In his den, Philip showered, changed, and sent his dirty clothes to the laundry. Then he headed for the café. Another off time, he was left with the same luck as before: no one to sit with. He drank his blood, paid his bill, and headed home again. He had a couple of hours until sunrise and, thanks to modern cable, there was now programming on TV all night long. Not necessarily quality programming, but it was something to watch all the same.

Though he didn't like to admit it, ...