For a small southern town, Benton puts on an amazing number of seasonal celebrations. One of those is the “The Fireman's Summer Fair”. The purpose of the fair is to raise money for our local volunteer fire departments. Benton has three I believe. Our town is really too small to have standing fire fighting force so we depend on local volunteers. In order to raise money, a number of local programs are put on, local youth's display talent shows, each of the three fire stations take turns selling hot plates, anything from smoked chicken to fresh fried fish, even tacos and tamales.
Beside the food, and the food was plentiful there were also side games. The Benton Academy Cheerleaders often ran a dunking booth and we, the cheerleaders from Benton Agricultural High School. Quite a mouthful if you ask me, often ran a “Bean the Cheerleader '' booth. One brave cheerleader, normally a volunteer, would kneel down in a kiddie pool and allow tins of baked beans to be poured over her. The tins of beans would go for five dollars a tin. The tins were always donated to the squad by Sunflower, Benton's only full line grocer.
Anyway, a volunteer was needed and I volunteered. I was about to enter into my Junior year of High School, with only two more years left I decided I needed to make it count. And I felt a certain sense of noblesse oblige to the town. Benton had adopted me, it had welcomed me. I had arrived as a poor, confused orphan. Dressed in a size too big sundress, straw hat and a backpack that held all the meager treasures I had amassed in fourteen years of living. I was pale as a ghost, an emotional wreck, I had not long been discharged from St. Joan's Children's Hospital, a Catholic Children's Hospital located in the heart of downtown Jackson, the state capital.
I remember only spending a short fortnight with moms estrange family, the Bell's before being set on gray and white Delta Hounded Bus, with a backpack that held everything of value, a new suitcase that held a brand new set of panties and bra, a new skirt and a cream colored blouse, and purse that held one hundred dollars and a one way ticket from Bus station in downtown Vicksburg to the station in Benton. I would have taken the train, but I had just missed it by mere moments.
But yes I felt I owed this town something. And so on that bright September morning I found myself dressed in my cheerleading uniform and kneeling down in a little kiddie pool. The Kiddie pool was surrounded by dozens of cans of baked beans that had been stacked pyramid style. It was early, around nine O' clock and already one could tell today would be a blister. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was already starting to bake the cobblestones.
A fold out sign. The top part read “Bean the Cheerleader!” And under that was my name “Madeline Brewer!” and finally under that “$5” meaning it was five dollars a can. A steep price for a can of beans that could be had for a dollar down at the local Sunflower. But still I guess the privilege of dumping them over a pretty brunette and a cheerleader to boot was worth the extra four dollars!
I did not have to wait long. The fair was opened at ten but people were already flocking in, scooping out the local craftsman selling wooden swords, wooden shields, pop guns and birdhouses. No matter the theme, these town wide celebrations always took on the air of an open air bazaar. We love a good flea market in the south.
We'll I did not have to wait long. A gentleman with a long gray beard, dressed in a leather jacket and pants walked up to our booth, shrugged his shoulders and handed Robin, the girl handling the money a crisp, clean twenty dollar bill. He then opened the four cans of beans and walked toward me. I raised my head to smile at him and was rewarded a few seconds later with a head full of beans!
The rich scent of the tomato sauce filled my nose and the beans felt weird as they flopped down on my hair. It took him about a minute to empty those four cans over my lovely brown hair. A small giggle escaped my lips as I felt the beans starting to run down the side of my cheeks before flopping down in the pool. The man walked away, none the wiser and maybe even a bit confused. This must have been the oddest fundraiser he had ever seen.
That fellow set off a chain. Soon people were gathering around our little pool, they were as thick as fleas on the back of an old dog. Even Jason Patterson of the local paper was there, no doubt drawn by the sight of a crowd of people and the sound of laughter and cheers.
“Step right up! Step right up!” Called Robin my friend and mentor. “Today and today only we have the lovely Ms. Brewer here. Ms. Brewer is a published teen author, a collector of ghost stories, a straight 'A' student, a cheerleader and so much more!” She shouted at the top of her lungs.
I felt my cheeks start to blush as another tin of beans was open and poured over my shoulders this time. Another tin of runny beans followed, followed by another. My uniform was starting to become soaked with tomato sauce and the tiny beans were starting to work their way down into my sports bra. Then the coldness started to set in, despite it being a sunny day the wind started to blow, it was a cold wind that rose from deep within the swamps that surround our little town.
I was up to seven cans of beans, enough to really cause the bottom of the pool to become slick when two of my favorite people decided to appear. Lily and Jamie potter. Lily was the oldest and along with Robin acted as the guiding voice of reason in our group. Standing beside her was her little sister, Jamie, both sisters had golden blonde hair, baby blue eyes and fitting enough were cheerleaders.
“Just wanted to check on y'all and see how y'all doing.” Lily said smiling. She was dressed in her cheerleading uniform and sporting the colors of Benton Academy, red and white. As was her little sister Jamie Potter.
Both blinked and blinked again as they spotted me kneeling in that pool. A smirk a mile long came across Lily's face and a bemused look crossed Jamie's face.
“Man.” Lily said. “A bean bath, a honest to goodness bean bath. I think you gals have us beat by a country mile.” She said as she dipped into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled up ten dollar bill. She handed the ten dollars to Robin who handed her two cans of beans.
I blushed a little as I watched Lily starting to walk toward me. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the landslide of beans that was sure to follow. A moment later I once more felt a fresh coating of beans being added to the forming layers. The front of my uniform was covered and once more I could feel the beans sliding down the opening in my front and wiggling their way into my sports bra. That feeling made those tiny hairs on my arms stand straight up. It was a weird feeling.
Jamie was up next. Now, Jamie is my best friend, but I don't think that was going to stop her. And I was right. Jamie decided to drop fifteen dollars one one of those big cans. The ones you buy when you have a dozen or so mouths to feed. Balancing the can in her hand she stepped behind me. The last thing I heard was the sound of her girlish giggle as she dumped the whole can over my head.
I was now coated from head to toe in beans and tomato sauce. The smell of the tomato sauce hung around me like a blinding fog.
“Wow.” I said blinking. “This must be the messiest thing I've ever done.” I said looking down at the state of myself. I was quite sure my bra was stained past the point of being salvageable.
That statement brought a chorus of giggles from my three friends.
“So, how much have you girls raised so far?”
“Sixty dollars.” Robin said. “What about you girls, what Benton Academy is doing?”
“We're hosting a dunking booth. We were going to host a dunking booth. We're still waiting on it to arrive.” Lily said blushing a little. “Anyway, Jamie and I gotta get going. Mom wants us to help out with the family booth till ours is ready.”
“Good luck!” Called Jamie. Jamie was in shy mode today. Jamie has those days when she seems to be taken by bouts of silence. She becomes brooding and moody and often steals away to some strange corner of the world to think and ponder. Today she seemed to be in one such mood. I could tell because she did not hang around to tease me or try to get other people to dump beans over my head.
“Thanks! Good luck with your booth too!” And so they parted.
A few moments later a raven haired girl and a blond haired boy appeared. The Raven haired girl was holding the blonde hair boy's hand and both were walking shoulder to shoulder. Both were in a way drinking love from each other's eyes. It was a tender display of young love. I knew them both, the raven haired girl was a green witch by the name of Cerridwen. The blonde hair boy was my cousin, James, but we just called him Daisy.
Daisy and Cerridwen had been dating each other for a good three or four months now. It was common to see them walking hand in hand together at these events. Cerridwen was the first to notice me. A deep blush formed upon her face as she rushed toward the pool, Daisy in toe.
I knew what was coming, and in a blink of an eye. Cerridwen had fished a five dollar bill from the confines of her purse and was slipping it into Robin's hands. Tin of beans in hand, Cerridwen waltzed up to me and smirked. I looked up and smiled into those bright baby blues eyes of hers and kept smiling as she tipped the can of beans up and poured them right down the front of my blouse!
“WOW!” I yelled as I felt the cold beans roll down my chest and down to the waistline of my skirt. “That was super cold!”
Cerridwen only grinned. She was a woman of few words, or many words it really depended on her mood. And right now she only responded with a little smirk. Daisy followed next. Shrugging his shoulders he walked over to Robin, handed her a five dollar bill and took his can of beans, he then dumped the can of beans over my head without much prompt or ceremony. The two love birds then exchanged smiles and then broke into gales of laughter.
“Maddie!” They both said in unison. “You're a total mess!”
I had to agree with them though. I was a total mess too.
“So how does it feel?” Cerridwen asked as she reached into her purse and pulled out another five dollar bill. I guess she wanted revenge, I did after all have a bad habit of teasing her and Daisy when they were together. I mean I had to tease them, I considered Cerridwen my little sister, and her mother Pandora was the only one allowed to cut my hair. She is the only one I trust to treat these brunette tresses with the tender loving care they deserve.
“Feels cold!” I said giggling as I watched her pick up another can of beans. Cerridwen slowly poured the beans over my head this time, she took her time, making sure she covered both my shoulders and my back. I was sure I would need another uniform before the day was out.
“I'm so going to get you back for this!” I taunted as Cerridwen finished up. She responded by blowing me a kiss. A moment later she had reached over, taken Daisy by his hand and was pulling him along. Both Robin and I watched the pair skip off, it was amusing to say the least.
“I worry about that girl sometimes.” I said shaking my head as I watched Cerridwen skip off.
“Oh don't worry, she's fine. She just enjoying being a girl and enjoying falling in love. Those two are meant for each other. Daisy's got guts, I heard he stood up to a few bullies a few months ago and laid them down flat. Boy might look like a flower, but I heard he punches like a bull.” She paused. “He just put on. And from what I hear, Cerridwen might tease him and push him around a little, but that's just her being her. She means nothing by it.
I nodded my head, it made sense to me. Then I again felt the cold sensation of orange and red beans being poured over my head. The beans rolled down my back, coated my shorts, and pooled at the bottom of my skirt. Slowly I shifted my eyes up and noticed that standing behind me was Robin and she was holding one of those really big cans of beans. Like the size you buy if you need to feed a crowd or an army or a troop of hungry scouts.
“Yep! Decided I'll go ahead and buy the second to last big can of beans. You know, because we're kind of running out of time here and you've been something of a brat these last few weeks.” She said with a giggle as she gave the can a good firm shake, causing the last stubborn bean to come tumbling out.
The bottom of the pool was now covered with beans, and tomato sauce. I myself looked like a huge bean. And what I desired most at that time was to just get up, get a nice warm bath, then maybe curl up in a soft pink bathrobe, fix some hot chocolate and binge watch Disney movies. But then I reminded myself that it was for charity. And charity was a good thing.
A few more cans of beans were poured on me. Our new Episcopal priest, Fr. Bell of the Vicksburg Bells who also happen to be my uncle stopped by and donated another fifteen dollars to drop the last remaining big can over my head. He made no comment. He was a man of few words, a stern Anglo-Catholic with an almost freighting devotion to the Mass. And so two and a half hours into this little stunt things were starting to wind down. A sudden surge resulted in the last four cans being dumped over me. At this point, I was sure I would reek of tomato sauce and beans. And with tomorrow being the sabbath, I had a feeling that I would be attending services with traces of bean sauce still stuck in my hair.
But it was worth it. All told we took in close to a thousand dollars once you added in the donations. And so another episode of my life comes to an end. I still can't believe the changes that have come over me in these last two years. Mark would have never been brave enough to volunteer for a bean bath, Mark would have never been brave enough to volunteer for anything really. My memories of being Mark are starting to fade with each passing day. I look at my Bank Card, and the name printed on it says “Madeline D. Brewer '' I look at my report card and the name is “Brewer'' followed by “Madeline”. When I sign my time card each week, I sign it “Madeline Brewer'' in my best flowing script. The bank tellers call me “Madeline”.
This town by and large has accepted me as “Madeline” and if sitting in a kiddie pool and having tins of beans poured over by total strangers would help the town. It's a small price to pay. And so until next time, stay sweet and keep on living Y'all.
The End.
