Naked Came the Vampire (Hypernaturals 1)

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Mom and Dad parked their RV under the super-sized portico to the far side of the detached two-story garage. I wanted them to always know they are welcome at their old house so I built that special mini-RV park for them, with all the connections required.

When they are off the road and docked at my house, they stay in the RV just like it is an RV park. I guess that they want me to feel like the house is mine now, not theirs. Maybe the RV is their comfort zone, where all their stuff is. They went into the big house to shower and cook and pet the cats, but they liked sleeping in their own bed they said. I believed them: Their big bed is every bit as comfortable as mine in the house. A custom upgrade. I am not really quite sure how they got it in the RV. Seems like the front and only door would not be big enough.

I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed too.

After being picked up from the hospital we ate lunch at a little Austin-style BBQ joint my family likes. I could not remember food ever tasting quite this good before. The hospital food is not that bad, but this was just the best food ever. I have eaten here before and never thought the food to be this incredible. Completely next level. Apparently absence and near death experiences make the palate grow fonder.

I do not eat a great deal of red meat normally: No one in my family does, being fairly healthy eaters. BBQ here is a celebration. This place is one of those kinds of little joints where they have been making the brisket over a very smokey open pit for decades. They have the "Secret family recipe" and all that, but in this case, I think it is more than marketing hype. For one thing, it is not like they marketed. You have to know about this little out of the way spot. The couple that own this place is happy staying small. They are keeping up with the times by having grass-fed free-range organic beef available as a menu option. It is very popular and sort of controversial because there are some BBQ places in town that assert grass-fed beef does not matter. They have lines for hours but we don't eat there. Here they still have corn finished beef too. Some people prefer their beef to be full of chewy fat. It's a Texas thing I guess.

For my parents and I agree it is stretching our sensibilities to eat red meat at all. To give money to an industry that mistreats the animals the way corn fed or corn finished beef does not sit right. It is kind of the same thinking as Kosher or Halal: treat the animals well as long as you can.

The nice thing about BBQ is that it is smoked up hours ago. It's ready when you are. No waiting. You order it, they give it to you. I plowed through the food I ordered in no time, the tiny portions and soft foods of the hospital becoming a fading bad memory. I went back for more, and added sausage this time, and ate my moms leftover sausage as well. She eats like a bird.

Meat, meat, and more meat. Once I tasted it I could not get enough.

What I had no interest in? French fries or potato salad. They are good here, I just wanted protein, not carbs. Kinda weird for me. Last time I felt remotely like this is when Danny and I tried to train up to do a Biathlon for some reason. I don't know why. We were young and stupid. Maybe Danny was interesting a girl that was competing? All the extra exercise did nothing but make me hungry.

I left the little BBQ joint feeling slightly more satisfied than when I went in but could have gone back for thirds if I did not think that would have been really embarrassing. As it is, my mom watched me eat with what looked like a mixture of interest and concern. Always the doctor.

Semi-full of real food, we went shopping for some supplies for the house, and then we headed for home. While I was standing in the meat department I was amazed how hard it was not to fill the cart with steaks and chickens and all manner of animal products. It is like I had not just consumed well over a pound of BBQ. Never visit the grocery store when you are hungry, but I should not BE hungry. I should have been in another coma, food-induced this time around.