A bare table framed
by two lonely chairs dominate the impeccably clean kitchen. The walls are bare,
no art or photographs, just the off-white painted cinderblocks common to
student housing. A large potted Aspidistra sits on a modest desk beneath the
front window, a drawing of Joy from the movie “Inside Out” is taped to the pot,
occasionally fluttering in the gentle breeze

The windows are
open, allowing gusts of fresh air to meander through the small apartment and
dance out the back door like a visitor just passing through.

A large
comfortable couch stands guard over the living room, its back pressed up
against the side of the staircase. Instead of a TV, there is a framed picture
of a forest, a scene both mystical and deeply familiar. Sunlight dances through
the green leaves and onto what looks like a paved road that’s winding its way
through the woods.

Jeremy and his
roommate, Michelle, face each other over a small wooden table in the heart of
their living room.

Michelle perches
on her computer chair like a bird, focused on the worn wooden checker board that
barely fits on the small table in front of her. Across from her Jeremy sits
cross-legged on the grey carpet. His head bops to the beat of the music he is
streaming from his phone into his hearing aid via Bluetooth. He watches and waits
for Michelle to move one of her bottle caps, considers his options and then
makes a move of his own.

               Between
them is a chessboard, unpolished and made of a rough wood. The words “Bottle
Cap Checkers” are engraved into the top and bottom of the board and hand painted
black. The squares were likely a solid black at one point, but years of
passionate game play has caused the wood to chip and the paint to wear away.

Beer bottle caps
are used as a substitute for chess pieces. Jeremy uses Strongbow Cider caps as
bishops and Heineken caps as pawns. Michelle moves her Rolling Rock cap-turned-knight
to protect her Corona Extra King. Many of the caps are dented. One of Jeremy’s
rooks, a green Michigan Wisconsin Craft Beer cap, is so badly bent that half of
the cap lifts off of the rough surface of the board.

They play in
silence, only the occasional joke or declaration of “check” breaking the
silence between them. Otherwise they are quiet, usually they use sign language,
raising a “c” handshape to the other, letting them know the game is one step
closer to being completed. The game nearly ends in a stalemate. Instead, it
ends with Michelle playfully flipping the board in exaggerated frustration after
she made a game ending mistake.