Image by Gleen Ferdinand from Pixabay
“So, I don't know why no one has figured this out yet, but the best sweet and sour sauces there are is just mixing barbecue sauce and mustard or ketchup and mustard together, and mustard and honey has gotta be No. 3.”
“Shhhh, Vertran. You can't put that on the Internet. That's a family secret – what you think Pop-Pop, your dad, and my dad have been doing with the barbecue they make all this time?”
“Oh, I just finally grew into the family knowledge about this!”
“Yeah, Vertran – now you can start training to be the next Stepforth barbecue genius just like I'm training under my dad to be the next Trent barbecue genius.”
“Barbecue? Where?” said five-year-old Lil' Robert Ludlow as he came running over to his friends nine-year-old Milton Trent and Milton's cousin nine-year-old Vertran Stepforth.
“We're just about to make sure you're hooked up with barbecue for like the next eighty years, Rob!” Milton said as he threw his arms around the younger boy.
“Oh, thank you, see, because, even though I don't barbecue, I'm the one who appreciates the barbecue and makes everybody feel good about making sure I have plenty, see, because, when I get big, I'm going to be able to eat more and appreciate even more, because, see, I don't really know how long eighty years is, but you can be sure I'mma be ready!”
“Oh, absolutely sure!” Vertran said as he hugged the younger boy before Lil' Robert ran back to where he was sitting. He then said to Milton, “You think maybe we ought to let him in on it?”
“We need him to take over as The Appreciator, though,” Milton said. “Dad hasn't paid for all the meat for a while. Capt. Ludlow has nine to feed, including Rob, and Rob is enough of a job by himself, so Capt. Ludlow has been compensating Dad to put 2-3 extra racks on of everything on for every barbecue. Dad keeps bringing the change and Capt. Ludlow keeps saying to keep it.”
“That's a good setup, actually – fair and generous all around, because then the Ludlows can have barbecue to eat until Uncle Vincent feels like doing it again.”
“And we get to have barbecue more often because both households are sharing the meat costs,” Milton said. “So, how about we just let Rob play the position he wants to play as The Appreciator and grow into his grandfather's spot, and then there will be more barbecue for everybody!”
“You know, if we could get Pop-Pop and Col. Lee off into this,” Vertran said, “because you know all the Lees-of-the-mountain have their own secrets about barbecue, and so we could be getting four kinds of barbecue every summer.”
“Yeah, when we get back up to the house, let's get started on that, because it's August, so, we gotta get the barbecue train moving,” Milton said.