Something About Meat

After months of it sitting in the laundry room Kenny finally decided it was time to break out the BBQ and set it up - just in time - actually not quite - for a BBQ with some local friends and some out of town guests. He started setting up around 2:30 (for a 4:00 BBQ) and we ate at 5ish. Not terrible considering lighter fluid does not exist in Lima and getting the hang of the Peruvian fire starter took a good chunk of the set up time. Below are some pictures of Kenny getting ready to do one of his very favorite things, cook (i.e. commune) with meat. While he was doing all of this setting up and cooking, I was reminded of a story from our past where meat is a central player and that was ultimately critical to our happy ending.

When Kenny and I had been dating for about 2 weeks, Washington, DC, had one of its worst snow storms on record. The entire city was shut down for 3 days. As it happened, I was at Kenny's house the night the storm moved in and by the time I was ready to go home, it was too late and I was snowed in with him and his 4 roommates. I didn't know any of these guys (including Kenny) all that well and the prospect of being their house guest for who knew how long was a little troubling.

It was that beginning stage of a relationship where things had been going very well - well enough that the day before we had celebrated Valentine's Day together - but we were still getting to know each other and see if we were compatible enough to keep things moving forward. There was still the question of whether or not we'd run out of things to say or stop being surprised or impressed by the other one or just get bored. Add to that the fact that I was not prepared for an overnighter, much less a more than overnighter and you can imagine my trepidation. But, it couldn't be helped, the roads were impassable and short of snowshoeing it home, I was stuck.

As it turned out, Kenny and his roommates were wonderful hosts. The house they lived in was large enough that they could accommodate a sixth resident. Their pantry was well stocked for 5 guys in grad school so we had plenty of delicious food as well. We watched movies and played games and talked and talked and talked. I learned a lot about Kenny during those three days and I also learned that I was a little more high-maintenance than I had previously thought. I vividly remember standing in the shower staring at the bar of soap in the dispenser, the only soap available, and dreaming of my Dove body wash back at my apartment. Washing my face with that soap sucked out so much moisture it hurt to smile (no moisturizer available either!!!). By the end of the 3 days I also would have given my left arm for something to wear that didn't have a college or professional team name or mascot emblazoned on it. Now, I wish we had pictures from that adventure, but at the time I was not about to go anywhere near a camera.
The snow finally melted enough that cars could get through, sort of, and Kenny and his roommate drove/slid me home. Power and phone lines was restored across the city, we had all survived, and most importantly, Kenny and I still wanted to see each other again. I wanted to thank the guys for their kindness and enlisted the aid of my good friend Adrianne to help me come up with a suitable gift. She didn't know the guys at all, but after we talked about them and the weekend, suggested they might like some good steaks. After three days I was confident that this was a house of carnivores and couldn't think of a better way to say thank you. We headed off to Costco and bought some very delicious steaks - the kind people in grad school don't usually eat.

When I took the steaks over to give to the guys none of them were there. Instead, I was met with their girl posse - a group of girls who were good friends with the guys in the house and some of whom had dated, were dating or would eventually date most of those same guys. A couple of the girls were vegetarian and incredulous that I would bring a gift in the form of meat, but I assured them it would be well received. And, it was. The guys were all demonstrably grateful...Kenny in particular. I don't know if the gift of meat sealed mine and Kenny's fate, but I know it certainly helped.