Broken String

XXXIX

Everything is so much better now that Brett is home. The world is lighter. Even when he leaves and practises in his bedroom for an hour, Eddy is okay. Especially after Todd comes in too and declares that they are all going out for pizza and he's buying.  
He doesn't even care that he's going to have to go in the wretched chair that has been sitting in the corner of the living room, glaring at him. He's going out, he's finally going to have some air on his face. Sitting in that ghastly thing will be worth it.
He takes a deep breath as Todd pushes him out of the building. He can just about see the remnants of the bright sun he saw earlier through the window, now setting at the end of the street in warm hues of orange and pink. 
"Right! So how many bottles of wine do you reckon it's sane to order?" Todd calls as he meanders him around a parked bike. 
"I don't know." he grins. "I'm guessing you can handle one by yourself. Let me know, though, whether I'll need ear plugs once you and Ian go to bed."
Todd laughs and punches him in the shoulder. More gently than he usually would, though, Eddy doesn't miss that. 
"What was that?" Ian asks. He's walked up and is now on his right side, with Brett walking along on his left. 
"He's worried I'll have you too hard once I have some wine in me."
Now it's Ian's turn to grin. 
"Yeah, you're right to be worried, Eddy. Definitely get your noise cancelling headphones ready."
"Oy, excuse me, please keep us out of your foreplay." Brett states in his most deadpan tone. Everyone bursts out laughing, of course, which causes a little old lady with walker in front of them to turn around and eye them sternly. To be honest her glare only makes it funnier. Eddy snickers and ignores her completely.
Yeah, we're young, lady. So sue us.  
"Nope. Sorry." Todd states from behind him. "It's gonna be lots of red wine, and tiramisu with two spoons tonight."
"Oh God." Eddy groans. "Maybe we should sit outside, Brett."
"Fuck that. You'll sit where we'll put you." Todd retorts. 

And he's right to, of course. They're just kidding around, of course they are. It's fair game. But the truth of the joke still pierces his chest and he has to try hard to keep the smile that was effortless just now in place. 
Thank God the pizza place is just up ahead. 
Is he imagining it, or is Brett's smile just as tense? 

They are greeted at the door by an Italian looking waiter who addresses Todd.
"Four?"
"Yes, please. Got anything open by the window?"
"Yeah, follow me. Can you get through, with the chair?"
"Sure. I'll manage."
The wheelchair just about fits through the gaps between the tables. There are patrons there already, eating and chatting. Jackets on backs of chairs touch the wheels as Todd pushes him on, and Eddy has never felt more gawky in his life. It's the looks that do it, he decides, the glances that fly over him quickly from turned heads that rush straight back to the food as if they've seen nothing. 

"Shall I remove a chair?" the waiter asks Todd, once they manage get to a table in the corner without knocking anybody over. Once again he's addressing Todd, not even looking at him, and to be honest it's getting weird now. Is he suddenly not a part of the conversation, or something? Surely where he sits is his decision to make, not his friend's?
Of course it's Todd who does look at him, and pointedly asks:
"What would you like to do, Eddy?"
"Sure, remove the chair. Probably easier."
The waiter nods and takes the chair by the window away. Todd pushes him in the space as if he's been doing this for years and Brett sits down beside him while Todd and Ian take their places on the other side. They're here, everything is fine, but somehow, suddenly, the laughter and the buoyant atmosphere from earlier are nowhere to be found. Crap. Did they feel it too?
"Don't worry about it." Todd tells him softly. "He's just rude."
Eddy blinks away the tears that never seem to be far away at the moment.
"Am I that transparent?" he says in a small voice.
"No, it's not you, it's him. Let's drink some wine and forget all about it, yeah?"
He smiles gratefully as he looks around the table. Brett and Ian are striking up a conversation about this con project they're both in. Todd waggles his eyebrows and starts telling him about the rehearsal he had this afternoon. So he can sit, now, and let the normalcy of it all wash over him. And when the waiter does bring the wine, and it's good, he can let the warmth spread throughout his system and finally relax.