Andante con Brio

LXIV

So several weeks had flown by in a flurry of relaxation, practice, stacking shelves and quite a few rendezvouses with Brett in bedrooms and parks. In the middle of it all the first house, the one that Todd had talked about when they were on the campsite, had fallen through before they had had a chance to look at it and Eddy had been disappointed and relieved in almost equal measure. 
Almost. 
Then he had kind of put it out of his mind. He was way too busy anyway, with relaxation and shelves and the violin and stuff, to talk to his mum. Right? 
So now that he was looking down the street at the little group of friends standing in front of a red door of a house he didn't know what to think anymore. The house itself was just like any other house, with a balcony with metal railings above their heads on the first floor, overlooking the street. It was just that this was the house that maybe could be theirs... and somehow it was hard to feel excited enough. 
How would he ever tell his mum? 
"Hey, Eddy! Made it out of bed?"
He rolled his eyes at his great friend. 
"I think we all know punctuality is not my forte. I'm working on it, okay?"
Todd grinned. "Yeah. Maybe you should get up a bit earlier each morning to work on it?"
He shoved Todd in the shoulder and turned towards the door. Brett's hand brushed against his subtly and he smiled at him. 
"Hey."
"Hey."
"So, can we go in?"
Todd grinned again. "Well, as luck would have it, the rental agent is late."
Eddy sat down with a shock on the little step in front of the house. His legs were still heavy with sleep, even after rushing around to get here on time. He looked around the street. It was pretty nice here, really. The street was maybe a bit busy with cars and buses going up and down, but it was close to the con and close to the supermarket. Nothing like the little cul de sac he came from, but was that a bad thing? 

"Hello, Todd?"
A small Asian lady in a tight black skirt with her hair pulled back in a tight bun had appeared on his right. Todd turned around and shook her hand while Eddy stood up awkwardly. 
Had he looked stupid, sitting down like that? 
"Come on in, guys." she said with a slight Chinese accent. Hm. Maybe he should talk to her in Mandarin? Would that get them a gold star when it came to choosing who to rent to? 
He stepped to the side so he could follow everyone in. 
It was just a house. A nice house, with tiled floors, white walls. A faded brown couch and a coffee table in the living room. A dinner table with six chairs over by the back door. Of course Todd did all the talking, while the rest of them just followed him and the agent around like a pack of lap dogs. 
He liked the front bedroom, the one with the balcony. Maybe they would let them have this one? He didn't mind the traffic noise. So maybe he and Brett could sleep here? Maybe they could sit on the balcony together and look out over the street when they moved in?
If they moved in? 
Before he knew it they had taken a tour through the small garden and were back outside on the curb. The question whether he should speak Mandarin to the agent had been moot because he hadn't said a word the whole time, and neither had Brett. He looked at him a bit helplessly now. What was going to happen next? 
"Well, I will contact you next week and let you know." the agent said pleasantly and Todd nodded. 
"Thank you, Ms. Li."

They all went to get bubble tea after at their regular place, but Eddy's heart wasn't in it. He would have no choice now but to tell his mum about the house, would he? Brett was surely going to have to tell his folks as well, and his mum really couldn't hear it from anyone else. It had to be him, and clearly... it had to be today. 
He tried his best to laugh at Todd's jokes, but Brett was already eyeing him wonderingly. He blinked at the laminate of the table their teas sat on. 
How did you choose between your own happiness and your mum's? 

God, this was going to suck.