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Frank couldn't tell if it was sweat rolling down his back or if he just didn't sufficiently dry off after his shower. His trailer didn't have air conditioning and in this Mississippi humidity, it was almost unbearable. Funny thing was - it was only 8:30 AM - and it was already so muggy that birds would fly with one wing just so they could fan themselves with the other. He needed to finish getting dressed and get to work, it was his third week there.
Walking the 3 miles to work on State Hwy 42 was all flat, but in this heat, it felt like 300 miles. Still, he made it to Petunia's on time. He was the sole cook for Petunia Pig's Hickory Smoked BBQ in Bergenville, MS. It had won the distinct award of Best BBQ in the State of Mississippi since it opened in 2006. Annie Pearl, the owner, was a hurricane Katrina transplant who had seen enough flooding, high crime and chaos that Nawlin's had to offer. At 44, she had decided to start over. She had bought this place with FEMA money, and remodeled it to include a two-bedroom apartment upstairs. She had lived there with her sister, Talia, for three years. Business was so good that she had been able to buy a house in town, and was quite content with her new hometown community.
His shift started at 9 AM, when he would enter through the back, and begin pulling all of the pork and beef off of the ribs from the smokehouse. Petunia's opened at 10:30, and there seldom wasn't a day that it wasn't packed to the gills by 11 AM. Everyone in town seemed to eat there, as the only other place to eat was Red's, which was a mediocre steakhouse on down the road towards Jackson. They closed at 7, and he would be there until 8 most nights, cleaning up and restocking the kitchen and dining room while Annie Pearl and Talia counted the money and made the deposit.
Annie Pearl and Talia guarded their seasoning rub like Coca-Cola guards it's formula. They were the only two people in the world who knew its mixture. Frank wasn't even allowed in the smokehouse, for fear he'd figure out the secret recipe and sell it to all of the bigger BBQ chains in Jackson and Hattiesburg. Not only was the flavor right, but every bite of meat was the most juicy and tender anyone had ever tasted before, thus earning her all of those awards on the wall. And the price was just right, too! $5.99 included a sandwich, side and drink, while $7.99 got you the platter with three sides, a drink and dessert. Not a bad deal at all.
The day went like any other, with the lunch rush lasting until 2 or so, then about an hour lull, and it would pick up with customers wanting an early supper or placing a pick-up order to go. They closed up promptly at 7, and Frank began his clean up process.
"Frank," Miss Annie Pearl called out. "Can you please take that last half of ribs and go on ahead and pull the meat. We got a big order in the morning, and I don't want us to get behind."
"Yes ma'am, Miss Annie P!", he answered. He was slightly annoyed, but he didn't have anywhere to be. His girlfriend, Rhonda, had left him a few months ago for community college in Hattiesburg. Her words to him still stung him as if it were yesterday. He replayed it again in his mind.
"I'm leavin' your sorry, no good ass! You have no ambition. You love this shithole of a town that has no future. I don't care that your momma left you this trailer, I'm not staying here another day!"
"What did I do?"
"Nothin'! That's the point! I want more outta life than to grow old and die in a fucking mobile home with no a/c!" She spun around to face him.
"And don't start your pity party speech, about not havin' no friends, no family and I'm all that you got. I. DON'T. CARE!" And with that, she whirled back around and grabbed her suitcase and a Walmart bag full of odds and ends.
'How did she get packed so fast', he mused. They had only been up for about 15 minutes when she had trumpeted her intentions of leaving. He was bewildered. Shock was written all over his face.
"Well, okay then. I guess you got your mind set on leaving, so there is no point in trying to stop you."
"Damn straight there ain't!"
And with that, she was out the door and cranking the Blazer. He was barely out the door when she put it in gear and spun out, headed onto the road.
Tears had welled up into his eyes just thinking about that day. He had gotten this job 2 months after the hardware store he clerked at had went out of business. He was thankful that Ms. Annie Pearl had given him a chance. It wasn't bad money for what he did, $9 an hour. And with overtime, he was bringing home $400 a week. 'No ambition!' Look at him now! He secretly hoped she failed out of community college and had to come begging him to take her back.
He had a huge chunk of meat that wouldn't seem to pull away from the bone, so the slicer would be needed to cut it off. After placing the meat on there, and setting the slicer to 1/8" thickness, he flipped the switch and it roared to life. The tray moved rhythmically back and forth, cutting away the meat.
Just as he was finishing, something scurried across his foot. Startled, he jumped, throwing off his balance. Instinctively, he threw out his arm to steady himself - except what he rested on was the slicer - and by the time he realized what happened, he was looking at his hand with two missing fingers. Blood poured out of the stubs where his fingers had once been, and he began to scream in pain.
Miss Talia was the first one to come around the corner to investigate all of the commotion, with Miss Annie Pearl right on her heels.
"I cut off my fingers!" he screamed out in pain and shock. He was holding a dish towel over his hand, and had slid down to the floor. Talia turned off the slicer, noticing his fingers sitting on the tray with the other meat.
"Okay, just calm down Frank. Annie Pearl, go bring the car around. We ain't got time to wait for an ambulance. We need to get him to a hospital now." The nearest hospital was in Jackson, a good 60 miles away. Bergenville didn't even have a Fire Department, let alone an ambulance. Miss Annie Pearl rushed out the door. Frank could hear the car driving on the gravel, approaching the back door. The screened door swung open, and the vibrations of Miss Annie Pearl walking could be felt on the floor.
He was slowly losing consciousness. He began to close his eyes.
"Here's the fingers. They look pretty good!" exclaimed Talia.
"Lemme see. Hmmm... they are good!" Miss Annie Pearl said.
'What were they doing? He needed to get to the....' and with that, the world went dark.
Frank awoke some time later lying on his back. He could tell that he was on something cold and metallic. 'Oh thank God! I'm at the hospital!' He heard voices in the background. His hand was aching. 'Couldn't they give him some pain medication? Would they be able to reattach his fingers?'
The voices went silent.
"He's awake." The voice was familiar. His eyelids were heavy, but with all of his willpower, he forced them open. He turned his head. Dread overcame him and the hair stood up on his neck and arms. He wasn't in a hospital. He could tell by the carcasses of hogs that he was in a slaughterhouse.
"Are you sure you made it look like he left?" A voice asked.
"I'm sure. I've only done this how many times now?"
He was about to vomit. The voices belonged to Talia and Annie Pearl. He tried to move, but something was holding him down. He lifted his head and saw two leather straps - one across his chest, the other across his legs - just below the knees.
Footsteps coming closer. Talia leaned over him from the right, Annie Pearl from the left. They had big smiles on their faces.
"What the fuck is going on?!!!", he shouted. "Where am I?"
"You better watch that potty mouth or I'm going to scrub it out with lye soap!" Talia said, then burst into laughter.
"Boy, you are going to win me that award again this year!" Annie Pearl beamed with radiance. "We thought we were going to have to go out of town again this year to find a youngun' to bring home, but then your clumsy ass fell right into our laps!" Her smile was so big he could see the gold fillings in her teeth.
"People know I work for you. They will be asking about me."
"Actually, they don't. You always get here before we open. You don't drive, so there's no car ever parked in the lot belonging to you. AND...you always come in and out of the back, and are never seen from the front counter. So just who knows you work here?" Annie Pearl said with a menacing and sarcastic tone.
"Why? Why me?" Frank pleaded.
"Oh baby. It wasn't that we chose you - it's that the Voodoo gods were good enough to save us some gas and some time - by delivering you to our doorstep. You don't have no family. No friends. Hell, you don't even have a damn cell phone."
Frank vomited. He inhaled some accidentally and started to choke. His body went into dry heaves, causing his lungs to cough up the putrid substance. He caught his breath, his color starting to be normal again.
"There we go. Now you just hold tight baby, I need to get my extension cord," Talia said with an almost caring tone. She walked out of view and he could hear her opening a door and shuffling around inside some unseen room.
He began to cry. Pangs of desperation set in. He didn't want to go out like this. Suddenly, he wanted more than anything else to leave Bergenville, and find Rhonda. The realization of his impending and imminent death set in. Adrenaline activated his instinct of fight or flight, his brain choosing the latter.
"Fuck you, you crazy bitch!"
"Whoa!!!! Look who dropped the good boy act to suddenly decide he gone try and whup my ass!" Annie Pearl exclaimed.
She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Baby, I didn't know you had it for me.." she rubbed her hand over his crotch. She could feel him wince . "But I'm going to fuck you right over into hell.", her hot breath invading his ear with every word.
He seemed to be even more angry. He fought and struggled against the straps.
"Okay, I think I'm all set up." Talia was back. She was wearing a blue plastic apron of some sort and a shielded face mask. She wielded what looked like a circular saw, the jagged silver edges of its blade resembling the teeth of some flesh-eating monster from a B-movie. She gave him an expression of 'are you ready?' with an exaggerated facial expression, her gloved thumb positioned upwards.
"Just hold still, and this won't take long," she said. Like a predator going in for the kill, the saw made contact with his arm at the elbow. The giant teeth were chewing through his muscle and tendons with ease, almost like a butcher knife through jello.
Frank screamed a scream that seemed to echo throughout the entire building.
And with that, Frank faded out and crossed over to the other side. There was no light or warmth, no angels welcoming him to heaven. Just a cold, pitch black void.
Sheriff O'dell was the first customer the next day. He walked into the cool air conditioning. A wave of cool, relaxing air washed over his body like a waterfall. All of his muscles seemed to sigh in relief harmoniously. Someone was in the back singing.
"Zip a dee doo dah, zip a dee aay! My oh my what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine, headin' my way. Zip a dee doo dah, zip a dee aay! Mr. Bluebirds' on my shoulder...." Miss Annie Pearl rounded the corner from the kitchen, suddenly stopping her rendition of a classic.
"Oh! Morning Sheriff! I didn't hear you come in. You want the usual today? We just got in a fresh slab of meat yesterday. It's been smoking all night and all morning. Tryin' to get this catering order put together for the Y over in Yazoo City, it's their first day of summer swim lessons."
"The usual will be fine, thanks. I ain't ever heard you sing like that before. You're in a good mood today! What's the occasion?"
"Baby, when you are blessed to get the quality of meat we just got, you just be as happy as a pig in mud! Next week they'll be comin' round to judge my cookin'. I got it in the bag again this year!" She proclaimed confidently. "Talia, we need a pork platter with baked beans, okra and macaroni and cheese, and use that fresh meat we just got in! He wants to be the first to try it!"
"Comin' right up!" Talia replied.
"Okay, baby. That'll be $4.50 with your police discount, please sir."
"I already got it ready for you," he said as he slid four $1 bills and two quarters across the counter.
"Thank you, sir! We'll have that right out to you. Help yourself to the sweet tea over yonder."
"Yes ma'am! But I can already tell it ain't gone be half as sweet as you two ladies!"
"Awww, you know how to make a woman feel special, you handsome thang!" She gave him a big smile and a quick wink.
He sauntered over to the drink station and filled his cup with ice and sweet tea. He took three or four large gulps, and then refilled it to the top. He had just gotten seated when Talia and Miss Annie Pearl set his plate down in front of him. He almost started drooling from the smell alone.
The ladies walked around and sat down across from him, their eyes shining with anticipation.
"Alright. Let's see what all this hubbalub was about." He took a big bite of the bbq meat.
"Oh. My. Goodness! This is the best damn BBQ I've ever tasted in my life!" He quickly jammed another heaping into his mouth almost in sync with swallowing the first bite.
"You gotta give me the recipe sometime for this. I promise not to tell anyone. You have my word!"
"I wish I could, but unfortunately, it's our secret recipe." Talia said flatly. "But if we ever decide to divulge it, you'll be the first to know how we do it." Her eyes had mischief dancing in her pupils.
"Fair enough. Hey, I just noticed you have a help wanted sign. What happened to the cook you had?"
"Oh, well she flew the coup. She wasn't very dependable anyway. Too young and immature." Annie Pearl explained.
"If you know of anybody, send 'em our way, would ya?" Talia asked. "We'd be grateful, and we might even throw in a pound or so of that meat you like so much there as a thank you. But NO we will not give you our recipe!" Talia cackled and patted him on his arm.
"I'll do that! And I know I know. It's your SECRET RECIPE..." he said through a mouthful of half-chewed fried okra.
The sisters smiled, "You got it! Let us know if you need anything. Otherwise, we need to finish that order." And with that, they disappeared into the kitchen.
'How did lil 'ol Bergenville get so lucky to have those two fine ladies?' He shook his head in wonderment.