The Book of Dema

CHAPTER TWELVE + What's On Your Mind

The brown paneled walls of the little ranch house made Tyler forget where he was when he left his room most mornings. Too often, especially if they had been door hunting the previous night, he'd swing his feet to the floor, sleepily pull on a shirt and shorts, and absently walk past his sister's room toward the stairs. But there would be no stairs, and he would find himself in the junction between the entryway and the kitchen surrounded by brown paneling in the tired rental house he now called home.

This was his first place away from his family. It had been time. The shows had been picking up, and they were finally starting to make enough money to support themselves if they were frugal. Josh had been the one to suggest they room together. It was a practical solution that would make practicing and writing considerably easier. They had invited two others to join them in the house: Carter, who had enrolled in the University and needed a place to live, and Gary, a film grad Tyler had met on a video shoot. Gary seemed good at creating the promotional content they needed, and Tyler, ever the opportunist, suggested he do it from their house. Gary had shrugged and moved in the next week.

Between the random and unexpected people he'd find sitting in the kitchen or living room and the different smells that did not belong to his parents' home, he found himself constantly unsettled. These were the thoughts running through his head as he had made his way from the hallway to the refrigerator, where he now stood hunched, staring absentmindedly. I will never be able to feel at home again. There's food in this fridge I don't even recognize. Is this what it's like to be on your own? Is that a banana? Jeez, it's brown. I miss my family. Mom would have cooked me breakfast.

On this last thought a loud buzz broke the silence. It startled him into an upwards motion. He knocked his head against the corner of the freezer door and shuddered hard. Ow. Oh, it's my phone. Rubbing his head, he scanned the kitchen for the device. It buzzed again. Carter, who was sitting at the table reading The Republic, pointed over to the counter without looking up. There it is. The phone was still buzzing when he picked it up. The screen showed a picture of his mother's face smiling back at him. He ran his thumb across the slider, and left Carter to his book.

"Hello, Mom."

"Hi, Sweetie. Have a big day ahead of you?" He honestly had no idea. He'd spend some time working at the flower shop, and then he was sure he and Josh would practice a couple of the new songs they were preparing for the next round of shows.

"I can't tell yet," he said.

"Hmm. Well, if that's the case, would you run by the print shop to pick up some materials for the catechism class? I told Pastor Mark I'd drop them off today, but Jay has a tooth bothering him. I'm afraid it's another cavity. I got him a dentist appointment in an hour. That boy drives me crazy. I think I'm going to have to stand by the door while he brushes his teeth."

"He's in middle school now, Mom. Don't micromanage him."

"That's easy for you to say, my dear. You don't have to pay his dental bills. At any rate, I can't go pick the booklets up. I'll send you a picture of the receipt. The copy clerk's name is Markus. You can probably just leave them in the church office. Jenna Black will pick them up Sunday morning...Are you going to take care of it?" The question surprised Tyler. Have I been forgetting things? Why is she asking me that?

"Sure thing, Mom. I'll take care of it. Who's Jenna Black?"

"She teaches the class. Ok, gotta run. Thanks so much." The call ended abruptly and then a moment later it dinged. Tyler looked at the message. It was the receipt. I guess I'm going to run mom errands today, he thought. He walked back into the kitchen and waved at his roommate.

"Hey Carter, I'm going to go to work now and pick some things up for my mom." Cater looked up wondering why Tyler was telling him this. The usual departure protocol in this house was to throw one's things in a backpack, hunt around for keys, and finding them grunt a "later, dude" while walking out the door. There was no need for detailed reports. Carter just nodded his head. Tyler stood there for a few seconds and then spoke again.