The faithfulness to these characters is superb. The clarity in which you write them makes it seem like you're in their (fictional) heads. I love the dialogue, the scene-setting (I feel like I'm there) - basically everything in this story. I wish you had written more than six stories!

Beautiful story, I've read it many times!

Ahh...very nice. Such a great wrap-up to an episode that was sorely needing it. I'm so glad the guys let you listen in on their conversations. A favorite line:

"Sonny’s failure to come clean about his role in the safecracking left McCormick relatively unmoved, but if he couldn’t count on the truth from Hardcastle he thought it just might finish him."

Sort of just encapsulates the whole thing for me. Thanks for sharing!

Wonderful! You are such a talented writer who really knows the characters. I am always so happy to read stories where Mark learns (or finally realizes) just how much he means to the Judge. Tomorrow morning, I'm making chocolate chip pancakes.

THANKS...and keep them coming :-)

Oh, this was fun! I knew this conversation had to happen, and in my head I thought about how it could go down a number of times, but the picture you painted was just so very Milt and Mark...really true to character. Very enjoyable, thank you!

“‘Did I use buttermilk,’” McCormick sniffed. “Of course. What do you think I am, a savage?”

LOL! Good banter, good insight, good everything - well done :-)

Just great.

No matter what happens in his life Mark McCormick knows Judge Hardcastle and him are very good friends and Milt will always be there for him no matter what the situation may well be.

JeanneZ84

I am hard-pressed to say which bit I liked best-there are so many to choose from. The description/metaphor right at the beginning was terrific. The banter delightful, the discussion cogent, and the running parallels between Sonny and Hardcastle excellent. The insights both men had, and the resolution-all very satisfying.

I really enjoyed every word of it.

I don't look at the Sonny storyline quite the way that most folks do, so I tend to approach any "Ties"-related stories with just a little bit of trepidation. But I should have known I could trust your take on the subject, with McCormick understandably down, but not out by a long shot; Hardcastle trying to weigh both sides of the case fairly, based on the information at hand; and their conversation on the subject coming to a believable and imminently satisfying conclusion. You definitely have a handle on these characters, as well as a truly enviable aptitude for plotting and description. I do hope to see more from you in the near future, 'cause gifts like yours sure don't need to be squandered!

“And at least now I know where I stand with him, and with…well. I know where I stand.”

Hardcastle folded his arms across his chest and leaned back. “Would that be anywhere near the stove?”

Delightfully bittersweet at every turn...like the line above...

Nice look into 'what happened' after the episode!

I love this! I love the title, the subject matter, the conversation, the fact that food is involved, everything about it, up to and including the fact that we have a new writer who doesn't rest on the the laurels of a first story. The dialogue is convincingly Hardcastle and McCormick and the story as a whole is obviously carefully thought out and handled with a real feeling for the characters.

_Very_ well done and I'm looking forward to more. Soon, I hope!