Chapter Two, Into the West, American Night
A few days later, Becker walked into the hub.
"America night, Jess. Everything, ready?"
"Yes," said Jess. "I hope Lester is up to it."
"What?" asked Becker.
"He's helping with the entertainment. I hope he can do it."
"You could tell me, you know."
Jess smiled. "No, it's a surprise. So is your entertainment outfit."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, you, and Abby, Em, Connor, and Matt are participating this time, and I've arranged for you to all be suitably dressed."
"You're going to make us participate in something, but you won't tell us what?"
"Right."
"I don't like it."
Jess laughed. "Trust me," she said, and to make him trust her, she got up from the ADD and kissed him tenderly. "You're in good hands."
Becker's eyebrow went up.
"Miss Parker! Get up here now! You got me into this, you can explain it. My god, it's another language!" shouted Lester.
"Later, sweetie," she said.
Jess was busy the rest of the day on canteen business. She spent an hour with Lester, helping him prepare, and then she decorated the canteen.
With the barbecue, and the southern dishes, and the secret entertainment, Jess decided to decorate the canteen like the American West. She had hay bales placed in the entrance, and she managed to find some old wagon wheels. She placed fake flowers with the wheels and put fake chickens with the hay bales. Maintenance carved some cow and buffalo silhouettes out of wood for her. She stuck them on the walls.
"Hey, babe," said Becker, as he, Matt, and Connor strolled in.
"Time to barbecue," said Connor.
"I can't wait to inhale some smoke," said Matt.
Jess followed them into the kitchen. "Are you sure about this? Bernie, how is your fire insurance?"
Bernie laughed. "My staff will be assisting them, Miss Parker. Don't worry, plus we have fresh batteries in all the fire alarms, and I am fully insured."
Jess sighed.
"Thanks for the faith, Jess," said Becker, putting on his apron.
Jess giggled. "Watch who you let read that apron," she said, doing as the apron said, and kissing him.
He smirked. "To the barbecue!"
"Where are you doing it at? Surely, not inside?"
"We're grilling inside on indoor grills, but the barbecues however, are set up in the car park," said Bernie.
She shook her head as she watched them, with several canteen workers exit the canteen, all carrying barbecue utensils, food, and supplies.
"Please don't get burned," she whispered.
"Here, this will help," said Bernie, giving her several American chocolate bars.
"It will! Thank you."
Jess tried an American snickers bar, with caramel, peanuts and chocolate. "Yum!"
She tried a Reese's peanut butter cup, peanut butter encased in a chocolate 'cup.' "Weird, but good."
She tried a plain Hershey's milk chocolate bar. "Not as sweet, but good."
Finally, she ate an American Three Musketeers, which was a chocolate covered nougat bar. "Delicious."
She went in to the kitchen to report to Bernie. "I have yet to meet a chocolate bar I don't like," she told him proudly. "Thank you."
Bernie smiled and laughed. "I'm glad you are less anxious."
Jess nodded. "I'd be even better if I could forget the guys are standing over flames as we speak."
"They handle prehistoric and future creatures daily, Miss Parker. I believe they'll be fine."
"I hope so, Bernie. I guess I'll get changed," she said.
She then went to change into her first American outfit. She wore a short denim skirt, a light blue cotton denim shirt, and topped the outfit off with a bright yellow cowboy hat and matching cowboy boots.
Becker strolled in carrying a black crusted piece of chicken.
"It's burnt!" she cried.
"It is not," he said, tersely. "It's perfect!"
Connor came in next with an equally black set or ribs, and right behind him came Matt, holding a plate of black sausages.
"They're inedible!" cried Jess
"You lot don't know what good is," said Connor.
"Really," said Becker. "This is man food."
"For extremely skinny, un-hungry men," said Jess.
The men scoffed.
Just then, Abby came in to the canteen.
"Abby, come over here and tell Jess how good the food looks," said Connor.
Abby wrinkled up her nose. "I have eaten worse, but I had no other choice," she said.
Jess giggled.
"Not the answer I wanted Abby," said Connor, offended.
"You're not making us eat those," said Abby. "I refuse."
"I don't think you girls are getting in the spirit, here," said Matt.
"I don't think you are," said Jess. "I doubt this is really American barbecue."
"Of course it is!" cried all three men.
Bernie hurried into the canteen dining room to see what the commotion was. He tried not to, but he could not keep from laughing when he saw the burned food.
"It's harder than it looks," he said simply.
"What? I think it's perfect," said Becker.
Jess shook her head. "Sorry, sweetie, but I'm not eating that."
"Fine. More for me."
"Yeah, since you girls don't know what's good," said Connor.
The boys took their platters and sat down, each one intending to eat their platters by themselves.
Bernie smiled and motioned for the ladies to come over to him.
"Some people do like their barbecue and grilled meat...well done. However, true barbecue must be slow cooked, so we have been working on some dishes that the men," he glanced at Becker, Connor, and Matt, "started this morning, and we have been watching for them."
"That's a relief," said Jess.
"Will they be edible?"
"Yes, Miss Maitland. I have sampled them and they are extraordinary."
The men scoffed.
"And you doubted us," said Becker, chewing on burned chicken.
"How can you eat that?" asked Jess.
"We told you," he said, "It's man food."
"It's ash," said Abby.
Matt grunted. "Women."
Connor agreed as they each ate their black meat.
"Yuck," said Abby.
Emily walked in carrying a platter of perfectly grilled salmon.
"Did you cook that?" asked Jess.
"I did. I thought the men were...over grilling."
The men snorted.
"It looks wonderful," said Abby.
"The canteen staff have other dishes, as well. They are not black," said Emily.
The girls chuckled.
The canteen staff that had left with the ARC team entered, each carrying a grilled, but not burned dish.
Bernie set out the other dishes, including the slow roasted, barbecued meats with sauce, the fried chicken, the mashed potatoes, fried okra, onion fritters, corn fritters, sweet apple fritters, and corn on the cob.
Abby cheered when Ryan brought out moist, perfectly charboiled hamburgers.
"That smells heavenly," said Abby.
"I have all the fixings, as you requested Miss Mailand," said Ryan, "as well as several cheeses, including an orange variety called American."
Connor ran over, "Bacon?" he asked.
Ryan smiled. "Yes, Connor, we fried lots of crsipy bacon."
"Yay," said Connor, making a cheese, bacon burger.
"It'll be better that that ash you were eating," said Abby, sinking her teeth into a hamburger. "Delicious."
"Very good," agreed Connor, chewing his burger too. "The barbecue WAS good too, though."
Abby shook her head.
"Mr. Temple?" asked Bernie, handing Connor a small brown bottle. "Your root beer, imported from the States."
"Cool!" He popped off the lid, and took a generous gulp. "Ah! That's the stuff."
Jess came over with a bottle too. "Here Connor. I don't like it," she said, giving him a near full bottle of root beer.
"Thanks," he said.
Jess said, "I'll stick to American chocolate. It wasn't bad."
Becker scoffed. "Have you ever met a chocolate you didn't like?"
"That's what I said to Bernie," she said. "You know me so well," she said, sitting beside her boyfriend.
"Sure you don't want some?" he asked, offering her black meat.
"No thank you. The fried chicken is more my taste. It's divine, Bernie."
"Thank you, Miss Parker. Enjoy dinner," he said, helping himself to a tall pile of slow barbecued pork, slathered with sauce. "It's been a while since I've had authentic American barbecue."
"Pace yourself, man," said Lester, sitting beside Bernie. He had a plastic bib on over his shirt and tie, his sleeves were rolled up and his face dripping with sauce. "Best ribs ever," he said. "I am quite content."
Bernie laughed at the sight of his barbecued boss. "Shall we toast to America?" he asked Lester, raising a beer bottle.
"Just this once," said Lester, clinking his bottle to Bernie's.
End of Chapter Two