“And here comes Jonno Forbes, attempting a personal best of thirty-five feet and three inches,” the announcer’s voice boomed with enthusiasm. The crowd cheered encouragement as the man stabbed the pitchfork into the bag and took a few deliberate steps away from the posts. His back to the bar, Jonno paused, took a deep breath, and then swung the bag sideways three times before jerking the fork upward and behind him to release the sheaf. It launched into the air. The women from Stony Point cheered with the rest of the crowd as the sheath arced perfectly over the bar with inches to spare.
As the man ran under the bar, his fisted hands raised in triumph, Annie turned to Peggy and said, “I can see why Wally didn’t want to miss this. How fun to watch!”
“What you might not be able to tell from here is how heavy those sheaves are,” Alice told her. “They weigh twenty pounds!”
Peggy’s mouth formed an O. “That takes some serious muscle! Over thirty-five feet!”
“Did you see how he had room to spare?” Alice shook her head in wonder. “They could have set the bar even higher, and it still would have made it.”
Familiar voices came from behind them. “Did you see that?” Wally blurted, too excited to bother with a greeting.
“Daddy, do they always toss the sheaf from behind their backs like he did?” Emily asked, hugging her father.
Wally wrapped his arms around his daughter. “Mr. Mayor and I have watched several so far, and they’ve all done it the same way.”
“I’m glad we got here in time to experience it,” said Annie. “Is Hep competing in this?” She looked first at Wally and then at Ian.
Peggy added, “Yeah—did you talk to him?”
The two men glanced at one another and broke into laughter. “No, Hep doesn’t do the sheaf toss,” Ian gasped in between guffaws.
Wally composed himself long enough to answer his wife’s question. “Yes, we talked to Hep.” He struggled to keep from more laughter.
The women stared at the two men as they let their laughter play out. Once the level of hilarity had lowered to the point of silly grins, all four females spoke in one unified voice.
“WHAT?”
14
“Sorry about that,” said Wally, looking genuinely contrite. “Hep is a really funny guy.”
“A funny guy who should probably make the switch to stand-up comedy and stay away from hefting heavy objects,” Ian added. The puzzled female faces around him made Ian continue. “We’d better tell you the whole story.”
Alice crossed her arms. “We would appreciate that.” A collective and sympathetic groan sounded from the crowd around them as the bar fell off its perch, falling to the ground along with the sheaf. Shoulders slumping and pitchfork dragging the ground, the competitor slunk over to pick up the burlap bag.
“We might want to move away from the action,” Ian suggested.
Wally surveyed their surroundings and then gestured behind Ian. “How about under those trees back there?” The friends relocated before taking up their discussion again.
“So Hep is funny but … ?” Alice prompted the men to continue their story.
Wally nodded. “We have some information from guys who have known him since he was a little kid. The funny part we could figure out for ourselves after talking with the man for a while.”
“We’ll take your word on the funny part, unless Hep uses it to disarm folks—put them off their guard, you know.” Annie pondered the possibility. “After all, it’s pretty clear some of the folks here haven’t exactly been forthcoming with their information. Some have probably outright lied.”
Peggy set her bag down by her feet, where it slumped as though tired from the day’s activities. “Yeah, like Mr. MacTavish. He seemed so nice, but he didn’t say anything about the ferrule having a custom design.” She paused. “Unless it was the vendor at Kit and Caboodle who wasn’t telling the truth.”
“I don’t think Hep’s like that,” Wally declared. He looked at Ian for collaboration.
Ian wiped his forehead. “In politics you either learn to read people, or you can’t serve them. My gut instinct agrees with Wally about Hep. Especially after hearing stories from some of the other athletes.”
“What did they say?” asked Alice.
Before answering, Ian asked if they would all like to sit down. Peggy answered, “Nah, we sat at the kilt demo and at the harpers’ building, and we have the ride home. I’d rather stand.” The other women showed their agreement with Peggy, and since Emily was always moving, her preference was a given.