Andante

LIII

Unexpectedly there was no rehearsal the next morning. No one knew why, but apparently the conductor was not there. Eddy hoped he was okay. He really liked mr. Davids. 
Lizzy was looking super happy as she walked off to go to some shops nearby with some of the girls to look at clothes, or whatever it was that girls did when they went to the shops. It seemed to be approximately the most boring thing in the world to do to Eddy, but hey, they seemed excited enough, based on all the laughing and chatting, so more power to them, he guessed. 

¨So, you guys not going shopping, huh?¨
Eddy grinned.
¨No, Todd, not so much my thing. You, maybe?¨
Todd laughed.
¨Nah, I'm more of a 'barbecue on the beach' kind of character, myself. But I don't think there's many of those available right now. Anyway, a group of us are going to sit outside in the park, bring some instruments, you guys down?'
¨Sure thing, Todd.¨ Brett said, clearly not needing to ask Eddy at all. Brett knew he'd be more than happy to sit with a group like that and make music. 

They ran to their rooms to grab their instruments and then they walked out into the hot Sydney sunshine together, just three lads on the sidewalk, string instruments on their backs. Eddy gave Todd a sideways look, and not for the first time he was hugely grateful he played the violin; carrying a cello around seemed like a lot of hassle, God, those things were immense! 
They turned towards where they could see some greenery. Eddy was kind of trusting Todd to know his way around, AYO had been so busy that they'd barely even been outside of the building, really. 
¨So, how are you guys doing?¨ Todd asked them.
Brett shott Eddy a quick glance before answering. 
¨We're good, mate. How are you? 
Todd was silent for a while as they walked up a path by a whole bunch of very old looking trees. 
¨I'm okay, I think. It helps, seeing you guys be so in love. Makes me feel like... like it's all gonna be okay.¨
Eddy swallowed.
¨Er... look, Todd, I'm very glad, but I'm also a bit scared. Are we really that obvious?¨
¨No, mate, you're not obvious at all. I really don't think anyone else suspects anything. I guess... I guess I just know what to look for?¨
Todd looked at Eddy with more openness than he'd ever seen in him before.
¨You both look so much happier now than you did at the beginning of AYO.¨
Wow. Todd had really been paying attention. Eddy nodded and smiled at him.
¨We are, Todd.¨
There was no need to let him know what was to follow, was there? 

They heard the group before they saw them. Some kids seemed to be playing that Mendelssohn string quartet they'd heard that first night, and Eddy was itching to join them.
He had many good memories of that quartet. 
¨Hey! More string players! Come along!¨ a girl, he thought her name was Emily, called as soon as she saw them walk up.
Eddy smiled at her and opened his case quickly, hearing the clasps on Brett's case as he did the same. Brett gestured for him to join the firsts as he walked to the second violins.
Aw. 
Brett really always did the nicest things. He'd make sure that next time Brett would get to play first and he'd play second, though.
He surreptitiously tuned his violin with a little bit of pizzicato and then he found a place from where he could see the sheet music and started playing along.
A small crowd of listeners was gathering on the field; people were sitting down, crossing their legs, resting their heads on their hands. Kids were playing on the side of the little crowd, their cries mingling with the music in a accoustical mix that fit the venue perfectly. Here, under the trees, it didn't matter that it wasn't silent. 
When the first movement was done there was an enthusiastic applause from both the listeners and the AYO kids that weren't playing.  
Oh, but this was awesome! It was like a little impromptu concert, and Eddy loved every second of it. 
He liked the slow movement a lot. Last time, in the red seats, he'd been way too busy with other things to pay much attention, but now as he played he really felt the connection to both the music and the people he was making it with. 
He looked at Brett, over by the seconds, and his eyes were glittering. Yeah, Brett felt it too! 
When the final chord rung the audience applauded and some of them even came up to them to talk to them and tell them how much they'd enjoyed it. 
Eddy wasn't usually very happy with talking to strangers, really, he was too shy. But he was okay talking to this kind blonde lady now, who had two kids hanging on her hands asking for attention. She was nice. 

Eddy felt light as they walked back to the AYO building a little while later, and not just because of the size of the instrument on his back. This really had been the most awesome morning.