Summer 2014

​David and Brody Ingram sat on the sofa, not saying a word. They knew how their mom was going to respond to their all-nighter. Not that she would at all be mad. However, she knows how they are when it comes to sleep. And these boys need all the sleep they can get.

Their mom sat in the dining room with a cup of tea in one hand and a business journal in another. David and Brody peered over to see that she was there. She had a great appearance; her hair was neat for long and wavy light brown hair, given the fact that she is only four years older than her husband, who is fifty-eight. She wore a blue sweater and blue jeans.

Mrs. Ingram was definitely ready for the day.

“Did we play video games all night long?” Brody asked.
“I think we did,” David replied.
“I think we stayed up longer last night than we did at school.”
“Oh, when you and your friends would stay up and play video games on Friday nights?”
“Yeah, but last night we didn’t order Chinese or anything,” Brody pointed out.
“We did have baklava, though,” David remarked, trying to lighten the mood.
“Oh yeah. I almost forgot.”
“Do we have anything that we have to do today?”
“I hope not.”
“I hope not either.”

David and Brody definitely could feel their eyelids getting heavy. So, with this in mind, they wanted to say “good morning” to their mom and then head off to bed. They could not remember if they had anything going to today or not. It was Saturday, so no one had to be anywhere today. Which was probably a good thing, given the boys’ circumstance, er….all-nighter.

When the two boys seated themselves at the dining room table, they had an idea that their mom knew they were up to something. Nothing bad, but nothing saintly either. Just the fact that all four boys had basically spent the whole night playing their favorite video games. And that they would have to pay the consequences today. Unless David and Brody headed toward their futons now and slept in until at least one o’clock this afternoon.

“Good morning, boys,” Mrs. Ingram said as she still sat at the dining room table. She still had with her a cup of tea.
“Morning,” David replied.
“Morning,” Brody responded.
“You guys are still up,” Mrs. Ingram stated.
“We pulled an all-nighter,” David remarked.
“Why?”
“We couldn’t stop playing video games, I guess.”
“We were planning to go to your dad’s parents’ house today.”
“Oh. Whoops.”
“You should go to bed now since we were planning to go over at four o’clock.”

David and Brody headed toward their bedroom. When climbing the stairs, they could feel their weight being brought down by gravity. In their minds, they couldn’t decide whether this meant that they were truly tired, or if they were truly lazy. The two boys couldn’t possibly be lazy. They just wanted their bed, and their bed just wanted them.

David and Brody finally made it up to their bedroom, and then to their futons. In a matter of minutes, David was out like a lamp. Brody, however, could not go to sleep so quickly. As a matter of fact, it was his pounding heartbeat that was keeping him up. For some very odd reason. Brody walked back downstairs to his mom because he was feeling scared.

“I can’t sleep,” Brody said sleepily.
“No?” Mrs. Ingram asked.
“I feel like my heart’s going to pop out of my chest.”
“I believe you’re really slap happy.”
“I’m so scared,” Brody remarked as he folded his arms over his chest.
“Your heart’s not going to pop out of your chest,” Mrs. Ingram pointed out.
“I hope not.”
“Believe me. It won’t.”
“Will you make sure?”
“Okay.”

Mrs. Ingram smiled and laughed to herself and put her hand on her son’s chest, so that she could clearly feel his snappy heartbeat. Brody put one of his hand over her hand so that he could have the reassuring feeling that his heart was not actually going to pop out of his chest. To Mrs. Ingram, this was pretty ridiculous. She was wondering why the boys had stayed up so late. She wondering why the boys would do that to themselves, since they are not morning people to begin with.

​“Is my heart going to pop out of my chest?” Brody asked, even more sleepily than before.
“No, Brody,” Mrs. Ingram replied, quite amused.
“Are you sure?”
“I could feel your heartbeat, so I’m not worried about it.”
“What should I do?” Brody asked. He was completely out of it.
“I think you should try to get some sleep. I am not completely for all-nighters,” his mom stated.
“Why? All-nighters can be fun.”
“Your sleep schedule is destroyed, and you’re not a morning person to begin with.”
“Oh yeah. Right.”
“So, get some sleep!”​

Spring 2024

“So I decided to do a little bit of meditation today,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his brother, David Ingram.
“And how did that go?” David asked.
“It was really weird.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“I lay in bed all morning because I had nothing else going on. I was lying on my stomach, and I decided to meditate by feeling my heartbeat. My hands were pressed so hard against my chest, that I think I could actually feel my blood flowing through my heart,” Toby replied.
“That’s definitely a different one,” David remarked.
“Yeah. It was definitely weird because I’m pretty sure I could feel inside my heart.”
“I’ve done that type of meditation before by feeling my heartbeat, but I don’t remember having that happen to me. I used to mediate all the time, especially right after I called off the wedding with Olivia. It helped a lot.”
“There was no real reason for me to meditate, other than just clearing my head. Work was really hectic last week, and I am glad to not have any real plans this weekend.”
“I have no plans for today as well, and it is glorious.”

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.”​

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.”

Spring 2024

“So I decided to do a little bit of meditation today,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his brother, David Ingram.
“And how did that go?” David asked.
“It was really weird.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“I lay in bed all morning because I had nothing else going on. I was lying on my stomach, and I decided to meditate by feeling my heartbeat. My hands were pressed so hard against my chest, that I think I could actually feel my blood flowing through my heart,” Toby replied.
“That’s definitely a different one,” David remarked.
“Yeah. It was definitely weird because I’m pretty sure I could feel inside my heart.”
“I’ve done that type of meditation before by feeling my heartbeat, but I don’t remember having that happen to me. I used to mediate all the time, especially right after I called off the wedding with Olivia. It helped a lot.”
“There was no real reason for me to meditate, other than just clearing my head. Work was really hectic last week, and I am glad to not have any real plans this weekend.”
“I have no plans for today as well, and it is glorious.”