Away

12. Space socks

Brett was asleep before they even reached the main road. The soft rocking from moving through the uneven sand along with the adventures and trauma of the day overwhelmed his will to stay awake.  His head was bobbing along with every bump, so Eddy gently pulled him closer so his head can rest on his shoulder.  Eddy felt quite tired as well.  Once they reach the main road, he stared out the widow at the street lights as they go past.

He can just see the top of Brett's head reflected in the window.  He can hardly believe they only met that morning.  They sure packed a lot of experiences into a single day.

When they reach the airport, he gently shakes Brett's shoulder and helps him to sit up.  Brett rubs his eyes and yawns whilst he stretches out his arms above his head.  "I'm so tired", he says.  "I know, me too. Once we board we can sleep a bit", Eddy says as they step out of the vehicle. 

The minute his feet touched the ground he felt the yucky sand that remained in his shoes.  He can feel it between his toes as he wiggles them.  "Dude, we need to find a bathroom with showers as soon as possible.  I have to wash my feet.  I don't think I can travel another 11 hours with sand between my toes", he says, pulling a face.  "I agree", Brett says.  "I have a plan to get the shoes clean as well", he added.

They enquire from a security guard about showers once inside.  Once there, Brett holds out his hand to Eddy.  "Give me your shoes".  Eddy takes them off, hopping on one leg at a time.  Brett walks over to the sink.  He places the shoes on the counter and takes handfuls of paper towel from the roll on the wall. He shakes the shoes over the sink.  Then he takes out the laces.  He wets some paper towels and wipes out the inside of each shoe.  He repeats the process.  Then he takes each shoe and holds it under the hand dryer one a a time. 

He hands the shoes and laces to Eddy.  "There you go.  Now go wash your feet before putting them on.  I can't rescue your socks, but I brought some change of clothes in case.  I will give you a pair of mine".  He opens the backpack and digs around.  He hands Eddy a pair of socks with a pattern of small planets on them. "Space socks?", Eddy chuckles.  Brett pulls a face at him and says "they reminded me of The Planets.  By Holst".

Eddy giggles as he walks to one of the showers.  Brett cleans his own shoes and then decides to take a full shower, as he already has spare clothes anyway, and they will not have this opportunity again.

After cleaning his feet, Eddy sits down on the bench inside the cubicle and winds the laces back into his shoes.  He puts on the space socks and the shoes.  He wiggles his toes.  Perfect.  It's like they were never near any sand.  He steps out to wait for Brett.  When he spots his reflection in the mirror, he was in shock.  His face was streaked from the dust and sand and his hair was a mess.  He grabs some paper towels, rinses his face and dries it.  He wets his hands and tries to get his hair to lie down.  Not very successfully.  He curses himself that he didn't even pack basics for the flight, like a toothbrush or a comb.

Just then Brett appears next to him.  He is wearing a black denim and a bright red T-shirt with a picture of Sibelius on the front.  One of Eddy's favourite composers.  Eddy catches a hint of coconut when Brett walks past him to the hand dryer.  Brett adjusts the nozzle and proceeds to dry his hair. 

It's an awkward position to stand in, and balancing himself with one hand against the wall makes drying the hair with one hand very slow.  "Let me help", Eddy says.  "You hold on to the wall", he said without waiting for a response.  He positions himself behind Brett and gently moves his fingers through his hair as he guides his head from side to side.  Once it feels nearly dry he steps away.  "There you go".  Brett takes a few minutes to recover before getting up and moving to the mirror to comb his hair.

He can see the red on his cheeks, almost matching his T-shirt.  He quickly splashes cold water over his face and then brushes his teeth.  "OK.  Let's catch a flight", he says as he puts the last things in his backpack as he turns around to face Eddy.