Chapter 7

Back in the van, Melissa started driving, looking for a good spot for the explorers to eat lunch.

“Hey, interstate’s the other way, dumb***.” said Dirk. Melissa, unfazed by the insult, soon pulled the van over in a large, relatively intact parking lot, at the boundary of the commercial and residential districts, across from a large mansion. The explorers got out of the van as Melissa hit the tailgate button on the dash. She asked if someone could help her remove a large white box from the cargo area of the van, and Billy obliged. Three large blankets were underneath the box.

Inside the box was a small battery powered fridge, a small Weber grill, a potato slicer, a pot, tongs, bottled water, Cokes, cooking gloves, paper towels, utensils, plates, a bowl, olive oil, Neely’s dry rub, and Purell hand sanitizer.

“So that’s why we put what we liked to eat on the online signup sheet. Do you need any more help?” said Billy.

“I think I’m good.” said Melissa.

“This woman came prepared.” said David.

Melissa got the blankets out, found a section of ground with no overgrowth, and laid them down. She then opened the fridge, revealing five packaged well-marbled ribeye steaks and five large Idaho potatoes, along with A-1 steak sauce, butter, salt and pepper, and ketchup.

“Oh my gosh, those steaks look delicious!” said Billy. Melissa set the steaks on a plate in the cargo area of the van to warm up and washed her hands with sanitizer. She turned the grill on low, put the gloves on, poured some of the bottled water in the pot, and started boiling the potatoes. As she cooked, Billy did some filming, and she and the other explorers talked about events in their lives and places that they wanted to go in Izzy.

“I want to see that hospital where they gave insane people Thorazine. I saw a video, taken in Izzy, where a murderer tried to run up the hill behind the hospital, but they caught him and handcuffed him in the snow. Maybe his ghost is up there.” said Dirk.

“I’ve seen that video too. I want to see that hospital, but I’m not chomping at the bit for it yet. I want to get to the university.” said Billy.

“1982? He could still be alive.” said Megan.

“He did die in Izzy, I think in 1984 at the hospital about a half-mile that way.” said Melissa, pointing east.

“Was Izzy a dangerous town?” asked Megan.

“Izzy was a very safe town. You’d hear about the occasional robbery or something like that, usually on the east side of town. I think there was more crime before I came along, but in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s we never talked about it much.” said Melissa.

“Izzy seems like a good place to have grown up.” said Billy.

The explorers continued to converse, and the fifteen minutes before the fries were done seemed to fly by. Melissa sanitized her hands again, and then asked how everyone wanted their steaks cooked: Dirk said well-done, Megan said medium, David medium-rare and Billy “still mooing”. Melissa’s steak would be cooked medium, like Megan’s.

“Enjoy your food poisoning.” said Dirk.

“Enjoy your shoe leather.” said Billy.

Melissa put the five steaks on the grill and turned up the heat. Billy’s steak only took a couple minutes to cook, David’s, Megan’s and Melissa’s were done within a few minutes of Billy’s, but Dirk’s took a while. Billy and David looked slightly annoyed but waited patiently for Dirk’s steak to finish before Melissa portioned out the steaks, fries, plates, and utensils, also putting out the ketchup and steak sauce. At this time, she also closed the grill. Billy filmed part of the cooking process, using up the last space on his second memory card.

“You cook like you have a lot of experience. How long have you been cooking steaks?” asked Billy.

“I learned how to cook them my freshman year of college, late 1982 or early ‘83.” said Melissa.

Billy cut into his steak, finding a thin strip of brown around the outside and a cool, red, nearly raw center. Pouring some sauce on his plate, he cut his steak into strips and took the first bite.

“Wow! You’re the only person who can cook steaks as good as my mom’s! This is delicious!” exclaimed Billy.

“Thank you very much! I’m glad it turned out good.” said Melissa.

“Yeah, this is delicious. You have a real talent.” said Megan.

“Wow, I didn’t know we had a master chef with us. You should go on TV.” said David.

“This steak is **** good.” said Dirk. A few minutes later, Melissa put the grill and fridge back in the box after everyone agreed their steaks were perfectly cooked and they had all the condiments they needed.

Just a minute later, Dirk’s praise would turn to disappointment when he saw a slight hint of a faint pink in the center of his steak, which he had already half eaten. He showed it to everyone.

“My steak is undercooked.” said Dirk.

“I can throw it back on the grill if you want.” said Melissa.

“It looks fine to me.” said David.

“I ate well-done years ago, and that looks like a perfect well-done.” said Billy.

Melissa went to get the grill back out of the van.

“Really, Dirk? Just eat the d*** steak.” said Billy.

She put Dirk’s steak on the grill and fired the grill back up as Billy, Megan and David finished up their steaks. A short time later, the steak was done and fully brown on the inside. Dirk took a bite.

“It’s overcooked. You messed it up.” he said, literally throwing the rest of the steak out. Melissa put the grill back up and finished eating her steak.

“Melissa bends over backwards for you, and you walk all over her.” said Billy.

“It’s okay, Billy.” said Melissa.

“Sorry, I just get a little upset when I see people I care about treated like garbage. Thank you for the delightful steaks.” said Billy.

 “Yeah, don’t let Dirk get you down.” said Megan.

The explorers wanted a few minutes to let their food settle before heading to their next location, so all but Dirk helped clean up, and then they got back in the van to relax. After about 20 minutes, they were ready to start exploring again, starting with the mansion across the street.