{"id":79,"date":"2023-04-01T01:00:45","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T06:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=79"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:23:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:23:15","slug":"over-easy-and-over-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/over-easy-and-over-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Over Easy and Over It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Early morning, roadside diner just outside Amarillo<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sun hadn\u2019t fully cleared the horizon yet. A faint pink glow spread across the dusty Texas sky like a tired yawn. Thane, Gabriel, and Mark sat huddled in a cracked vinyl booth inside The Saddle & Griddle<\/em>\u2014an ancient greasy spoon that smelled like burned bacon, black coffee, and twenty years of crushed dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waitress had called everyone \u201choney,\u201d hadn\u2019t blinked at Gabriel\u2019s claws, and had already brought a full pot of coffee before anyone even asked. She clearly knew the type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark sat across from the other two, fur slightly rumpled, blue polo shirt wrinkled from the long drive, and a sour look on his muzzle that screamed he\u2019d been awake since before the concept of mercy. He stirred three creamers into his coffee with the lifeless precision of a man surviving on sheer caffeine and spite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel, bright-eyed as always\u2014even after a full night riding shotgun in the van\u2014flipped through the laminated menu like it was a treasure map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOoh, hey! \u2018Lone Star Stack\u2019\u2014eight pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash browns and<\/em> toast. You think it\u2019s named after an actual star or just the state?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark didn\u2019t even glance up. \u201cIt\u2019s named after the inevitable heart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane smirked behind his chipped mug. \u201cHe\u2019s not wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel grinned at Mark. \u201cCome on, old wolf. You need something greasy to bring you back to life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark sighed with the weight of the world and set down his spoon like it had personally wronged him. \u201cI\u2019m beyond saving. Just let me fade into the booth upholstery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their waitress\u2014name tag Ruby<\/em>, hair up in a shellacked bun that looked structurally reinforced\u2014returned with a pen poised. \u201cY\u2019all figured out what you want?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark pointed at the menu without lifting his head. \u201cWhatever has the fewest moving parts and the lowest emotional investment. And no melon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruby raised an eyebrow. \u201cSo\u2026 eggs, toast, bacon. Black coffee. No drama.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark finally looked up and gave a single solemn nod. \u201cThat. Exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel ordered the Lone Star Stack, obviously, and Thane went for the skillet scramble with extra hot sauce\u2014because sleep-deprived werewolf techs run on protein and spite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Ruby walked off, Mark leaned back in the booth and looked at both of them. \u201cYou know what\u2019s sad? This isn\u2019t even the worst diner we\u2019ve ever been in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel snorted. \u201cYou mean the one in Tulsa where the table collapsed under your plate?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Mark said, deadpan. \u201cThe one in Kansas where the \u2018meatloaf\u2019 tried to bite me back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane chuckled. \u201cI still say that wasn\u2019t meatloaf. That was punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever it was,\u201d Mark muttered, \u201cit had an agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The food arrived fast, clearly slapped together by a cook who didn\u2019t care if his customers were famous, cursed, or undead. The bacon was crisp, the eggs hot, and the toast didn\u2019t scream when stabbed. Honestly, that was good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they ate, conversation drifted into that cozy, blurry space between exhaustion and the next caffeine hit. Mark stayed quiet, as usual, but every now and then dropped a one-liner that had Gabriel snorting coffee or Thane choking on toast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time plates were cleared, Mark was still tired, still cynical\u2014but his shoulders had eased. Just a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruby returned with the check and a wink. \u201cY\u2019all drive safe now. And you<\/em>,\u201d she said to Mark, \u201csmile once in a while, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark, unblinking: \u201cI\u2019ll put it on the schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel leaned toward Thane and whispered, \u201cHe\u2019s actually in a great mood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane grinned. \u201cI know. He only made two apocalypse jokes today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark, already sipping his refill, mumbled without looking up: \u201cThe day is still young.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early morning, roadside diner just outside Amarillo The sun hadn\u2019t fully cleared the horizon yet. A faint pink glow spread across the dusty Texas sky like a tired yawn. Thane, Gabriel, and Mark sat huddled in a cracked vinyl booth inside The Saddle & Griddle\u2014an ancient greasy spoon that smelled like burned bacon, black coffee, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3319,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions\/3319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}