Broken String

CLXXI

He wants to say more, tell her more, but just then the door opens and Brett comes in.
"Show time! Oh, hi, Ms. Parry!"
"Call me Anita, dear." she says as she gets up. "So, time to head out?"
Yes. It is. Of course it is. Time has crawled but now suddenly he wishes he could halt it for just a little while longer. Eddy blinks as the nerves flood him. He looks from Anita to Brett and back. He even starts to get up but...
"There's one more surprise."
Shit, did he really just say that? It's just that the desire to be open with her now overwhelmed him. She almost found out he could walk second hand, and she's been so important to him this last while. Doesn't he owe it to her to make sure she knows how important? But this is something he hasn't discussed with Brett at all. Shit. What is he going to say? He glances at Brett and halts in his tracks. 
That smile. That little, knowing smile.
"You mean the one outside you walking?" Brett says quietly as his eyes start to twinkle.
"Yep. You down?"
Brett grins.
"Very down."
And just then something clicks in Anita, he sees it happening as if in slow motion. Once again her eyes open wide and she stares at him.
"Wait. What, for real?"
"Remember that thing about the husband and two kids you said as a joke, back at the con?" he smiles. 
Her eyes open wider.
"I do."
"Well, the kids won't happen. The other thing might."

One, two, three seconds and she's jumping up.
"Oh, my God. You've got to be k... actually no. Why am I not surprised?" She's looking at them both in turn like she's watching Federer versus Nadal, her face a caricature of itself. "Guys! This is awesome. I love you two together! Wait. Is this... this is not common knowledge?"
"Um. Nobody knows yet." Brett says with a glance at him. "We haven't discussed that at all."
"My lips are absolutely sealed." she says as she walks over to Brett, grabs him and kisses both cheeks. Then she turns to Eddy and does the same. "Wow. Mazzeltov, guys. Best news of the year. Now. I think you have a chair to get in, before Todd storms in in a huff?"
The chair. Oh yeah. He eyes it with distaste but he's still grinning because of her reaction. And look, who cares anyway that he has to sit in it for this stupid party trick? It's just one more time and on Monday it goes.
That much he promises himself. 
"Okay." he says. 
He gets up, waits for Brett to grab the chair out of the corner, then lowers himself in it carefully. His hands fold themselves in his lap like they have every time he's been in here. Shit. Why is it so hard not to cry? His lip shivers and he swallows, then swallows again. 
"Hey. You good?"
Anita's voice is gentle, like that time in the auditorium when she stopped him from having a full blown meltdown. 
"Um..." he whispers. 
"If you don't want to do this Todd can suck it, yeah?" Brett adds behind him. "For real."
He shakes his head hard. He can do this. It'll be a fitting good bye. One more time, then never again, not even to get to the park. He's over it, over it forever. Tomorrow he's walking to the bakery and getting himself a chocolate orb. Standing up. 
Watch him. 
"No. I'm okay." he says once he's got himself together enough, the tears neatly filed away with all the other crap he still has to digest. He'll have plenty of time for digesting later, with Brett by his side. Tonight is not that time. "Let's just get out there and get this circus over with."