Mind Games

He stood, listening to it rumble away with the biggest piece of his heart inside. Then stood a little longer in the absolute quiet of the morning.

He told himself he could go back to bed, catch up on some sleep. But knew that for bullshit.

He walked into the house, where the quiet screamed like sirens. He went upstairs, made the beds because why not. He cleaned up the mess in the bathroom Bray inevitably made when he brushed his teeth.

He tossed some laundry in, wandered, actively thought about vacuuming.

And checking the clock, realized the bus hadn’t even gotten to school yet.

“For fuck’s sake, Ty, he hasn’t gone off to war. Get a grip.”

He had lyrics for a song, but hadn’t nailed down the melody, much less orchestration.

Do that, he told himself, and settled into his studio.

His mind circled a few times, then landed on the work.

He worked out the bones of the melody on the piano, switched to guitar, added bass, his voice. Overdubbed with some harmony. He listened to the playback, made some changes. Listened again.

He needed another ear, he decided, and FaceTimed Blaze.

Blaze, man bun, scarred left eyebrow from a bar fight back in the day, hooded brown eyes, flashed a grin. “Hey, man, you caught me. I’m sitting by the pool drinking my beverage of choice. Iced freaking tea. Living clean.”

“You look good.”

“Damn right. And look here.” He waved a blue-bound packet at the screen. “I’m reading a script. I’m a goddamn tee-vee star.”

“Life is strange.”

“I do like the strange. Where’s my man?”

It put a twist in Ty’s guts to say it out loud. “First day of school.”

Blaze tossed the script aside, sat up from his reclining position. “Get the fuck out of here.”

“I put him on the bus … Jesus, three hours ago. I’m sending you a picture. He got right on, basically, See you later, Dad. He’s so happy here.”

“You gonna be a Kentucky boy now, brother?”

“It looks like it. He’s got friends, the neighbor’s dog, room to run, which he does constantly. I’m thinking about building on a studio. You need to come down here, you and Mac and Scott. I could use some input there.”

“We’ll get there.”

“Meanwhile, I’ve been working on one. It feels pretty solid.”

“You run it by Mac?”

“He’s touring, I think he’s in California, so too early.”

“I’m the default.” Blaze shrugged, then settled back. “Lay it on me.”

Ty hit playback, nodded at the opening notes, the first lyrics.

I see her in sunlight, and she shines. All day I wonder when she’ll be mine. I see her in moonlight, and she glows. In my heart, the longing grows.

I see her.

Simple, Ty thought. Slow, simple. No tricky key changes, nothing overorchestrated.