The World’s Biggest Chicken

Whew. Can I just say that this whole new website thing is just nonsense? Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but damn this has taken a chunk of my soul these last couple weeks. 

I had decided to switch from WordPress to SquareSpace, for a variety of reasons. I spent some time redesigning it within the SquareSpace templates. I fretted over pictures. I transferred all the old blog posts over (and that took some time, let me tell you). Then, when I went to actually transfer the domain and the site over, I hit some technological snags. I am not good with the technology, but in the end, I got it figured out.

While all of this was going on, I got the results of the third challenge of the NYCMidnight Flash Fiction Challenge 2021. This was the furthest I had ever advanced in this contest, so I was already thrilled but not expecting much. This round was over Halloween weekend, so already a busy time. I was given the prompts of Drama/A Sculpture/A Pizza. So, I had to write a drama that contained both a sculpture and a pizza. In 1,000 words. Ready, Set, Go. 

As I expected, I did not advance to the final round. And that’s okay. Making it to the semi-finals was great! And, honestly, the weekend that the finals were held on were so chaotic here at home that I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish much anyway. 

I’m not sure how many writers were in my heat. Probably 50? Maybe? Regardless, the top three writers in each heat would advance to the finals. The rankings were listed as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Honorable Mention, Honorable Mention 2, etc., etc. And I, dear readers, did manage to snag an Honorable Mention 2! So, fifth place out of 50-ish? Not too bad at all. I am really, really pleased. 

What the judges had to say: “I really enjoyed this heartfelt, poignant story. My heart broke a little.” “The unexpected but meaningful connection between Melly and Ava was well-developed. Rather than let it be an unrealistic or instant bond, the author slowly established the trust between them with natural and poignant dialogue.” “I thought the end of the story was delightful - the way they laughed and cried was wonderfully infectious. Great job!”

So here it is…… The World’s Biggest Chicken

In true ‘don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it’ style, the town of Friendly, Utah, flashed by before Melly even realized she was there. She pulled over to the side of the road, looking again at the letter she had carried with her for so many miles. It told her to look for the Big Chicken, whatever the hell that meant.

But, sure enough, five miles down the road, Melly found it. 

The World’s Biggest Chicken, in fact, if the signs could be believed. Melly also learned the chicken sculpture, dubbed ‘Bruce,’ was 80 feet of granite, weighing in at an impressive four tons.

All Melly could think was: “What the actual fuck?”

A glance at her phone showed that she was early. Between the heat and her nerves, Melly needed a drink. The letter had mentioned a restaurant, but Melly was surprised to see an Italian place just yards away from the chicken. She would have expected a greasy diner, not a formal-looking place named ‘Bruce’s Pasta House’. 

This was a strange town. 

She looked again at the Chicken, shrugged, and walked towards the restaurant. 

#

Melly blinked in the dim light of the restaurant, the cool air raising goosebumps on her arms. A voice boomed from behind the counter. “Welcome! Take a seat, they all have views of the World’s Biggest Chicken!”

Melly sat where she could see both the chicken (as promised) and the parking lot, sipping at the ice water the jovial server brought. And she waited. 

An hour passed before the door opened and a woman walked in. Melly’s heart sank. Not her father.  

The server, who seemed to be the only one working, greeted her by name. “Oh, hey, Ava.”

The woman waved vaguely, walking to Melly’s table. 

“Sorry I’m late.” No explanation, no introduction. The woman’s face was drawn and tense, her hands shaky. 

The server came over, setting down a drink and a slice of pepperoni pizza no one had ordered. His voice was softer than before. “Ava, I’m so sorry to hear about—” His voice cut off at a sharp look from the woman and he retreated to the counter. 

Melly and the woman eyed each other warily. “Who are you? I was supposed to meet Ryan Balke here?”

The woman sighed. “I’m Ava. I was Ryan’s wife. Maybe I still am. I don’t actually know.”

“His wife? But…. I’m his—”

“Daughter, yes. I read your letters. And you look like him; especially around the eyes.”

“I…I got this letter, though. It said to come out. Didn’t he send it? There was no signature.”

“I’m so sorry. That’s from me. I just didn’t know what to do after….”

“After what?” 

“Ryan left.” Ava laughed darkly. “Thirty-three days ago now. I woke up and he was gone.” She shrugged. “That was a week after your third letter arrived. I haven’t heard from him since.”

“I just…. don’t understand. Why did he leave?” Melly’s head began to spin with a sense of loss, of never knowing what she had never known. 

Ava shrugged again and slid an envelope across the table, pushing the pizza off to the side. She gazed out of the window at the chicken and Melly could see how pale she was, how red her eyes were. 

The envelope wasn’t sealed and only contained one creased piece of paper, obviously folded and opened many times. She spread it open before her. In blue ink, were the words “Tell her I’m sorry.”

That’s it. Nothing else. She turned the letter over, looked inside the envelope in a vain attempt to find something, anything else. 

“Is this all?” The threatened tears finally broke through, splashing on her cheeks. 

Ava shook her head. “That’s all that was in the letter, I swear. But this was sitting next to it.” She handed over a picture. In it, a man sat, holding a small girl, barely older than a baby, on his lap. “The two of you, I think. I’m not sure.”

“It is. My mom had a copy.” She started weeping openly. “He really was my father then?”

“So it seems.”

“Then why did he leave?”

“Oh, honey, if I knew, I’d tell you.”

 “Did you know about me?” She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer. 

“Not until your letters started showing up. He never said a word. Can you…. Can you tell me what happened?”

“He and Mom never got married. He left when she was pregnant and only came back once, when that picture was taken. She wrote his name on the back of the picture, but never talked about him, even when I asked. She…. She died when I was 12. I lived with my grandparents. They said to not bother looking, I was better off without him. He wasn’t even on my birth certificate. They’re gone now, too, so I thought…. I’ve looked for so long.” All the hours searching on her computer, the money she couldn’t afford to spend on so-called People Tracers. Finally, one had come through with an address. She thought she was done looking. She thought she could have a dad. 

“I’m so sorry he did this to you. Again.” Ava reached across the table and took her hands. 

Melly sniffed, snot dripping down her face. “And I’m sorry he left you, too.” She cracked a twisted smile. “I guess he’s the World’s Biggest Chicken, huh?”

A brief pause and Ava started laughing, quietly at first, then louder and louder, until Melly got caught up in it and began to laugh, too. 

Their laughter was so loud the server came running back out into the dining room. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, Tyler.” Ava was gasping, tears streaming down her face. “I think everything is going to be just fine.” She looked over at Melly. “Are you hungry at all?”

Melly nodded. 

Ava slid the slice of pizza across to her. “They make great pizza. Eat up and we’ll talk some more.” 

THE END