Andante

CXV

It was getting dark by the time the plane started descending. The group had started off quiet, more quiet than they had ever been together, all of them lingering in front of the hotel, all of them sad to be going. But they had soon picked up their normal banter. Eddy didn't know about the rest of them, but he himself had simply felt he should make the most of the last day of their trip, even if they did have to spend almost all of it in cramped airplane seats. So they had had fun. 
Still, he was glad when he started to be able to see the lights of the city in the distance. Soon he'd be able to stretch his legs again like a normal person. And he'd see his mum again. He hadn't spoken to her very much, this week, but he had thought about her a lot. And after what Mr. Davids had told him he actually felt quite a lot milder towards her, he realised, as he sat back in the cramped seat and stared out into the fast approaching night. 
And now that he was about to see her, he also realised just how much he had missed her. 

The familiar feeling of exhilaration and tension filled his belly as the plane raced down to the runway and touched down, braking hard as soon as it did. 
"Home!" Brett said, beside him, the slightest bit of relief in his voice too. Then he turned and nudged Todd, who was to his left across the aisle, and who had fallen asleep a little while ago. Ian was also asleep, next to him. "Todd! Mate, we're here."
Todd grunted and opened his eyes. Then he rubbed them and gave Ian a light shove.
"Mate. We're here. Stop dreaming of pretty young violinists." 
Ian woke up straight away and he shook his head at Todd with a lopsided grin. 
"Wasn't dreaming about any violinists. She was out of my league, anyway."

Eddy watched their little exchange quietly. Suddenly he was not so sure that Ian was okay, at all. Did he just look sad, because the week was over? Or was there more to it? He saw the worry in Todd's eyes, too, and he realised Todd was probably sorry he'd made the joke, because he gave Ian a small smile and an encouraging hum. 
But the plane stopped taxiing then, halting that train of thought, and Eddy got up and starting gathering their stuff. He waited breathlessly until the doors would open. He didn't mind flying, really, but it was just super boring. And now that the plane had stopped and everyone was getting up and crowding the isle with the suitcases they were lifting from the overhead compartments he only wanted one thing: out. 

It took a few more minutes, but they eventually did get to shuffle out of the plane in a slow throng of people, and they walked through the airport as a group once more, their earlier silence descending on them again now. 
They were approaching the arrivals hall when suddenly Todd stopped, and they all halted and turned around to him. 
"Guys." he said softly, and Eddy could have sworn his eyes were slightly moist, "Just.... before we're all back with our families and shit, a bro hug, okay?"
None of them hesitated, and suddenly they were all hugging and clapping each other's backs. Eddy caught Ian's eyes, just as they let each other go. They were moist as well, but most of all they were sad.
"Hey." he said to him, soft enough not to be overheard. "We're not moving away, hey? We'll be right here in Brisbane. Don't be a stranger?"
Ian nodded, and Eddy guessed he wasn't trusting his voice. 
"Thanks." he whispered then. 
The group turned back towards the exit without speaking any more, and Eddy was still thinking about how he could support Ian with whatever he was going through as they walked out of the building into the darkness of the Brisbane night. 

"Mum!" he called as he saw the familiar small shape by their car. She turned around and he saw her beaming face in the low light from the airport behind him. He smiled as she opened her arms and he walked towards her as fast as he could without coming across as if he were running. 
Young men didn't run to their mothers, after all. But they could hug them, couldn't they? 
"Hey son." she said in Mandarin, closing her arms around him for a brief moment. 
"Hey mum." he replied. "Thanks for picking me up."
She nodded. "Has it gone well? Was the concert successful?"
"It was, Mrs. Chen." Brett said next to him in his soft, polite voice, even more polite when he spoke Mandarin. "It was a great week."
Eddy's mum smiled kindly at Brett. Eddy knew full well that she basically saw him as family by this point. "Good." she said curtly.  
"Are we taking Brett home, mum?" he asked.
His mum just nodded as she opened the boot for them to pile their bags and violins into. Eddy couldn't help the little flutter his heart made. 
So. It wasn't quite over, then. He would get to sit next to Brett for just a little while longer, before he'd have to go to his own house, his own room and his own bed... alone.