“Look Mummy!” the little girl who had waved at them in the lobby came running over, eyes filled with wonder. She gripped the polished brass railing and gazed at the colourful trio with a look of pure delight.

“Oh they’re ever so pretty, aren’t they!” Her mum smiled, standing behind her with her hands on her shoulders. “I hoped they would be here today!” Almost as enchanted by the little girl as she seemed to be by them, Jennifer swam over to her and trod water near the railing like Sarah had shown her. The wall of the lagoon was clear so the graceful movement of her tail was clearly visible to the small girl who was barely tall enough to peep over the edge.

“Hello there!” She smiled at the smaller child. “I love you dress! It’s the same colour as my tail, see?” She leaned back and playfully lifted the fins out of the water, giving them a little wiggle, then righted herself again. Being a mermaid, she was pleased to find, seemed to come quite naturally to her. The little one was dressed in a red velvet dress with a white lace trim that looked as if it might have been her outfit for a Christmas photograph a few months earlier and was likely considered her “best”. The child giggled happily.

“Red is my favourite colour!” she informed the mermaid cheerfully.

“Ooh mine too!” grinned Jennifer. “Have you come to enjoy a yummy dinner?”

“Oh yes!” the little one nodded emphatically. “That’s my big sister on the spit!” She pointed towards the golden-brown, slowly turning roast who Jennifer judged to be around nine or ten years old and clearly long dead. She thought it was probably wise that the parents had let this little cutie say goodbye to her big sister earlier then brought her to see her once she was already cooked and ready to serve – that way, she would not have to witness her in any potential pain or distress, or ask awkward questions about why she was moving that way on the spit as she inevitably humped it, chasing that final climax which was generally considered the right of any spit-roaster. All she would be her sister looking delicious, golden brown and ready to carve. “We’re going to see her now but I wanted to come see you first!”

“I’m glad you did!” Jennifer smiled warmly. “And your sister looks really yummy! Make sure you get a very tasty piece!”

“I will!” the little girl nodded. “Mummy and Daddy say I can have a slice of her bottom!” She giggled. “Oh, sorry! It’s called rump when a girl is cooked!”

“That’s right!” Jennifer grinned. “And it’s definitely one of the tastiest parts of any girl! Or mermaid!” she added with a giggle, doing a little dive to show her own off then resurfacing to find the little one grinning with delight.

“You have a very lovely bottom!” the girl told her, clearly meaning it as a genuine compliment. “I bet it would be yummy!”

“Oh I’m sure it would!” Jennifer giggled. “But I’m not on the menu tonight.”

“I hope mine is tasty!” the little girl mused, as if thinking out loud rather than addressing her new mermaid friend directly. “Mummy and Daddy are going to have me for Christmas dinner!” she informed her with a grin that clearly made it clear she considered this very good news indeed and was very much looking forward to it.

“Well I’m sure you’ll be a delicious turkey!” Jennifer grinned back. “Now go enjoy your yummy big sister! They do say girl-fed girl is best!” she reminded her. The little one waved and skipped off happily to join her dad who was currently photographing his delectable roast daughter on the spit before she was taken off for carving.

“Thank you!” The mum smiled, lingering behind for a few moments. “She absolutely loves mermaids and was so happy to see you all just now!”

“Aww it’s a pleasure!” Jennifer assured her, leaning back a little and wafting her arms. “Your other daughter looks delicious too! I hope you enjoy her!”

“I’m sure we will!” the woman smiled, glancing over at the rest of her family. “Thanks again!” Girls cooked in the public cooking area and served on the carvery were available to all diners, of course, but Jennifer knew that their families usually got a free or heavily discounted meal, depending on the number of diners, and first dibs on the meat when served. It seemed like a fair system. It might be possible for a family, especially if grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins etc. were invited to, to finish up a little one like the younger sister but a girl her own size or bigger was far too much meat for just a few people and was far more suitable for a big party with dozens of guests or to be served up at a restaurant like this.

Sidney herself had been butchered, of course, and her meat used to create many other dishes. Was that really what she had wanted? Jennifer wondered. Or some kind of compromise to help ease people into the idea? She was, after all, the first girl legally killed for her meat, at least in recent history, and seeing her turning on a spit or roasted whole in and oven like a turkey might have been too much for the public to handle? Perhaps, by substituting cuts of Sidney into dishes that would normally be made with pork, chicken, beef or even fish, it helped to cement the message that Girl was just another meat like any other.

Almost immediately afterwards, she knew from her research, the Roebuck chain of hotels had added a special “Sidney Selection” to their restaurant menus with a variety of dishes made from girl-meat and the option to substitute the meat of any other dish on the menu for Girl for a small surcharge, but these too had generally been normal dishes, with no real way to recognise what you were eating if you didn’t already know. Whole-roasts had been served there too, cooked alive like those now now offered at Sidney’s, but these had generally been for private, corporate bookings and not something the general public would have seen.

It was only with the opening of the first Sidney’s restaurant itself that girls were finally and unashamedly cooked and served in front of the public with no attempt to disguise or soften the origin of the meat, in fact with the whole-roasters in the public cooking area being considered quite a draw! Not to mention the naked girls who happily danced on the stage, posed as statues around the alcoves or, indeed, swam around pretending to be mermaids to remind the public exactly what was on the menu and make them hungry for Girl! Sidney’s was, after all, an establishment entirely dedicated to the idea of young girls as food. How was it that reporter had put it? A temple of celebration of the young female body? Something like that anyway!

She thought about the little girl who would soon be eagerly tucking into her sister. She did not look much older than five. Six at the absolute most. She was sure to be a delicious Christmas turkey and Jennifer found herself wondering if she had been desperate to follow in her big sister’s footsteps or whether her family had made the decision to eat her for their Christmas dinner and, when she found out, the big sister had been jealous and insisted on being allowed to volunteer at Sidney’s?


To be continued...