It was not long before all the guests were tucking in heartily to the grilled meat of the two lovers, lovingly and, even Adeola was forced to admit, rather expertly barbecued by their dads, enjoying their chance to shine on a day where they had mostly been low-tier backup and best and in the way at worst! Honouring Sarah’s promise, Adeola gave the foil-wrapped, baked breast to the group of girls who had kept Mike distracted to share, assuring them correctly that the meat would be tender enough just to pull apart with the wooden picnic forks provided. The happy group of friends made themselves comfortable in a circle on the grass, the gently-steaming and deliciously sweet-smelling treat in the middle and proceeded to help themselves hungrily.

Although the meat of two tall, rather curvy young women definitely went a long way, there was no question of anyone being too full to enjoy the next treat to be served up which was the two whole-roasted teens, lifted carefully off the coals and placed in the carving mounts where, once again, the two dads, or technically speaking one dad and one uncle to this pair, were able to show off their skills with a carving knife and soon everyone was enjoying the deliciously-seasoned, smokey-flavoured teen meat. In accordance with her promise, Mike was served Shelly’s deliciously plump fillet, along with one whole breast and a thick slice of her rump. The other breast was shared between her parents while Adeola shared out one of Andi’s much larger breasts among the women who had come along to help her, keeping her younger daughter’s fillet for herself, while the two dads shared the other. Of course there was still plenty of meat from both girls, especially from the rump and thigh area, to go around and by the time the young teens were stripped to the bone, everyone was feeling very full indeed!

Fortunately, they had over three hours to let their food go down, during which they all happily chatted, socialised and enjoyed some more drinks, until the stew was ready to serve. As the sun began to set, Henry lit Tiki torches around the edge of the garden and built a bonfire from scrap wood over the now-cooled roasting pit, onto which the remains of Andi and Shelly’s carcasses were tossed.

Rather than serving the stew in disposable cups like most people expected, Adeola brought out and passed around beautiful, clearly hand-made ceramic bowls which she explained had been in her family for generations and had originally been made for this kind of feast and so it seemed appropriate to use them for the party. When some of the guests queried with polite surprise how she had enough for everyone, she explained that there had originally been enough for the whole village and her Great-Great-Grandmother, give or take a “great” or two, had been entrusted with them. They had been passed on to the oldest daughter of each generation and her mother had brought them with her when she moved to the country and had since entrusted them to her. Everyone ate carefully, not wanting to risk damaging these precious heirlooms, exclaiming how utterly delicious the stew was, served with fresh, crusty bread. Every single guest took a second helping, with many taking thirds or fourths.

Eventually, the pot was emptied enough that all the bones could be fished out. These were collected up into the wheelbarrow then tossed onto the bonfire where they popped and crackled most delightfully, the herbs and other flavourings that has soaked into them during the cooking adding to the cosy aroma of the smoke. There was no shortage of volunteers to help polish off the remainder of the stew and, by the end everyone started to say their goodbyes and head home, there was not a scrap of meat left un-enjoyed.

At Adeola’s suggestion, Henry set Beth’s head on the bird-table so that her flesh could be enjoyed and her golden-blonde hair taken to furnish nests. Sarah and Helen’s heads, of course, would be returned to their fathers in a day or two when the preservation and conversion was completed. Laura’s husband decided not to take her head and instead it was claimed by one of the neighbours who was a primary school teacher, explaining that it would be a useful teaching tool which she would put in a tank of ants in the classroom so that they children could watch over the next week or so how all the flesh was stripped, then perhaps the skull could be used as a Halloween decoration or in some other art project. For his part, Mike left the party with several new numbers in his phone and the promise of plenty of fun to come over the following weeks until he decided he was ready to get serious with someone else again.

“The party was a wonderful success!” Adeola remarked to Beth’s blissfully smiling head, sat on the bird-table, as she and her volunteered tidied up as much as they could for the evening. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you!”


The End