That was not what I expected. Somehow I couldn’t imagine Morris at a house party knocking back beers. Maybe he meant like a dinner party?

“Did you ask her to dance?” Ruby asked dreamily. I could tell she was picturing some black-and-white movie scene.

“What? No. I’m a terrible dancer. I couldn’t let her see that. No, no. She got drunk and kissed me and I had to carry her home. The next day I brought her a seltzer and some aspirin and we were married a year later.”

“That’s . . . er . . . so romantic.” Ruby faltered. She would not look me in the eye.

“How many kids did you have?”

“We had twin boys about six months after that. And now you know why we got married so quick.” Morris tapped his nose.

I couldn’t help it. I snorted.

“I didn’t believe in soul mates before I met her. But you know, we didn’t spend a night apart from the wedding until the day she passed. Sometimes life knows what you need better than you do.” Morris fell silent then. Ruby coughed and busied herself with clearing up and I thought she was trying not to cry. A second later the moment was broken by Janet’s giddy voice.

“All right, class. Your pies should be cool enough. Let’s find out how you did. I for one simply cannot wait another second.” She rubbed her hands together and made a beeline for one of the kiss-ass couples. I noticed the couple in front of them rolling their eyes at each other.

“Moment of truth,” I said, and hovered a sharp knife above our glistening, glazed pie. Then I cracked. The pressure was too much.

“I can’t do it, you do it.”

Ruby ignored the knife and stuck a fork into the center of the pie. She swallowed a mouthful. She chewed. I waited. She swallowed.

“Um . . . it’s . . . Did you forget anything?”

“What, no? What’s wrong with it?” I took the fork from her hand and took a piece of the pie for myself.

It wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t really very nice either. It was nothing. It tasted like nothing.

“The curse. The curse got me. I am genetically incapable of making food that tastes of anything,” I lamented.

Ruby rubbed me consolingly on the back. “It wasn’t just you. I made it too.”

“My powers are so great they even canceled out your input.”

“It’s OK. We’ll try something easier next time,” she continued, patting me on the back as I slumped onto a stool. “Like soup. From a can.”

I laughed a sad little hiccup laugh and peered over Morris’s shoulder at his pie.

“How did yours turn out, then?”

“Do you think your presence ruined his too?” Ruby nudged me, grimacing.

“You can’t try mine,” he said, shielding it protectively, “I need it for tonight.”