Liz Marvin - Betty Crawford 03 - Too Long at the Fair by Liz Marvin Read Free Book Online Page A

of food but there’s more coming so just be patient for a few more minutes.”  Bill joined him.  “We’ve sent someone next door to check on supplies right now!”
     
    Betty paused at the tent’s entrance long enough to shoot him an incredulous look.  Bill, grim faced, just nodded.  Betty nodded back and stepped inside followed by Addie and Clarise
     
    They were met with chaos. 
     
    The back of the tent was shredded with three large gashes that ran from the roof line to the ground.  The tables were surrounded by contestants and their families.  Men were either yelling for the police or someone, anyone in authority or milling about silently but clearly just as angry with their fists stuffed deep into their pockets.  Women and children were crying and everywhere food displays were damaged or destroyed.
     
    “What happened?” Clarise asked, awestruck by the carnage.
     
    “I’d say somebody snuck in and vandalized the place.”
 
    “But why?  And why wasn’t anyone here?”
     
    “That’s what I’d like to know.  Where’s Thelma?” Betty asked
     
    “That’s what we all want to know!” An angry man stood beside an oversized steel serving tray filled to overflowing with barbecue meat.  “And where have you been?  Look at this!  Just look at it!”
     
    Betty obliged. It looked delicious.  She dipped her finger in and tasted. It was good.  “So?  What seems to be the problem?”
     
    This just infuriated the man even more.  “Problem! It’s been ruined!  Somebody mixed up all the barbecues together!  There’s fifty pounds of beef ruined!”
     
    A slow smile spread over Betty’s face. “Maybe, maybe not.  Would you and the other competitors donate this to help the fair?”
     
    “Why?  It’s slop!”
     
    “Now wait a minute!  I’m a judge in this competition and I happen to know that everybody competing here is a good cook and my neighbor and I won’t stand by and let you disparage them or their cooking by calling it slop. Win or lose I’d break bread with all of them and I hope you feel the same!”
     
    The man took a step back. “I wasn’t saying they’re not good cooks at all I was just saying that our recipes don’t necessarily mix together right.  Honest.”
     
    “Well I say they do!” Betty raised her voice “I know you’ve all been violated and you’re all disappointed but there’s a group of people, strangers, that have come to our fair and been robbed.  They’ve been violated and they’re disappointed too but they’re alone and far from home with nowhere to turn.   We can’t fix that but we can let them know we care and they aren’t alone. Will you do that?”
     
    A reluctant and somewhat halfhearted cheer rose from the crowd.  Betty accepted it as an assent. 
     
    “Then I need two hundred pieces of corn bread and two hundred slices of pie or cake and I don’t care how you patch them together and -” she pointed to the kettle of barbecue “two hundred servings of barbecue!”  Let’s go!  Start plating meals! 
     
    “Sheesh.  Winning that pie eating contest has sure gone to her head!”
     
    “More like her big behind!”
     
    “Hush!”
     
    Betty ignored them all but was pleased to see almost everyone forming themselves into groups and carrying out her instructions with only a modicum of grousing.  The man she had first confronted sidled up to her.  “They don’t mean nothing. Just grumbling.”
     
    “I know.  Thanks for pitching in.”
     
    “Mind you, I’d be griping too if you weren’t so gol danged right.”  He said it with a smile and a hug and a pat on the back.  He went to work and in no time had the barbecue portion of the plating process running like clockwork. 
     
    Betty looked around and spotted Clarise and Addie in the far corner.  Clarise was comforting the young girl.  Something more than the pie was gone but she didn’t have time to stick around and find out what it was.  She was certain