The Missing Dough(4)

As we balanced our plates on our laps and began to eat, David took a bite of the barbeque, savored it for a few seconds, and then asked me, “What makes this so good? It doesn’t even need any sauce.”

“That’s the work of a master,” I said. “You can taste the smoke in every bite, can’t you?”

David nodded, sampled a small bite of baked beans, and then asked me, “I heard you ask for bark. Is that the dark piece right there?”

I picked up the bark-edged piece of pulled pork with my fingers and smiled. “It’s from the outside layer, and it’s where the smoke and flavor are concentrated the most. It’s not for everyone, but there’s nothing like it as far as I’m concerned. Want a taste?”

“Sure. Why not?”

I offered a bit to David, who took it and took the smallest bite possible. “Wow, that’s intense.”

I had to laugh. “Hey, I told you that it’s not for everybody.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stick with this,” he said.

After we finished eating, we found a trash can and tossed away our plates and cups. “How about that dance now?” David asked.

“I thought you were going to leave it up to me to ask the next time.”

“I lied,” he said with a grin.

“You’re not going to stop asking until I agree to a dance, are you?”

“What can I say? I was born to boogie,” he said with a smile.

“Then lead on.”

We moved toward the crowd of dancers, and I had to admit, it felt good being in his arms once we carved out a place for ourselves. I’d missed that close contact with someone after Joe died, and it had taken me a long time to allow myself to enjoy it again.

I was just getting into the rhythm of the music when I heard a commotion not far away from us. The second I heard Maddy’s voice, I broke free of David’s grasp and started toward the ruckus.

Clearly, there was trouble, and if my sister was involved, I wasn’t going to let myself be very far away.

When we got to Maddy, I saw that the crowd had parted and that Bob and Grant were in some kind of standoff, while Maddy was trying to get in between them.

David stepped forward, and asked Bob intently, “Do you need any help?” as he stared at Grant. I’d neglected to tell my boyfriend about my sister’s ex, and I was beginning to regret the lapse.

Bob’s face was flushed, but he shook his head at the offer. “Thanks, but he’s not worth the effort from one of us, let alone both.”

“What happened?” I asked Maddy, who for once looked positively flustered by what was going on.

“Bob and I were dancing when Grant tried to cut in,” she explained. “At my urging, Bob refused, but Grant wouldn’t take no for an answer. He pushed Bob in the back, and my fiancé pushed him right back.”

“I never laid a hand on him. That was someone else shoving him in the back. I was minding my own business when he assaulted me,” Grant complained loudly to the audience we were all attracting. “I’m going to have this man arrested for it, and I expect you all to be witnesses.”

He couldn’t have broken up the crowd any more effectively if he’d used tear gas on them. Soon enough, it was just the five of us standing there, and when I got closer to Grant, I could easily smell the liquor on him. I knew that they sold beer in some of the tents to fairgoers, but it seemed to me that he’d been drinking something quite a bit harder than that.

“You’re drunk,” I said. “Go back to your hotel room and sleep it off. Nobody’s going to say a word in your defense.”

“You think you’ve won,” Grant said as he glared at Bob and shook a finger in his face. “But you’re wrong. She was mine before, and she’ll be mine again.”

“Over my dead body,” Bob said.

“If you insist, that can certainly be arranged,” Grant said, being careful not to slur his words, though he had a bit of difficulty with certainly.

“Is that a threat?” Bob asked as he looked up at Grant and took a step closer to the man. Maddy’s ex had a good six inches on Bob and at least thirty pounds of muscle. It was clear that he was in much better shape, but that didn’t deter Bob in the least.

“It’s a promise,” Grant said.

David somehow managed to step between them and faced Grant. “Maybe you ought to just move along. It’s pretty clear that nobody wants you here.”

“And who exactly are you?” Grant asked as he focused on my boyfriend.

“Me? I’m nobody, just someone trying to make the peace. We don’t want to ruin this evening for all of these other folks, now, do we?”