With Samantha eagerly clutching the golden envelope in her hands, excited to be able to watch someone’s real-time reaction to the delicious surprise, the family stood on Miranda’s doorstep and Laura rang the bell. Although the curtains in the front window were drawn against the dark of the evening, it was clear that the lights were on inside and they could hear the sound of the television so knew that someone at least was in. A moment after the chime echoed through the hallway behind the door, they heard the TV being switched off, or at least muted, and a moment later, their friendly neighbour answered the door, just a crack at first to see who it was but then wide and as welcoming as her smile when she recognised who it was. Miranda was a similar age to Laura and Josh and, although calling her beautiful would have been a stretch, she was one of those big-hearted people who was pleasing to look at and to be around in general.

“Oh, hello!” she beamed at them. “What brings you over here? Is everything okay?” It was not unreasonable to suppose that an unannounced visit this late into the evening was necessitated by some sort of crisis but they all quickly assured her this was not the case.

“We have something for you!” Samantha smiled sweetly, holding out the envelope in both hands.

“For me?” Miranda seemed surprised and genuinely touched as she took the envelope, turning it around in her hands but not opening it yet. “Well don’t stand out here in the cold, come on in! I was just about to make hot chocolate for me and the girls if you’d like some?”

“That sounds lovely!” Laura thanked her, following her daughter through the door and taking off her gloves. “If it’s not too much trouble?”

“Oh not at all!” Miranda assured her as she closed the door behind Josh and began to collect their coats which she hung over the end of the banister. “Do go through and I’ll call the girls down. They’ve already had their bath so they’re in their pyjamas but I’m sure they won’t mind. I assure you they’re quite decent!” she added with a grin.

“Wow! Looks so festive in here!” Samantha gushed as she saw the brightly-lit Christmas tree in the corner of the room and the home-made paper chains strung across the ceiling. “I love it!”

“Thank you!” Miranda smiled from the doorway. “We put them up after school today.”

“Ours are normally up by now too,” Laura admitted, “but we’ve been a little distracted by other things so far this year. Perhaps that would be a fun activity for tomorrow?” Samantha enthusiastically agreed to this.

“Well you three make yourselves comfortable,” Miranda gestured to the sofa, still clutching the unopened envelope in her hand, “I’ll be in the kitchen. Girls!” she shouted up the stairs. “Come down! We’ve got visitors!” There was the sound of doors opening and closing then a flurry of giggles and footsteps on the stairs. Although her parents were sitting down, Samantha remained standing, wanting to hug her friends. Moments later, two happy, giggling, pyjama-clad girls with damp and big smiles scampered into the room, welcoming their neighbour with simultaneous hugs then greeting the adults politely. Declining the invitation of squeezing onto the sofa and wanting to leave the armchair free for their mum, they sat on the floor near the Christmas tree and Samantha happily joined them. Caroline was the same age as Samantha, give or take, and in the same school year although at a different school and had straight, light-brown hair cut into a bob a little shorter than Samantha’s. Nine year old Ella who went to the same school as her sister had much longer hair a few shades darker. Both were dressed in slightly faded but cosy-looking flannelette pyjamas, Ella’s pale purple with pictures of Stitch and Angel all over them and Caroline’s mostly white with cartoon depictions of the troublesome but loveable ghost character Beetleguise.

“What brings you over at this time?” Caroline asked conversationally. “Did you hear about our tree and come to expect?”

“Not exactly,” Samantha grinned, “although it is to do with Christmas! Your tree looks awesome by the way!” she complimented them. “You did a great job!” The sisters seemed genuinely happy to hear this and the next few minutes were spent explaining to Samantha who had made what decorations and where the bought ones had come from. There did not seem to be a single artefact on the tree which did not have some kind of story behind it, a fact which Samantha found incredibly cool.

“Here we are!” Miranda smiled, coming back into the room holding a tray of steaming mugs with a plate balanced on top. “Girls, turn the telly off for me, please.” she smiled as she pushed the living room door closed with her foot. “Much better! Keep the warm in!” Ella grabbed the remote from the arm of the sofa and switched off the muted TV while Caroline took the plate from the tray to offer the home-made gingerbread men round.

“We made these when we got home from school then decorated them after dinner,” she proudly informed the guests as they each chose one of the treats. It was for the first time, as she bit into the leg of hers, that it really occurred to Samantha that these popular cookies were shaped like children, a fact she found very amusing under the circumstances. Soon everyone had a mug in one hand and a gingerbread man in the other.

“Oh!” Miranda exclaimed, sitting down in her armchair, realising that she had forgotten something important just as she was getting comfortable. “Oh, are you taking that out to the kitchen?” she asked, seeing Caroline heading towards the door with the empty place. Her eldest daughter nodded. “Be a dear, would you, and bring the envelope through? I put it on top of the microwave so it wouldn’t get splashed.” Moments later, Caroline returned with the envelope in hand and passed it to her mum, perching on the arm of the sofa next to Josh to watch her open it. Samantha shuffled forward to be closer to enjoy her reaction and Ella stood behind her mum’s chair to look over her shoulder. “This is all very fancy!” Miranda exclaimed, studying the envelope, “I feel like I’m about to announce the winner at the Oscars!”

“Go on!” Samantha urged, the last of her gingerbread man safely devoured. “Open it!”

“It’s such a nice envelope, feels a shame to…” Miranda murmured, more to herself than to anyone else, but slipped her little finger into a gap under the top of the flap and tore along the top. Clearly very intrigued, she slid the card out, seeing the hand-written side first and read it with curiosity. Ella, having the same view as her mum, also pondered these words but Caroline who could see the front of the card was wide-eyed with excitement. “Oh!” Miranda gasped as she turned the card over to see the glossy, printed side complete with photograph. “This is you?” Samantha nodded enthusiastically, grinning toothily. “So you’re going to be…”

“Yup!” She confirmed. “I’m the Christmas turkey! You will come, won’t you?”

“Of course!” Miranda agreed before reading the card again more closely. “My, my! This is quite the surprise! The girls have been begging to try girl-meat for ages but it’s so expensive and, well…” She smiled almost lovingly at Samantha then to her parents. “This will be a wonderful treat! Thank you so much! We’d love to come! Can we bring anything to help out? Oh!” she noticed the small-print. “I’m sure we can come up with something. The girls help me out a lot in the kitchen!”

“Is this all official?” Caroline asked her friend, hardly able to believe the treat that had just been promised. “You’ve done your checks and everything?”

“Yup!” Samantha beamed proudly, springing to her feet. “All done today! Got a grade and everything! See?” She turned her back to the room and lifted the edge of her top with one hand while pulling down one side of her joggers with the other, revealing the stamp on her bare behind.

“Can I touch it?” asked Caroline in awe, apparently star-struck by being in the presence of a real-life meat-girl even ‘though they had been friends for as long as either could remember.

“Of course!” Samantha grinned, moving closer to make it easier for Caroline. “But gently, please. It’s still kinda sore.” Caroline assured her that she would be gentle then reached out and carefully traced the outline of the circle with her finger-tips, then the large A in the middle. The inked areas were slightly raised but she wasn’t sure if they would stay that way or whether this was just a reaction to the stamping. She asked Samantha. “I don’t know, honestly.” she admitted. “But they told me not to put anything too tight against it for a while so I guess it will settle down like a normal tattoo. Apparently it breaks down at cooking temperature,” she informed them, happy to be able to show off the facts she had learned, “so I’ll have it when I go in the oven but not when I come out!”

“That’s so cool!” Ella gushed and Samantha asked if she would like to touch too. Of course she did and came over to sit with her sister while they both studied the meat-stamp as if were some kind of holy text that had somehow found its way onto their friend’s backside. “Can we, like, see you?” Ella asked after a minute or so. “You know, properly?” Samantha understood immediately what she meant and so too, it seemed, did their mum.

“Now, girls…” Miranda cautioned, the card on her lap and her mug of hot chocolate back in her hands. “Samantha’s been very kind and I think it’s a bit much to…”

“Oh I don’t mind!” Samantha replied breezily, already starting to lift her top. “It’s nice and warm in here anyway!” Since she had not been wearing all that much to begin with, it took her no time at all to get naked and soon she was standing in the middle of the cosy living room, happily showing off her body to her friends who were eagerly and openly discussing how much they were looking forward to eating her! Hearing them talk about her in this way felt so good, so exciting, and she found their genuine hunger for her meat very arousing. While Miranda went to make another round of hot chocolates, she allowed the sisters to touch, prod and squeeze her body much like the butcher had done but without his detached professionalism.

“It’s so kind of you to invite us!” Caroline told her for the fourth of fifth time. “You’re going to look so pretty when you’re roasted and I can’t wait to taste you!” A sentiment which Ella enthusiastically echoed. Samantha remained happily naked while she enjoyed her second mug, accompanied by another cookie, a shortbread one in the shape of a Christmas tree this time, and in fact almost forgot her clothes when it was time to leave until her mum reminded her that it was cold outside and, unless she wanted to end up as a frozen turkey, she’d better wrap herself up, at least a bit! There were more hugs and expressions of thanks at the door and Samantha felt as if she were floating as they crossed the road back to their home.

As it was Friday, Samantha was allowed to sleep in her parents’ bed, not that there was a whole lot of sleeping for the first few hours. Showing off her meat to the girls across the road had left Samantha virtually insatiable and it took her mum’s not inconsiderable tongue skills to finally calm her once her poor dad had been thoroughly worn out for the night!


To be continued...