Page 103 of Tasty Cherry

“I think you’ve done this before,” I say.

Suze and Jessie exchange a smile. “Normally only with new HR hires. But it’s great fun to have interns.”

I take my turn, placing a daring bit of egg and pig ear on my plate. I wait for Brooklyn and Ilsa to do it as well. The two are completely opposite in every way. Brooklyn is bright and happy with her shining gold braids touching her shoulders. Ilsa is brooding and suspicious, her inky hair piled on her head.

“On the count of three,” Brooklyn suggests, her fork buried in her modest pile.

Ilsa and I nod.

“One, two, three.”

Brooklyn shoves hers in her mouth and I take in mine. Ilsa hesitates, then follows suit.

At first, I can’t taste much of anything. It’s all texture, crunch and egg.

Then I bite into the strips of ear. It’s crispy on the outside, but chewier inside. I get why it comes with the egg. It prepares you for the variation in texture.

The taste isn’t much of anything. It’s not bacon. Or even pork. It’s spices and egg.

I swallow. “That isn’t so bad.”

“See?” Jessie says.

Brooklyn takes another bite. “Rattlesnake is chewier.”

I nod. “For sure.”

Jessie and Suze both set their forks down.

Suze speaks first. “You both have had rattlesnake?”

I shrug. “It’s not that hard to find in Texas.”

Brooklyn takes more. “Florida either. Alligator meat is common, too.”

Ilsa is quiet. After a moment, she brings her napkin to her mouth, and I’m fairly sure she spits the pig ear out.

“These interns have more experience than any of us,” Suze says. “And here we were, trying to shock you.”

Brooklyn stabs more egg. “Unless you’ve scraped a beaver off the side of the road and had it for supper, you aren’t going to one up me.”

“You didn’t,” Suze says.

“My Uncle Barton said no meat should go to waste.”

“Aren’t you from Florida? Didn’t you go to college?” Jessie asks.

Brooklyn grins. “You two sure are gullible.”

Jessie sits back with a laugh. “You got us.”

“Serves us right for making them eat pig ears,” Suze says.

This is fun. Brooklyn waggles her eyebrows at all of us, and everyone laughs, other than Ilsa, who looks like she’d rather be doing anything else.

The regular food comes. We talk about the hotel events, how long Jessie and Suze have worked there.

Everyone is getting along great, other than Ilsa, who hasn’t said a word. She watches the rest of us like we’re the ones acting weird.