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Summer 2024
Toby Ingram just came back from a run, and his girlfriend, Alyssa, was waiting for him at his apartment. They were planning to spend the evening in and watch goofy cartoons. He needed a breather before taking a shower, so he lay on the common area floor with Alyssa, and he lifted his shirt up to his chest, exposing his ribs and belly button. Alyssa then put her right ear against his upper stomach. “Jesus Christ, Toby. Your heart’s thumping,” Alyssa remarked. “Yup, I can feel it in my chest,” Toby replied. “You’re so hot and sweaty, too. How did your run go?” “I think it went well. Ran up Halsted through Boystown and back and then a little past Fullerton and back.” “How crazy was it today?” Alyssa asked. “It wasn’t bad. It’s gonna be insane next weekend though,” Toby said. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Oh, can you do me one favor?” “Yea?” “Can you tell me your middle name?” “You know my middle name.” “I do, but I want to hear you say it,” Alyssa said. “Alright, my middle name is Matthew,” Toby replied. “What is it again?” “It’s Matthew.” “Again?” “Matthew.” “I just love hearing you say your middle name.” “Sure.” “You’ve got a strong and sexy heartbeat.”
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Summer 2024
“So I attempted to run 10 miles around the park close to our parents’ house, since I went home for the weekend,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his older brother, Brody. “How did it go?” “Not as well as I had hoped. I think, at this point, I’m so used to being able to run up to 8 miles, that somehow I knew something was up around Mile 5.” “What happened?” “I noticed that my heart was beating really fast, and so I thought I needed to slow down a bit before going much further. I walked a mile to slow down my heart rate, and then I just chilled by the lake for about 15 minutes. After that, I was able to finish strong,” Toby replied. “Were you able to run the full 10 miles?” Brody asked. “I would say more or less 9 miles, but close enough. Then, as usual, on my way home, I got an iced coffee, and right now I’m at Mom and Dad’s house waiting for Dawson and everyone to come over.” “Yeah, sometimes around Mile 5 or Mile 6, I have issues with my heart pounding really hard, and I have to also slow down for a bit. McCalsky and I are training for the half marathon next year. So far, we are able to run up to 8 miles, walk 1 to 2 miles, and then finish it out. I’m not too worried about it honestly. I’m just there to have fun, not to win money or anything. But that would be nice.” “Yes, it would be,” Toby remarked. “By the way, why did you not go back to Crown Point with Dawson and everyone else?” Brody asked. “They had friends over last night. I’ve been back in Crown Point since last night because I wanted to run at the park. It’s been a minute since I’ve been there, and it’s one of my favorite places to run.” “Makes sense.” March 2018
“So I had my hernia ultrasound today,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his brother, David Ingram. “How did it go?” David asked. “Kinda embarrassing, honestly. When I had the ultrasound done, my stomach decided to be super loud.” “Oh jeez. Do you know if you’ll for sure need to have surgery?” “I am 99% positive I will need surgery for this hernia. Just don’t know when yet, since I’ve got a lot to catch up on with school and all,” Toby responded. “Hopefully soon. How do you feel otherwise?” David asked. “I feel okay, really exhausted. But that’s all part of recovery. I went back to school last week.” “That’s good. I remember Brody having a similar experience when he had his appendix out.” “For sure. I can eat most food, but I’m still having a hard time with spicy food. I started feeling more like myself a few days ago. The first few days were brutal, since I felt like I had a really bad stomach bug. On top of that, I couldn’t shower for 48 hours after my appendectomy, so I felt super gross after a while. So all this for my damn appendix. I felt better when I had my tonsils out at 15.” “Knock on wood that I don’t ever get my appendix out.” December 2022
Toby Ingram and his girlfriend, Alyssa Riley, were hanging out at Toby’s Lincoln Park apartment. They were watching some cartoons until Alyssa noticed that Toby fell asleep. She decided to put her ear against his chest. Toby woke up and pulled his shirt up to expose his ribs and his belly button. He took a very deep breath. “Are you listening to my heart?” Toby sleepily asked his girlfriend. “Mhm,” Alyssa replied. “Is it fast?” “Yes. It’s also really steady.” “I fell asleep. Not sure how that happened,” Toby remarked. “Just relax and go back to sleep,” Alyssa said. “This is relaxing.” “I’m just relaxed listening to all that love flowing through your heart.” “Mhm.” “I also love how deep your heart sounds. It’s too precious.” Summer 2022
“Literally had one of the best days of my life yesterday,” Toby Ingram said on the phone to his brother, Brody Ingram. “What happened?” Brody asked. “I got really close to Alyssa, my girlfriend.” “What do you mean?” “We cuddled while watching TV, and I heard her heartbeat for the first time. It was really soothing and relaxing,” Toby replied. “Oh my gosh, yes. That’s the best thing ever,” Brody said. “It’s the best when the fan is on, and she has her shirt pulled up so I could see her tiny little belly button.” “I can hear you blushing over the phone.” “Yasssssss.” “Julia loves to hear my heartbeat, and I’m just like, cool. Glad you love listening to it.” Summer 2024
“So I attempted to run 10 miles around the park close to our parents’ house, since I went home for the weekend,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his older brother, Brody. “How did it go?” “Not as well as I had hoped. I think, at this point, I’m so used to being able to run up to 8 miles, that somehow I knew something was up around Mile 5.” “What happened?” “I noticed that my heart was beating really fast, and so I thought I needed to slow down a bit before going much further. I walked a mile to slow down my heart rate, and then I just chilled by the lake for about 15 minutes. After that, I was able to finish strong,” Toby replied. “Were you able to run the full 10 miles?” Brody asked. “I would say more or less 9 miles, but close enough. Then, as usual, on my way home, I got an iced coffee, and right now I’m at Mom and Dad’s house waiting for Dawson and everyone to come over.” “Yeah, sometimes around Mile 5 or Mile 6, I have issues with my heart pounding really hard, and I have to also slow down for a bit. McCalsky and I are training for the half marathon next year. So far, we are able to run up to 8 miles, walk 1 to 2 miles, and then finish it out. I’m not too worried about it honestly. I’m just there to have fun, not to win money or anything. But that would be nice.” “Yes, it would be,” Toby remarked. “By the way, why did you not go back to Crown Point with Dawson and everyone else?” Brody asked. “They had friends over last night. I’ve been back in Crown Point since last night because I wanted to run at the park. It’s been a minute since I’ve been there, and it’s one of my favorite places to run.” “Makes sense.” June 2016
“Toby, you alright?” Brody Ingram asked his younger brother, whom he saw lying on the couch in the common area. “My head’s pounding,” Toby replied. “Sorry to hear that.” “Yeah, well, I did it to myself.” “What happened?” Brody asked. “Idiot me decided to go on a run after taking a week off from it with this damn head cold going on,” Toby replied. “How do you feel, aside from the pounding headache?” “I feel okay otherwise, a little tired. It felt really nice getting my pulse up again, but I think I started back at it a little too early.” “Maybe a little, but at least you got a workout in. Do you think it went well today?” “No.” Fall 2015
“Is Toby still sleeping?” David Ingram asked his younger brother, Brody. They were in the common area of their apartment playing video games. “Yes, he is. I feel so bad for him,” Brody replied. “What happened exactly?” “He had a pretty bad anxiety attack when we ran the 5K this morning. He didn’t finish, and now he’s beating himself up over it.” “Remember when you and I ran a 5K, and I hurt my ankle and couldn’t finish?” David asked. “Oh yes. I do remember,” Brody replied. “That was really soul-crushing for sure.” “I always find it funny when Toby has a really bad run, or something like this happens, he vows never to run again. And then a day or two later, he decides to go back into it.” “Sounds about right.” |
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