Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

twenty pounds of fresh shrimp we need to peel and devein for different appetizers.”
    I nodded and prayed I would have the stomach of steel I knew I would need for this horrible task. Ms. Mary directed me to a wash sink, pulled out an empty bucket, and placed it inside. She brought over a large stainless steel bowl and put it on the other side of the sink.
    “Here.” She handed me a shrimp, which I did not like to see or touch battered and fried, much less uncooked. “First you peel ’em, just like this, and then you take this here deveiner, you slip it into the top right here, and use it to pull out this black string. Throw all the garbage in here, and then put the clean shrimp in the bowl.”
    I gave her a small nod, then swallowed the bile in my throat. “What is that black string?” I asked.
    She smiled at me. “Girl, from the color of your face, you do not want to know. Now, you just ought to be glad Mr. Greg got here early and beheaded these fellas for you, because if you’re thinking this is gross, you would’ve a fit pinching the heads off.”
    I held up my hand in protest. “Please, no more, stop,” I said, my stomach churning.
    She patted me on the back. “When you’re done with these, you’ll be a true south Alabama girl.”
    I studied the gross creatures in front of me and decided right then and there that if this was what it took to be a true south Alabama girl, I’d much rather stay a true Tennessee mountain chick. Four hours later, after some help from Marcus and even a little help from Mr. Greg, there were twenty pounds of clean shrimp. Now, I will never put one in my mouth, but I sure can peel and devein one “like nobody’s business” . . . or at least, Mr. Greg said I could. Ms. Mary walked over and handed me a bowl of lemon juice and water.
    “Here, girl, soak those hands in this. The smell will be gone in about ten minutes.”
    I stared in horror at my hands and realized that the smell I’d managed to get used to after hours of working with the nasty little things now clung to my hands. I sank them down into the cleansing concoction as quickly as I could. My face must have expressed my thoughts because Ms. Mary threw back her head and laughed one of her deep belly laughs that always made me smile.
    “Girl, you sure keep this place interesting. I don’t know what I did before you came here to make me smile.”
    Marcus walked into the kitchen and saw my hands in the lemon juice mixture, then sat down beside me and slipped his in it too.
    “I just got a whiff of these fingers outside and realized I needed some help.”
    I slid my hands over and gave him plenty of room. “What I don’t understand is why people eat these things willingly. I would think their appearance is all it would take to turn them off. And if the nasty look of them isn’t enough, they should sit and try to peel and devein the little things.”
    Marcus grinned and shrugged. “I happen to like them.”
    I rolled my eyes. “It is because all you beach people think they are the food of the gods, when they are really just nasty old ocean-floor feeders.”
    Marcus wiggled his eyebrows. “Maybe so, but they sure taste good.”
    I made a gagging noise, and he laughed.
    “Okay, you two, I need you cleaned up and dressed within the hour.” Ms. Mary stood with her hands on her hips. She said to Marcus, “When will William and the others get here?”
    Marcus glanced over at the digital clock on the large industrial-size stainless steel refrigerator and then back at Ms. Mary. “In twenty-three-point-four minutes, ma’am.”
    She rolled her eyes and turned back toward the stove. “Once they get here, I expect you and William to give them their orders. Sadie, just do as Marcus directs you. He has done this thing before for Master Jax, and he knows the ropes.”
    Marcus slipped his hands out and dried them on the towel beside me. I considered taking mine out too but decided I’d touched more shrimp than the rest of them and needed more soaking, so I stayed put.
    “It’s not like when you’re feeding the family,” Marcus said. “You’ll be expected to smile and mingle among the guests with food on a tray, and not bump into anyone or drop it.”
    His gaze darted to Ms. Mary, whose back was still turned, and then back at me. “One thing I want to warn you about is the fact that there will be guys here tonight. They are not going to find you invisible.” He reached up and tugged at one of the curls