Barbeque Day

A Short Story

 

Grandma Prentiss set down the freshly baked apple pie on the picnic table as her daughter-in-law Janice spread the tablecloth.  The grandchildren ran about underneath the red and yellow maples of autumn.

“My, oh my Mom.”  Janice breathed in deeply. “What an absolutely gorgeous day for the barbecue!”

“Oh yes.  Indeed.”  Grandma Prentiss smiled.  “I remember years when the town council had to postpone Barbecue Day because the weather was so awful.  But not this year.”

One of the grandchildren, Lizzy ran up to the table.

“Mom!  Look!”  She laughed as she cradled in her arms a dozen or so round, gray and black stones.  “Rick found a whole pile of stones from last year that somebody hid in the woods.  Now we got them!”

“Okay.” Janice called out to her as she ran off again.  “Just be careful not to get dirty.  Those are your good shoes!”

Grandma Prentiss laughed as she smoothed out the tablecloth and began to place plates, silverware and napkins on the table.

“Oh, this is the most favorite time of year I expect for children, except for Christmas.”

“Yes, yes.” Janice smiled.  “They get so excited this time of year.   They can just hardly wait for this day to happen – just like Christmas.  I’ve just had my hands full all week long with those two, getting them to settle down about Barbecue Day.  Now Lizzy!”  She called out.  “You be careful of snakes!”

“Oh it’s too cold now-a-days for snakes.”  Grandma laughed.  “Any self-respecting snake’s probably got a cozy cave someplace to sleep off the winter.”

“Well.” Janice bit her lip looking out into the park where the children ran, and screamed.  “I still worry about them anyway.”

“When’s Tom get here?”

“Oh he’ll be here soon.  Just before they start drawing names.  You know how it is when you’re an EMT.  You’re on duty even on holidays.  I hope we have a big barbecue this year.  It looks like almost the whole town is here today!”

“Yes.  I do too.  It’s always a big disappointment on barbecue day, to just get a smidgen each.  It’s always so good, especially with the barbecue sauce this year!  She laughed; bringing out a Mason jar filled with a dark, brown thick liquid.

“Oh Mom!  Your prize-winning barbecue sauce!”  Janice picked up the jar and examined it closely.  “I’m so glad that you won this year!  Now we get to be the family with the best sauce in town!”

Suddenly Rick ran up to the table, with an armload of smooth, round stones, and dumped them on the tablecloth.

“Richard!”  Janice said sharply.  “Take those dirty, rotten, old rocks off the clean tablecloth.”

“Aw, Mom!  Where am I supposed to put them so they won’t get stolen?  I got the best rocks this year and I’m keeping them!”

Janice frowned and pointed down at her feet.  Rick picked the stones off the table and began laying them down on the ground, as Janice brushed off the tablecloth in disgust.  He hefted one of the larger ones, and tossed it up a couple of times a foot or two in the air and made a couple of practice pitching motions as if the stone were a baseball.

Janice made an impatient gesture toward her son.  “Go on,” she said.  “Shoo!  Before you bean me on the head with one of those donikers!”

“Yeah!” Rick grinned, gripping the stone.  “That’s what I’m going to do this year!  Bam!  Right in the head!”

“Oh go on, go on.  Get out of here and let Grandma and me finish setting the table.  Your father will be here any minute now and the drawing of names will begin.  Look over there.  The Mayor is here already and you don’t have near enough stones for us all.  Now shoo!”

Rick ran off again and Grandma Prentiss placed the potato salad in the middle of the table covering it with a cloth.  An ambulance pulled up in the parking lot and a man in a blue uniform stepped out and waved.  Janice waved back and he gave her a hug, and a kiss, setting down his hand-held radio.

“Happy Barbecue Day,” he said.

“Happy Barbecue Day, honey.”  Janice smiled.  “How long have you got?”

“Oh about an hour.  Most everybody’s here anyway.  If we ever get any calls on Barbecue Day, it’s usually right here in the park.”  Tom stopped for a moment, and sniffed the air.  “Mm.”  He smiled.  “Smells like they got the fire lit already.

“Yes,” Grandma Prentiss smiled pleasantly.  “Janice and I were just saying that we hope it’s a big barbecue this year.”

“Me too.”  Tom rubbed his stomach.  “I’m starved.  Of course, I always make it a point to arrive hungry on Barbecue Day.  Speaking of which Mom, you are going to have some this year aren’t you?”

“Oh, I suppose – just a little.  Doctor says I’ve lost enough weight since my last appointment.”  Grandma Prentiss looked down at herself, smoothing her dress over her large abdomen.

“You don’t think I’m fat, do you?”  She asked Janice.

“No Mom, not at all.  You’re really looking slimmer now-a-days.”

“Yeah.  Pleasingly plump Ma.”  Tom grinned mischievously.

Janice hit him on the shoulder with an open mouth, as Tom laughed.

“Try to boost her confidence and look what I get.  Lot of help you are!  You should be nicer to your own mother!”

Grandma Prentiss laughed.  “Oh that’s all right, Janice, I –”

“OK folks.”  The loudspeaker interrupted.  “Happy Barbecue Day!  Let’s get started shall we?”

A cheer erupted from everywhere it seemed, as a crowd gathered around the band-shell stage in the center of the park.  Rick and Lizzy sprinted back and wordlessly scooped up the carefully gathered stones in their arms with childish glee.

Janice hit Tom one more time as he took a scoop of potato salad with his finger.

“Come on.  Come on.  Let’s go, Tarzan.  The Mayor’s waiting.”

Up on the band-shell stage stood a small gathering of the most senior members of the town, representing each of the families in town.  The Mayor held a big fishbowl filled with small rectangular pieces of paper.  Tom, Janice, and Grandma Prentiss joined the swelling, babbling, laughing crowd.  Rick and Lizzy each gave a stone to Tom, Janice, and Grandma, as the crowd gathered.  Everyone, held at least one stone, the children usually more.

“Okay!  Okay!”  The Mayor said expansively.  “Who’s it going to be this year?”  He held up the fishbowl to the small gathering of old men, and women on the stage.  Each took a piece of paper and held it down in their hand.  Finally, after each one took a scrap of paper the Mayor grinned and spoke to the now silent crowd.

“Okay,” he said ceremoniously.  “Open them up.”

In the midst of a general rustle, one of the old men on the stage groaned and held up his piece of paper with a black spot on it.

“Here it is,” he said and the rest of the town not directly related to him sighed and laughed in relief.

“Who is it?  Jacob?  Is it you, Jacob?” The Mayor motioned for the old man to step forward.  “Yes it is.  Prentiss family.  Would the Prentiss family please come up on stage?”

Tom sighed heavily and shook his head.  “That’s us,” he said.  “Come on.”

Tom, Janice, Grandma Prentiss, Rick, Lizzy and about a dozen or so other members of the Prentiss family mounted the stairs to the band-shell, respectfully allowing the senior members of the town off first.  The Mayor held another fishbowl, not quite as big as the first and smiled.  All around, the crowd milled about and laughed, calling to children who wandered off in search of more or better stones.

Finally, the Mayor held out the fishbowl to the solemn Prentiss family and smiled.  “Okay now.”  He announced, holding up his hand to settle the crowd.  “Would each head of the household please select a piece of paper?”

One by one, each family sent someone to reach into the fishbowl and select a piece of paper.

“Okay.”  The Mayor announced.  “Open your slips.”

“Oh my God.”  Tom groaned when he opened his slip and held it up before the town.  In the center of his slip was a black spot.  The rest of the members of the Prentiss family sighed with relief and left the band shell as the town cheered.

Janice gathered Rick and Lizzy close to her as Tom hung his head, his jaw muscles tightening.  From the crowd came a light-hearted buzz as here and there people smiled, laughed and pointed fingers at the people on the stage.  Soon – just Tom, Janice, Rick, Lizzy and Grandma Prentiss, stood alone with the Mayor.

“And now ladies and gentlemen.”  The Mayor smiled.  “I hold the final fishbowl.  Would each member of the family now come forward and choose a piece of paper?”

Silently, one by one, Tom, Janice, Lizzy, Rick, and Grandma Prentiss took a small slip of paper from the fishbowl and solemnly held it tightly in their sweaty palms.  After what seemed to be an eternity, the Mayor put down the fishbowl and nodded to the five people standing there on the stage before him.

“Okay,” he said quietly.  “You can open them up now.”

Quickly Tom and Janice glanced at their slips in relief, and then apprehensively looked down at their children’s slips, to finally stare back at Grandma Prentiss who hadn’t opened hers yet.  Grandma Prentiss slowly opened hers and there on her slip was a black spot.  Tom, Janice, Rick, and Lizzy backed down off the band shell, leaving Grandma Prentiss there alone with the Mayor.

The town erupted in a loud cheer of joy as each one readied their stones.  The Mayor quickly left the stage in the opposite direction, as Rick, and Lizzy ran for their small pile of stones.

“Hey!”  Someone cheered.  “We got a big barbecue this year!”

Grandma Prentiss stood alone on the band-shell and suddenly realized that at this, her last barbecue, she would never taste her own prize-winning barbecue sauce.