Chapter 4

© Copyright 2008 by Elizabeth Delayne



Tyler walked the periphery of the open room where some slept and some watched stared at the silent screen that seemed to fly a continual pattern through space, like Captain Kirk would have seen standing on the bridge. Space, far and wide, on and on.

Beautiful.

It reminded him of a verse.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.

He took a moment, as he had since the room began to settle into sleep, to simply stand back and watch. Planets, stars in formation ... light and dark, majestic displaces of color.

And nothing, nothing was bigger than God could reach.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Jamie moving around the room. Most everyone else had settled in, his crew grabbing sleep on cots that had been provided for them. They would start tomorrow as soon as everyone cleared out.

He headed over in her direction. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just checking up on my grandmother,” she held up her phone.

“She’ll be okay.”

“I did it for her benefit more than mine.”

“She must be some lady.”

Jamie nodded, “She is.”

He was aware, as he thought she was, that the cameras followed them and what the producer’s and writers would try to make of this. He didn’t know what to make of the instant attraction.

Sometimes, it was nothing. A friendship that grew from the gentle pools of a warm lake of awareness. Sometimes, maybe one day, it would be more.

Still, he liked people. He liked getting to know people.

They talked of her job as they walked around. Why she liked it, being a nurse. He was fascinated, as always.

“And you travel,” she said. “Speaking engagements and the like.”

He nodded. “It’s not what I planned to do, or what I will always do, but it’s where I am right now.”

She nodded and turned back to watch the quiet traveling through space scene. For a moment, they both stood there, side by side watching. No words needed to be said, nothing awkward about it, just simple companionship that usually took weeks to form.

“I suppose I should get some sleep.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Goodnight Tyler,” she said. “Thanks for ...”

“What?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess ... for making my Gram’s dreams come true.”

As she walked into the sleeping crowd to her cot, Tyler mosied back to the entrance, sorting and filing the information he’d picked up in his brain. Not just from Jamie, but from everyone. It would be needed later, their strengths and weaknesses, jobs and dreams, used to build the route across the united states.

He headed out of the building, nodded at one of the producers who sat outside, talking on her cell phone. He had his own place to sleep.

The large traveling bus had been delivered and parked outside for his evening’s use. It sat along the rear side of the museum. He took the keys that had been given to him that afternoon and unlocked it.

He climbed up and looked around. Not unlike anything else he’d seen in this odd journey he’d been in, he didn’t spend time exploring. In the past four years, since he’d been able to have certain perks written into his contract, he’d been able to acquire the bus. He had friend’s now who had use for it, or knew of people who did. He’d already transferred the title over, just a week ago, to a friend of a friend of a friend.

But he had a feeling, as he headed to the back, past the enclosed bunk style beds, bathroom, to the small “master bedroom” that would be his, that this might be his last year. He was turning 30 now, and had questioned the change for some time.

And if it was his last, this one would be his bus, for his journeys, for some time to come.


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