Allegro con fuoco

LXXIX

Eddy stands in the door opening, the field ahead of him, his best man beside him, and tries to keep it together. 
"Hey, you good? You look green." Todd says. 
Eddy grins. 
"Yeah, I'll be okay once I'm up there. I can't believe it's finally happening."
"I know, right?" Todd answers him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Although technically I guess you've been married for like six years."
Eddy smiles as his thinks back of their makeshift honeymoon in Singapore. Wow, that seems like it was a different lifetime completely, like it happened to a different guy altogether. 
So much has happened in the mean time. They've graduated, worked in orchestra, started a business together, made it grow. They're about to go on tour. 
They actually seem to be becoming somewhat successful.
"You know, the first seed of TwoSet was planted on that trip?" he says. 
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I was on the plane, think how awesome it would be to be able to always perform together, rather than to be travelling alone."
Todd grins. 
"Well, you've certainly managed that."
"I know. We're not soloists, though."
Todd grins again. 
"Seriously? None of us are, but you show me someone who is doing more for classical music than you guys do?"
Eddy takes a deep breath as he turns to his best friend. 
"Thanks, Toddy. I hope you're right. Anyway. I see my mum."
She has appeared over there, just where the white carpet-thing that's covering the grass begins. She smiles and waves at him and he nods to Todd, as he sprints off to take his place at the pergola. 
There had to be a pergola, of course. 
"Mum." he says as he approaches her, hugging her quickly. 
"Son." she answers in Mandarin. "Wow. How big you've become. All grown, and so handsome."
"Thanks, mum." His voice is thick with something, and he's already starting to realise he's not going to get through this day with his cheeks dry. Neither is his mum, though, who's looking up at him all dewy eyed. 
She links her small arm through his larger one and they start walking slowly. 
Eddy can't help it, a tear rolls over his cheek as they reach the first chairs. He keeps walking though, towards the love of his life. There's not many people here, because they've decided to keep a low profile. That their private life is theirs, and theirs alone. So the only people here are people they love. 
His mum squeezes his arm and he looks sideways at her. She's small, much smaller than he is, and she looks much frailer than she is. It's easy still, to remember a different life where they had to hide from the world. Where his mum was the homophobe, and how hard it was for her to accept them. 
She got there though. She got there, and even his uncles are here, now. He knows that that's only because of her powers of persuasion, and isn't that just the greatest way ever to show her acceptance?
"Thank you, mum." he whispers in Mandarin, and she looks up at him in surprise. 
"For what?"
"For showing me what love is, over and over again. For raising me and always having my back."
Now she's crying, and so is he, because he sees Brett now, standing by the pergola, looking so ridiculously handsome in his charcoal suit, flanked by Todd and Ian, Lily and Edlyn standing on the other side, the little girl looking so proud in her frilly light pink dress. And so big, already. 
His mum releases his arm, nods at Brett and kisses Eddy on the cheek, then sits down next to his uncle. Brett's mum is beaming at him from the other side of the aisle and he smiles at her before turning to his groom. 
Has anyone ever been surrounded by this much love? 
Finally, finally he's allowed to take Brett's hands, he's allowed to look into his eyes. 
"I could kiss you already." he whispers. "You look so lovely today."
Brett grins shyly. 
"I think that's meant to happen later. And so do you, my lovely Eddy."
Eddy waggles his eyebrows and squeezes the hands he's holding. 
"Thanks. Well. Alright. Let's do this, hey?"