Brett's boyfriend Eddy was a violinist, a concertmaster of an orchestra. Brett's friends often asked how they met. His friends also asked whether it was easy to fall in love with his boyfriend.
Brett would smile and say;
"You be the judge."
This is how they met.
Brett was reluctant to sign up to go to the speed dating event his friend had suggested to him.
Brett did eventually register to go but was so close to ditching the whole plan.
"Oh c'mon Brett, it's an efficient way to meet a lot of people."
"Oh alright."
The time he had to spend with the first few people during the 2-minute speed dating was torture. For starters, upon first glance around the room, Brett couldn't spot anyone he thought he'd like.
Then there was Eddy.
As Brett approached Eddy during his 2-minute speed dating cycle, he could not help tense up a bit.
Oh my god he's cute.
This was after a couple of candidates with who Brett struggled to strike up an interesting conversation. The conversation was either painfully slow or a boring monologue from people who just loved the sound of their own voice.
Then there was Eddy.
The first thing Eddy asked Brett was;
"Don't you just hate the viola?"
Brett was taken aback by this as he had not shared any information about him liking the violin or despising the viola. What further surprised him was Eddy's next question;
"When was the last time you touched a llama?"
Brett's natural response was
Oh my f*cking god can he smell it on me!?
Which was exactly what he blurted out.
"Oh sh*t, can you smell it on me? I'm sorry. But it's actually an alpaca."
Brett was plenty impressed already when he thought Eddy could smell llama from him even though it was actually an alpaca. He had later joked that he may have asked Eddy to marry him on the spot if Eddy could sniff the difference between a llama and an alpaca. Brett thought even the zoo director couldn't smell the difference. It all turned out to be a complete fluke, but more the reason for Brett to think this was some kind of fate.
"What, me telling you that you smell like a llama was fate?"
"Noooooooooo, Eddy, for the umpteenth time, it's an alpaca!"
Eddy giggled. He knew it was an alpaca by now but he found it amusing how Brett insisted on getting the names of the animal species correct. One had to agree that Eddy would not have appreciated it if Brett introduced Eddy as a viola player. (Of course, Brett appreciated this fully and never dared to do so!)
"And yes, your question was pure fate, something terribly romantic to a zookeeper."
Eddy laughed out loud. It was a laughter of endearment, not belittling. Brett could tell the difference and he liked Eddy's laugh a lot..
Now whenever Brett started to date someone new, there was something he always did. He would suggest they go on a date to the zoo where he worked as a zookeeper.
"You wanna go to the zoo on a date?"
"Yes."
"Oh my f*cking god how old are you, like 5 ?"
"...I work there and I enjoy going there on my days off."
"Hmph. Okaaaay?"
Brett didn't really mind if his dates didn't like animals. That in itself wasn't a deal-breaker. If they were honest about it he would have understood. But sometimes his dates would scoff at the idea which was rather hurtful. What was worse were those who acted as if they were a caring and kind person but were actually mean and cruel to animals. Those that would leave the turtles upside down in the petting area, or those who would pretend to feed an animal but tease them and pull the food away as they were about to take a bite. Such acts really triggered Brett and he could not bring himself to continue to date anyone with such behaviours.
Then there was Eddy.
"So Brett, is there anywhere you'd like to go this weekend?"
"Well Eddy, I'd actually like to go to the zoo with you, if that's okay?"
Eddy smiled.
"Really? That would be awesome, you'd teach me some stuff about the animals?"
Brett looked at Eddy in surprise. He had never received such a positive response from any of his potential dates.
"You like animals, Eddy?"
"Yeah I don't mind them... but I didn't grow up on a farm nor had any pets so I'm not very used to them. And I don't think I'd like being spat at by a ... an alpaca."
Brett grinned.
"Don't worry, I'll step into the firing line if he acts up again."
Brett's past dates would sometimes unknowingly do things to animals that distressed them. Brett would try to be nice about it by gently reminding them. Some of the deal-breaking conversations went like this;
"Hey look, it says here please not tap the glass.. it distresses those little lizards inside."
"Oh c'mon, I just wanted to make sure they're actually alive and not some plastic figures..!"
"Hey look, it says here please not feed the animals... the sugar on those buns are really bad for them.."
"Oh c'mon, just a little bit won't hurt them..!!"
Then there was Eddy.
"Brett?"
"Yeah?"
"Am I holding this rabbit properly? I don't want to hurt it."
Brett smiled.
"Yeah, you're doing great."
Eddy wasn't mean to any of the animals, not even to the alpaca which even Brett thought was a jerk. Eddy did choose to keep quite a distance away from the alpaca though and politely declined to go near it since he'd heard its reputation as a spitter.
Brett just grinned.
"Fair enough Eddy."
"Hey, thanks for a great day Brett, I really enjoyed it."
"Yeah? That's great to hear. So, what was your favourite animal you saw today Eddy?"
"Um... you?"
Then there was Eddy.
"...I'm your favourite animal?"
"...Yeah, I think so."
"Thanks Eddy. I think you just became mine, too."
They both blushed.