“There is a way. We eat, go back to the shop, pay for the fix with my card, and go back to the hotel room — where we left your dog, might I add.”
“She’s fine. Watered, fed, walked, and probably sprawled out on my bed by now.”
“Still, they don’t have a cash prize. Might have to break the rules just this once,” he teased.
I sighed, pushing the breath through flat lips. It was all too easy, and not at all fun, but if they didn’t pay the winner of the contest, my idea was pretty much shot.
I was just about to give in when it hit me.
Maybe they won’t pay us if we win, but what if…
“Can I borrow this?” I asked the hostess, pointing to a white bucket filled with paper menus and crayons for kids.
She definitely thought I was insane.
“Uh, sure?” she said, her accent thick as she peered over her shoulder at the other hostess who had joined her, both of them shrugging.
“Thanks.” I grabbed the bucket and pulled the menus and crayons out, making sure they were neat and tidy on the side of the hostess stand before making my way toward an empty table right in the middle of the restaurant. Emery called out my name but I didn’t stop, so he followed, and my heart beat thick and fast in my throat as I climbed on top of an empty chair. I made sure I was balanced and sturdy on both legs and then I stood, booth after booth turning their attention to me.
“What are you doing?” Emery whisper-yelled at me through the corner of his mouth, but I ignored him, shaking slightly as I forced a smile.
“Ladies and gentlemen of Big Earl’s Wing House, may I have your attention for just a moment?”
Those who weren’t already staring at me paused, some of them mid-bite, some of them drinking beer from glasses shaped like cowboy boots, and all of them looking at me with curious eyes, including the hostess we’d left behind us.
I cleared my throat, wringing my already damp hands together. “My name is Cooper and this is my friend, Emery. Say hi, Emery.”
He waved, his smile tight as he watched me.
“Emery and I are on our way up to Washington, but our car broke down, and now we’re in a predicament trying to get back on the road.”
“No, we’re not,” Emery argued under his breath.
Again, I ignored him.
“Now I know you all have places to be, and I know the last thing you expected was some…” I laughed, gesturing to myself. “Some little girl from Alabama standing on a chair, asking for your help, but here I am.” A few people chuckled, and I used those laughs as fuel for hope. “Some of you may have heard of Big Earl’s Wing Challenge.”
Whistles and hollers rang out from various booths, others looking around confused. I could tell just from that who the locals were and who was passing through.
“Well, my friend Emery here is ready to take the challenge. But,” I added, holding up one finger. “That all depends on y’all. You see, right now you’re just getting dinner — which is great, I can tell just from the way it smells — but for a small donation to get us back on the road, you could have dinner and a show.” I glanced down at Emery before holding up my hand to hide my mouth from him, pretending to whisper, but loud enough that everyone could hear. “And between you and me, Emery here’s a wuss, so it would definitely be a good show.”
More laughs surrounded us as Emery crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head at me, though I saw the smile he hid.
“So, what do you say, folks?” I hollered, standing straighter and holding the empty bucket into the air. “Are we going to have to hitchhike our way across the great US of A, or are y’all ready for a show?”
I expected a roaring round of applause and cheers, but instead I was met with silence, someone coughing near the front door as everyone else looked around, most of them avoiding my eyes. My cheeks flushed red with heat and I glanced at Emery, who was still shaking his head.
He was right. This was insane.
Emery reached a hand up, ready to help me down from the chair as I offered an embarrassed smile to the ones still looking at me. But just as I stepped down, a loud whistle came from the back of the restaurant.
Emery and I both turned, along with the rest of the joint, to find an older man seated in the far back booth holding up a twenty-dollar bill in his hands. He wore a Navy Veteran hat and a grin.
“Let’s get him a bib, boys.”
His buddies cheered, all of them digging into their wallets for cash, too.
And that’s all it took.
Every booth joined in on the cheers as the hostesses cleared off a table in the center, seating Emery down and prepping the table with wet naps. I took the bucket through the crowd, gathering the cash as Emery watched me. I gave him a thumbs up sign with smile too big for my face as I held up the bucket for him to see. He just laughed, tucking the bib they handed him into his shirt with a promise for paybacks on his lips.
Twenty wings in, Emery hated me.
The entire restaurant was gathered around him, chanting his name and promising him beers to celebrate the win. His beautiful lips were slathered in different colored sauces, his hands covered in the same, and his eyes were murderous on me, though he was still smiling.
“Come on, guys. Keep up the energy!” I encouraged, and more people chanted his name as he picked up the twenty-first wing, getting hotter with each bite as he neared the Inferno.
“This is impossible,” he said when he finished that one, staring at the four left in the basket in front of him. “My mouth is on fire.”
His eyes were red and watery, his shoulders slumped until the guy with the Navy hat clapped him on the back and rubbed some life back into those shoulders.
“Come on, kid! You can do it!”
The crowd cheered with him, and I just laughed as Emery shot more daggers straight at my forehead.
He cursed.
He screamed.
He nearly cried.
But by God, he did it.
When he opened his mouth and showed the last of the twenty-fifth wing was gone, the restaurant erupted into a battle cry of sorts as two waitresses rushed in, one with a tall glass of milk to ease the burn and the other with his victory t-shirt. They snapped a picture of him with us all standing around, and even though I knew he was hurting, he smiled through it all.
When the pictures were taken and the chaos died down, I stood on the chair again, thanking the crowd. They all wished us well, and when Emery helped me down from the chair, he didn’t say a word, but he watched me with a mixture of awe and hatred.
“You did great,” I tried, nudging him with my elbow. “Wear that t-shirt with pride.”
A short, almost silent laugh came from his lips, but his eyes were still on mine, something there that wasn’t before. “You’re something else, you know that?”
I blushed, hands reaching back to pull my hair over one shoulder. Before I could answer, the man in the Navy hat who’d started it all came up beside us.
“Thanks for a fun evening,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. “I’m John, by the way. I frequent this place, so if you ever come back through town again, make sure you stop in to say hi.”
Emery nodded, reaching out to shake John’s hand. “Will do, sir. Thanks again for supporting our crazy idea.”