As His Heart Hopes...

Game Night

With pizza boxes stacked on the counter, and the score tied at two wins each, T.K. couldn't help but laugh at Ephram's sudden competitiveness. "Just give up now, Uri. We all know you can't count higher than two!"

"Rude!" Uri screeched, while Ms. Meyer shook her head and touched her youngest's shoulder. 

"Don't let him get to you, Uri. You know he gets mean when he can't hold on to his lead. Something to keep in mind with this one, T.K." At the mention of his name, T.K. watched as a realization seemed to settle over Ephram's face. Ephram awkwardly cleared his throat and looked away.

T.K. could feel his face hurt from smiling so much and as he let out a content breath, his mind started to wander. He couldn't stop feeling guilty about being here with the Meyer family and having so much fun while Patamon was infected. But suddenly a soft hand squeezed his shoulder, and he looked over to see Ephram regarding him with concern, having closed the distance between them. "You okay, Takeru?"

"Are you thinking about your friend again?" Uri asked with sadness in his eyes. 

T.K. took another steadying breath while Ephram tossed Uri a confused look. "I am indeed, Uri. Ephram...I owe you an explanation...I've been so distant because...well one of my closest friends--maybe even my best friend--is really sick...and I just don't know if he's going to be okay. So, I'm sorry if I ever made you worry--"

T.K. is cut off by Ephram engulfing him in a warm, tight hug. T.K.'s breath hitched in his throat as Ephram soothingly rubbed his back. After a moment the boys pull away, and T.K. could see Ephram struggling to find words--his mouth opening and shutting repeatedly. 

Ms. Meyer gently cleared her throat, stealing T.K.'s attention away from Ephram for a moment, and with a warm look on her face, she gets to her feet grabbing her own and Uri's cups. "Come help me with the refills, T.K., please?"

T.K. nodded, grabbing his and Ephram's glasses, before following her to the kitchen. Once inside, despite the tears stinging his cheeks, he tried his best to hide behind a smile. Ms. Meyer tuts at him with a shake of her head, slowly pouring iced tea from a pitcher into all four cups.  "You can't fake your feelings with me, T.K. And you don't have to even try--I've raised three extremely emotional boys, so I know all the tricks."

A breathy laugh escaped his lips as T.K. quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeves. "Oh come on now. The two I've met aren't that emotional."

This time Ms. Meyer laughed loudly, "That's sweet of you, but you're a liar! Abner chose anger--lashing out was his way to communicate when he felt like no one was actually listening to him. Ephram takes every emotion every other person could be feeling and stores it in his body until he can't function, but also struggles with expressing his own feelings. And Uri--well, sometimes I worry Uri feels all of his feelings too strongly. So...you can't fake a smile in front of me, I'll always know."

"You're a true superhero." T.K. smiled at her with saccharine admiration, "My mom has tried her best, but the divorce was messy. So emotions haven't really been our strong suit."

Ms. Meyer leaned back against her countertop, observing T.K. in silence. Just when T.K. thought the silence might be too much for him, she finally spoke again. "So...your friend is sick...and you think that you being out and having a good time is somehow a smack in the face to them...Am I close?"

"Dead on, actually." T.K. let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. 

She nodded thoughtfully, before glancing out the kitchen window. When she spoke again, her voice was filled with warmth that made T.K.'s heart tingle. "I need you to understand something about hardship, T.K. When we are at our lowest--like your friend--we don't expect those closest to us to put their lives on the back burner. No matter what negative things you're thinking right now, this moment of recharging doesn't make you a bad friend--or a bad person. In fact, if I was a betting woman--which I am not--I would bet that your friend is glad that you're still living your own life."

The look on Ms. Meyer's face seemed to signal to T.K. that she was speaking from experience. She cleared her throat, shaking off the memory before continuing. "So long as you're there when this friend needs you the most, and you're spending all your time together making sure they're okay, then you have nothing to be ashamed of. It's okay, T.K. You can stop and take a breath for a moment, just don't forget that."

T.K. let out a laugh as Ms. Meyer handed him tissues for his tears, "Wow. You're way more poignant than I gave you credit for."

She laughed too, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Well, I am an expert at talking sense into sad boys. Ephram being my number one client."

T.K. raised an eyebrow, playfully. "Oh? Please share with the class."

"I mentioned it briefly...but Ephram always feels like he's letting someone down. Even if the situation has absolutely nothing to do with him, whatever goes wrong is just always his fault." A sadness filled Ms. Meyer's usually bright eyes, "There's just this...weight constantly on his shoulders. He always has to make sure someone else is okay--and puts himself last. Always." 

A silence filled the space between them again.

Then there was a hesitant knock on the doorframe and Ephram entered the kitchen. "I just wanted to check in..."

There was concern on his face, but Ms. Meyer winked at T.K. and grabbed Uri's and her own cup before walking past Ephram, bumping his shoulder gently as she passed. "Just warning your boyfriend that you two were gonna lose! Just gotta go strategize with Uri!"

T.K. laughed loudly as Ms. Meyer exited the kitchen, leaving the boys alone to talk. Ephram cocked an eyebrow at T.K. before glancing back toward the living room. After a moment of listening to Uri and Ms. Meyer talking loudly, he jumped up to sit on the countertop next to T.K. "She didn't scare you away, did she?"

"Oh no. The exact opposite, actually--we started planning the wedding." T.K. second-guessed his joke when Ephram's cheeks erupted in a blush. He gently grabbed Ephram's hand before things went too far, "That was a joke. I promise."

Ephram let out a breath before chuckling, "You can't scare me like that! She's got an awful taste in just about everything when it comes to weddings..."

Another silence filled the kitchen as T.K. struggled with his thoughts on what he should focus on. But Ephram pulled him back to reality with a soft squeeze of his hand, guiding their conversation gently. "So...how have you been? Like....in general?"

"I'm...not sure." T.K. rubbed the back of his neck before looking back into Ephram's chartreuse eyes. "But I do know I missed you."