It was 8 pm, right after dinner...

XXXI

The slight breeze was a very welcomed change to the AC-air in the hospital. And since it was still early, the temperature and humidity in Singapore were still somewhat manageable for regular human beings to walk around.

Brett made very sure they stopped at the first okay-ish place they could find near the hospital and ordered a coffee along with the biggest breakfast set for Eddy and himself a glass of orange juice and some chicken congee, because a bit of rice was like one of the few things left he could eat, apparently.
They sat and ate in silence, both of them too tired and worn out to talk. The food was great though and even the congee lifted up Brett's spirit, so by the time they were done, they felt a million times better.

"I swear, when you're good again, I'm gonna take you out for a big dinner!", Eddy said and rubbed his belly in great appreciation. Brett found it a weird way to phrase what one hundred percent would be a very normal meal between bros and blushed a bit.
"I'll take you to that!", he answered as deadpan as he could.
Eddy smiled at him and Brett didn't know, if it was the early morning light, the lack of proper nutrition or his illness playing a prank, but the angelic way Eddy looked was just not something he could handle after almost a whole day in the hospital, so he just quickly got up.
"Let's pay and go home. I need a shower", Brett said and went to the counter, Eddy's gaze lingering on him.

Brett's new violin had arrived during a very shitty time for Brett and that was simply a gift. He had something he really looked forward to every day and he felt it opening up and resonating more with each practice session. It was amazing, how much an instrument could change in the beginning, just because one spend time playing it.

Next to that, everything else more or less sucked. Dr. Han did send him a list for his new diet and what he was left with now were a tiny bit of proteins (no processed meat and fish though, for example sausages), vegetables, fruits, nuts and stuff like lentils and chickpeas. At a first glance, it seemed okay. But if oily, fatty or too salty were a no go and fun things like MSG and sugar forbidden, his menu choices started to really become bland and boring.

An upside in this whole ordure was, that Brett discovered a new side of his friend. Eddy suddenly became really creative cuisine wise. Not only did he go all the way and bought Brett the foods he was allowed to eat, he even looked up new menus, which he'd never done before, and tried to cook new dishes almost every day.
He was also the one updating Brett's diary, because Brett himself was simply not in a state to analyze and keep track of his physical condition anymore. Most of the time, he just knew, that he felt shit. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but the s-word was a very accurate description of his not-well being.

But their work for Twoset had to continue nonetheless. They had great and fun projects coming up they couldn't just delay and although Brett's energy was most of times out of the window, he was still looking forward to filming and planning them.

They soon had a video call with Hilary Hahn for example, where they would play skribbl.io, an online multiplayer game, which was like pictionary.

"We haven't seen her for soo long", Eddy mused, while they prepared for the call and set up the lights and cameras. They had to be in two different rooms for the game, so it wasn't just their usual format.
"Yeah. I wonder how she's doing, also with the pandemic and all. She was lucky to have her sabbatical during this time though! Imagine..."
"Totally! If the whole world's on pause, might as well, right? Have you checked out her new album?"
"Not yet. It's Prokofiev, right? I'm sure you have, since it's one of your favs", Brett guessed.
"Yup! It's great! The whole album is in fact. You should listen to it too!"
"What did you expect? She's always great!" Brett started his laptop on the dining table.

"Ready? We're filming in ten."
"Are you? Do you feel up to it?", Eddy asked and eyed him.
"Just gonna power through! You know the drill."
"Brett...", he came over and put his hand on Brett's shoulder, "We don't have to, you know that, right? Maybe we should consider something like a sabbatical too..."
Dr. Han's strong advice of pulling the breaks on everything popped up in Brett's mind, but he quickly pushed that thought away and shook his head.
"We can't afford to just stop. And we have no time to discuss this now, Eddy. It's okay!"
Eddy stared at him, his expression serious. "If you're not well, you tell me! Also if we're in the middle of filming, I don't care. We can always stop."

Brett knew there was no winning against that, so he just nodded and they went on to prepare for the video.

"Hilaryyy!!!", Eddy exclaimed, excited.
"Hiii guys", she greeted in her wonderful, sweet, upbeat voice and waved at the screen.
"Hi Hilary", Brett said and smiled. It was a joy and a very good distraction to see her.
"How have you guys been?", Hilary asked, "Brett, I've heard a bit about your condition. Is everything ok?"
Brett saw, how Eddy wanted to start explaining, but he quickly threw in a "I'm okay. We're still figuring things out, but it's nothing serious."
"Okay. Well, I wish you a smooth and quick recovery!", she smiled.
"Thanks! So, shall we do the intro and start the game?", Brett asked and also started his screen recording.
"Yes! Let's do this!"

The game was so much fun and playing it with Hilary even more so. The custom set music and Twoset Violin related words made the whole thing more IntErEsting and of course, Eddy was nailing it. Brett sometimes simply just didn't know how to spell the words, but at least he beat Hilary in writing "Chaconne", of which he was fairly proud of. And at the end, when Hilary said, that it had been basically two against one and Eddy agreed and remarked, that they both hung out so much and knew each other's thought patterns, Brett's heart made a little jump.

Afterwards, they talked a little about how she had been and what projects she had done recently. They even talked about their new violins and Hilary gave them tips about how to play them in, which was very insightful. Once again, Brett was amazed by the knowledge Hilary had and was very willing to share.

"Are we still recording by the way?", Eddy suddenly asked and they laughed. Maybe, they could upload their conversation in a different video.

"Your sus stick figures with three legs bro, seriously!", Eddy said, grinning, after they had stopped filming.
"Just easier to draw! And on the computer as well!", Brett remarked, "Don't worry, nothing sus going on there."
Eddy laughed. "And what was going on with the rubber thing?"
"I honestly don't know, man! What was so funny about it?"
"Well, maybe it's something different in the US."
Brett stared blankly at Eddy and went through a list of possible meanings in his head.
"Oh fuck...", he finally snorted and hid his face, "Ohh, Jesus! Nooo!!! really?"
Eddy laughed and shrugged. "Yup! You might have said something sacrilegious in front of a world class soloist."
"Oh God", Brett rolled himself up on the couch like a hedgehog hiding from the world. Eddy slumped down next to him and rubbed his back.
"Make a fun tweet or insta story about it. I'm sure Hilary's fine with it. She probably found it HILARIous. She's a grown up, married woman, so..."
"Eddyyy", Brett groaned", Noooo..."

Of course, the opportunity didn't go to waste and Brett did ask the world about the rubber...