Page 23 of Ever's Last
I feel bad because Memphis is going to have to taste seventeen dishes. Yikes!
Horrible dishes. I agree with him, I don’t think any of them can cook, not even Skye.
Carlton calls the girls over and tells them what the task is today, and one girl actually starts crying. Oh, this will be good. Does that make me evil if I’m going to enjoy this?
One by one, they step in the coop to retrieve two eggs. Sasha gets pecked a few times and whines about being attacked.
Ariel makes a smooth entrance and exit. I told her how to avoid being pecked at. It doesn’t work all the time, but she did alright.
Another girl, Robin, makes it out unscathed.
Skye runs around screaming. Hard to believe she grew up in these parts. If her brothers are watching, they are probably shaking their heads in disbelief.
Soon all of them are done. They think the morning is over but are crestfallen when Carlton explains what’s next on their to-do list. Memphis is starting to look green, thinking about eating a bite of every dish. In a show of good faith, I hand him a shot of whiskey, water, and crackers. He squeezes my hand and smiles at me. I have to let go, even though I don’t want to.
“You will have to cook him a good breakfast. Whoever wins gets a date in the city. Dinner and dancing.” That sets the mark high and competition heats up, pun intended. I should be a comedian if all else fails, right?
I cringe when I watch one of the girls just mash the eggs together, shells and all. Another one doesn’t seed the jalapeño pepper, tossing it whole into the pan.
Another one, her egg is almost raw.
Ariel’s is the best and I know he will pick her. She told me about Brick and I hope that she gets her chance. I never had a problem with Brick. He’s always been quiet but decent.
We watch as he takes a bite from each plate. Sasha’s is the raw egg and he nearly gags. The eggshell one is Robin’s. The only one besides Ariel’s that he can stomach is Amber’s. Skye’s doesn’t even look edible. Her mother will have a hay day with that. Memphis looks like he wants to hurl.
“Memphis? Do you have a winner?”
Memphis wipes his mouth and nods.
“The winner is Ariel,” he says, and then flees.
“You must’ve made him sick,” Sasha sneers.
Ariel doesn’t look upset.
“She won, didn’t she? At least hers wasn’t raw,” I step in and say.
I couldn’t help myself.
“Oh, and you think you can do better?” Skye asks. Umm, yes, I could. She knows who my Dad is, doesn’t she? It’s in my genes.
“You know I can. All those meals Memphis brought you on your picnic dates? All me.”
She starts laughing.
“You cooked for him and he brought it to another girl. And you thought if you did that for him because you loved him, he would love you back? That’s rich. You’re clueless. He didn’t love you then and he never will.”
“I know he would never go back to you.”
“Did he ever tell you what happened after you left the fair that night?” She’s not laughing anymore. She looks scared and worried, and I don’t understand.
“What?”
“Skye, enough,” Memphis says as he joins the party, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
“She should know.” She turns and heads toward the tents.
“Memphis?”
