playing favorites.”

“But no one’s gonna know about all the hard work I put into fixin’ up my recipe,” Vanessa grumbled.

Ezzy raised her eyebrows. “I think everyone already knows about that, Vanessa. You’ve made sure of it.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “The judges won’t when they’re eatin’ it!”

“If it tastes as good as you claim, I’m sure they’ll notice," Ezzy pointed out.

“It’s still not fair,” Vanessa said, sitting up and smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress.

Ezzy nodded sagely, trying not to smirk. “Yes, well, sometimes we all face hardships in life.”

“Don’t I know it.” Vanessa nodded in agreement, then she gave a heavy sigh. “Between Mike and Carolyn, I guess my life is full up on hardships.”

“At least Carolyn is in the same boat,” Ezzy offered as consolation as she set aside a rolled bandage and started on another.

“She doesn’t approve either, ya’ know.” Vanessa frowned. “She says it's not how we always did it.”

Ezzy shrugged. “Well, you know how she is.”

“I sure do. And…” Vanessa trailed off as she seemed to realize for the first time that she was siding with Carolyn on a matter of innovation. Her expression changed as she reconsidered. “I guess new ideas aren’t all bad. I bet this is how they do contests in the big city, where folks wouldn’t even know who to say howdy to.”

“I’d imagine so,” Ezzy agreed, smiling.

Vanessa smiled and settled back, relaxing. She waved a hand. “Carolyn’s just fussin’ about nothin’. And… oh, Ezzy! I just thought, in the magazines they had some pictures of pies with real fancy patterns on the crusts! If I do mine up nice, it’ll really stand out, and everyone’ll know it’s mine ‘cause none of the rest of ‘em would do somethin’ that fancy.”

“Well, that’s… an idea,” Ezzy said, blinking. She smirked down at the bandage she was rolling. “You know, I don’t think anyone will even notice the new judging.”

Vanessa gave a sigh. “It’s just a shame I spent all that time bakin’ pies this week for nothin’.”

“I suppose at least you’ve had a lot of good pie to eat.” She finished rolling a bandage and set it aside. As she moved to pick up another one, she noticed Vanessa was frowning darkly.

“Don’t even remind me!” Vanessa moaned. “I can’t stand blueberry pie!”