Chapter 1: The Fair
Each year the county fair drew thousands of all ages- not that it was all that different, or exciting, but it had become a tradition for the older generation and an annual adventure for the young. There were the exhibits, the farm animals and produce, the carnival rides, and food for any taste but gourmet. Most of all, there were the people, diverse, sometimes a bit uninhibited, sometimes a bit strange, but always amused and amusing others.
Jack Donnelson wasn't sure why he came to the fair. He was thirty, now, and had been an annual visitor since he was a schoolboy. Jack had become a bit of a businessman, actually an insurance adjustor, and now it was just a bit of a diversion. He was to have come with Debbie, a former business associate, but she had declined at a late moment, and so, being unattached, he wandered in by himself, probably mostly out of habit.
It was mid afternoon when he passed the midway, heading for a tent where he understand some foreign acrobats were to appear. Well, he had seen acrobats before, and didn't find this particularly appealing, but what else was there? He scanned a posted program.
In a half hour, he noted, the beer drinking contest would be on. Now, what kind of person enters a beer drinking contest, he wondered. If one was looking for free beer, this wasn't the place - there was an entry fee that would cost as much as what most people would care to drink. Jack himself wasn't much of a beer drinker, but he thought it would perhaps be amusing to watch a few others make fools of themselves, so he moved over to the area.
As he found a place to watch, the contestants were being briefed. The contest would go half an hour. The contestants, lined up on a platform, would be given pitchers of beer - big pitchers. Each was to completely down the pitcher, and could then be given a second. The process would continue, until the half hour was over, or until contestants had reached their capacity and retired. The one who had consumed the most beer at the end would be declared the winner and would be awarded a handsome cash prize. It was required that the participants remain standing, not spill excessively, and if anyone became sick or nauseated he or she would be disqualified.
Jack looked over the fourteen contestants - nine men and five women. They were of assorted ages and shapes. The one who seemed the most unlikely was a young girl who looked like she couldn't weigh over a hundred pounds. Several of the men looked pretty hefty, though, and Jack guessed they could put away a sizeable volume. One woman was older, a bit matronly, perhaps fifty something, with a bit of a paunch; and one was a younger woman, perhaps twenty something, but very well padded. Jack guessed she would outweigh him by a considerable margin.
A crowd had assembled, and at a signal, each contestant lifted his first pitcher. Friends and family members watching cheered on their favorites. All fourteen tilted their pitchers, drawing into themselves large draughts of the beverage. Some were neat, some were sloppy. One man, obviously in too big a hurry, suddenly coughed violently, spitting beer over those nearby. He was soon retired from the group.
The first man to empty his pitcher quickly exchanged it for another, quickly raising it to his lips. He had quaffed it in about minute and a half, Jack reckoned. Jack turned to a woman standing nearby, observing "There's the winner - he's got a head start already!"
She disagreed, shaking her head. "Not really - slow and steady does it here - they have half an hour, you know. And those things must hold half a gallon - think he can keep putting them away at that rate?"
The watched, amused at the differences in styles among the drinkers. The fastest man had downed two pitchers before one woman had finished even half of one. Soon, another participant turned away, bending over, obviously sick with an overstressed stomach.
The minutes passed. At the halfway point, the fastest drinker had slowed considerably, now trying to sip his way through a third pitcher. The slim young woman decided she was not equal to the game, and withdrew, to cheers from her friends. "She didn't look like she stood much chance, anyway," Jack observed to his neighbor. "Women don't in things like this!"
The lady arched her eyebrows. "You better look at number six! She's just started her third; but look at the size of her! Don't you think she has a stomach to match?" Jack eyed the heavyset woman. "Maybe. But she's up against some serious male competition!"
"Sexist!" smiled the lady.
The end drew near. Several had now quit drinking, one after gulping three and a half pitchers. He was standing still, looking a bit dizzied and bloated, looking to see if anyone would beat his capacity. Three men and two women were still trying to down more beer.
The announcer started calling the time left to finish. Two minutes - one and a half - one minute. The big woman was still holding her fourth pitcher to her lips. Seconds before the end, she put it down - empty.
The announcer looked at her hesitatingly, then smiled and cheered. He reached over to her and held up her hand - the only one of the fourteen to get four pitchers of beer into one stomach!
A cheer went up. Jack's neighbor nudged him. "See - a woman can do it! But I'll bet she's got one bloated stomach!"
Jack nodded agreement. The announcer called out the winner's name. "Our champion beer drinker - four full pitchers - is Mary Gustavson! Mary, come over here for your prize!"
Mary could be seen moving to accept her award. There were cheers, mostly from women, Jack noted. The crowd began to disperse to other activities.
Jack treated himself to a bit of refreshment, after all, watching all that drinking could make one a bit thirsty! He found other people and items to amuse himself for a bit.
Half an hour later, he passed back through the area where the contest had taken place. He happened to notice a woman, her back to him, seated alone on a bench. Something about her seemed a bit familiar. He took a second look. She was Mary, who had won the drinking contest. Now she was sitting on a bench, by herself, looking a bit downcast.
Jack approached her. She was indeed a big woman, and, he reflected, with a big stomach to match. She didn't seem particularly tall, but she had a lot of meat on her. She was wearing a print dress, knee length, with short sleeves, not particularly fashionable. She had a nice looking face, hardly beautiful, but by no means ugly, and a rather plain hairstyle with a pony tail in the back.
"Didn't I see you win the beer drinking contest?" Jack offered, by way of introducing himself. "I'm Jack Donnellson - I watched your performance! You must like beer!"
Startled, she lifted up her head and turned to him.
"Yeah. I'm Mary Gustavson, and no, I don't particularly like beer. Right now I hate it! Gee, I feel awful!" She shook her head for emphasis.
"Guess you feel like anyone with two gallons of beer in them," Jack offered, sympathetically.
She just sat, her eyes downcast, obviously in physical discomfort.
"I only come to enter the drinking contest. Gets me a little extra spending money; about all a big stomach is ever going to get you. That is, if I can keep from getting sick! Now I have to wait another half hour to see if I can get to the bus to get home. Yehh!! I hate beer, especially when there's four pitchers inside me!"
"Can't say as I especially like beer either, but I do have a couple, now and then. 'Course I wouldn't drink four pitchers straight down! Here," he offered his hand, "usually I settle insurance claims. Don't you have anyone with you?"
"No," she shook her head. "I came alone, just for the contest. I could have driven, but driving home after winning a beer drinking contest isn't a really good idea!" She smiled a bit at her observation.
"I almost wish I could throw up," she added a moment later. "Weekdays I'm a bookkeeper, but I don't do much else."
"Sounds like you're bored with life. Haven't you any friends?"
"Oh, of course I do. People I work with, but none of them wanted to come to this thing. Just as well. They'd think I was some kind of lush!"
