Fantasia

XLVIII

"Duuuuudeee, you look like shit!"
"Thank you for sugarcoating it!", Eddy hissed and glared at Theo with narrow eyes. His fingers hit the keyboard with more force than necessary, he was well aware. But right now, there was no strength left to force himself to hide his mood behind well mannered, socially adequate behaviour.
"Wow, you okay? Didn't sleep well again?", Theo asked carefully. He started his computer and slumped down on the office chair, his eyes on Eddy.
Eddy sighed, "Just tired. That's all."
"Man, where has your good mood from yesterday vanished to? Didn't you say you met an old buddy or something?"
"Can still have bad nights, right?", Eddy remarked, not knowing how to explain to his co-worker that the search for someone he'd already met had been filled with dead ends till now. He could picture Theo furrowing his brows, fearing Eddy had lost his damn mind for good.
"Just tell if I can help out."
"Thanks mate, will do."

At lunch time, Belle called.
"You haven't found Brett yet?"
"No. I'm running out of ideas, sis. I called the QSO this morning and the lady there clearly knew something. But because of privacy shit she didn't want to disclose a thing! Now, I'm even supporting one of their musicians who Brett and I know from our youth orchestra days. Maybe he'll contact me, but it's up to him."
Eddy could hear deep worry in her sighing. "Oh, Eddy. I'm very sorry to hear that. I asked around, but here in London, no one's heard anything about a Brett Yang in Australia."
"Yeah, I could have guessed that."
"And mum hasn't found anyone of Brett's family?"
"No. She went there again early this morning but no one's around. The neighbors didn't know anything either. She'll go again tomorrow..."
With gritted teeth, he let his fist meet the wall in the deserted hallway where he was having this phone call with a dull thump. "It's just so frustrating! All I can think of now is to fly down there and look for him myself, but my holidays are not for another three months and I simply can't wait that long!"
"Don't give up yet, Eddy. I'm sure mum or someone else will find out something and you'll get what you want to know soon enough."
"I'm gonna call the SSO for sure afterwards, but if they're anything like the QSO and all the other institutions, they won't tell me shit."
"Just try and see", Belle encouraged.

And Eddy did. But of course, the outcome was no different than what he'd experienced with the by now countless phone calls he'd had before. The admin guy hadn't really denied that Brett was working at the orchestra though, which confused and frustrated Eddy even more. Like the lady from the QSO, that dude seemed to know something. If Brett had simply once worked in one of the orchestras but had quit at some point, people wouldn't act so secretive, would they? What had happened to Brett that no one would tell him?
Since the SSO didn't have any sort of support program for their musicians, Eddy couldn't even donate to one of them in hopes of getting intel this way. He sighed heavily before he made his way back to the canteen and joined Theo for lunch.

Was the clock rigged or something? Eddy swore that it must have been close to the end of his shift, but when he glanced at the time on his computer, he discovered that only two hours had passed since lunch break. He groaned, wanting nothing more than to head home, put in some good violin practice and meet Brett again in his sleep. How was Brett holding up? Was he bored without Eddy to hang out with? What piece was he practicing? The Beethoven romance? And how had Brett liked Eddy's Prok? Or at least the part Eddy'd been able to perform before he had woken up? Would Brett make fun of him and his poor violin skills as soon as he'd see him again?
Even if Brett would, and Eddy didn't really think that'd be a likely scenario, Eddy wouldn't care. He would still want to see Brett, taking in everything the other was saying, observing every move of the other, drinking in every moment they were allowed to spend together after all those lost years...

Eddy was dwelling in his deep thoughts while he typed down some charts for his clients on autopilot when his silent phone lit up. Eddy took a quick look at the unknown number and immediately recognized the dialing code for Australia. His eyes widened and with shaky, slightly sweaty hands, he picked up his device.