Away

37. A Date

As they exit the violin shop, Brett turns to face Eddy.

"Eddy"
"Brett"
"Can I take you on a date tonight?"
"Like with dinner and stuff?"
"Yes"
"That will be nice, I'd love to go on a proper date with you"
He gives Brett a peck on the nose, and they walk hand in hand to go catch a bus back to the apartment.

Brett told Eddy to be ready at 5pm. He's been trying to get ready since 4. He tried on at least 4 outfits so far, and his hair wouldn't lie down. He chose to wear a dark blue shirt. As it's still hot, so he rolled the sleeves up a bit. He picked out black jeans and his only pair of descent black shoes.

As he enters the living area, he finds Brett waiting on the couch. He looked amazing. He was wearing black pants with a formal white shirt. "Wow", Eddy says as he reaches the couch. "I feel so underdressed now. You look amazing". Brett gets up and wraps his hands around Eddy's waist. "You look amazing too. I will have to be careful or someone will steal you tonight", Brett says as he gives Eddy a kiss on the cheek. Then Brett's phone buzzes. Their taxi is waiting downstairs.

The taxi stopped near a big grey stone building. Brett took his phone form his pocket, and showed the lady at the entrance the tickets he bought online. She opens the turnstile for them one by one, and then Eddy sees what Brett planned. They were at the entry to cable cars, which he assumes goes all the way up the mountain. They are shown to a carriage, and as luck would have it, they are the only ones to embark. They take seats facing each other as the car slowly starts to move.

Brett was about 6 years old the one and only time he ever went up with the cable cars. He has only vague memories of the experience, but he wanted to share the view from the top with Eddy. When the car left the compound and became airborne for the first time, it felt like his stomach stayed behind on the ground. He doesn't have a fear of heights, but this made him feel queasy.

"Bretty, are you OK?" Eddy asks as he notices all the color leaving Brett's face. "I, I don't know. I don't remember being scared of this. I guess I was too small when I was here last", he says, his hands starting to shake. As the distance between the cart and the ground increases, he can't look anymore. He moves down so he sits on the floor where he doesn't have to see the outside world.

Eddy immediately pulls him back onto the seat next to him. "The floor is dirty, you will mess up your clothes", he says. "Here, lie down so you don't have to see", he says as he helps Brett to lie sideways with his head on Eddy's lap. "Now just breathe slowly in and out. You will feel better soon", he says gently, running his fingers slowly through Brett's hair.

What makes it worse is the fact that they stopped midair every time a car reached the top or bottom stations, to allow passengers to get on and off. Every time it is with a jerking motion that makes their car swing back and forth slightly. "Eddy, what if the it falls of the cable and we die?" Brett asks. "Has it ever happened here?", Eddy asks. "No. But it feels like it's going to. And there's always a first time." "Dude, you're such a baby", Eddy laughs. "It's cute", he says as he gently rubs his thumb over Brett's cheek.

The car reaches the top in half an hour, even though it felt like days to Brett. He is very happy to feel solid ground beneath his feet again. They make their way down a small cobblestone path to a huge observation deck. Eddy is surprised at how many building there are, but then remembers the entire mountain top is flat. A small town could probably fit on here.

Brett takes him by the hand and leads him down a narrow path away from the observation deck. "I want to show you something", Brett says. They reach an area away from the people, surround by smaller rocks and multi-colored bushes all around.

Brett walks over to a bush with yellow flowers. "See this one? It's rooibos. Remember you had rooibos tea when we had lunch on the rocks?" Eddy kneels down and reaches out to pick a piece off, but Brett stops him. "All the plants here are protected. We're not allowed to pick anything", he explains. "There's more than a hundred species of plants growing only here, so they are all considered endangered", Brett continues. He kneels down next to Eddy and tries to recall as many of the names as possible, pointing them out as he talks.

Both get up once their knees pain to much, and Brett leads Eddy further down the little path until he spots what he's looking for.

"This is the pride of South Africa" he says, pointing to a huge flower. "It's called a Protea", Brett adds. Eddy has never seen anything like it. The flower was bigger than his face, and the symmetrical patterns on the inside were so intricate. He leans over to smell it. Nothing. "A bit disappointing, I know", Brett says, "Guess something can't be beautiful and smell nice at the same time". Eddy wraps his arms around Brett and whispers in his ear "except you". Brett blushes from ear to ear and gives Eddy a shy smile. "Come on, smooth talker, let's go get some dinner".

They stroll back to the observation area. On the other side if it, there's a stone building with tall chimneys sticking out between all the plants around it. It seems to be right on the edge of the mountain. Brett booked in advance, so they are shown to a table outside, away from all the other tables. The view was breathtaking. Beneath them they could see the entire Cape Town and the ocean beyond. As they sit down, Eddy notices a small island a distance from the mainland. "Is that Robben Island?" He asks. Brett nods. "Wow. It's amazing how far you can see from here".

Brett orders a bottle of red wine, as Eddy hasn't tasted any of the famous South African wines yet. They both order steak for mains, and Eddy nearly choked when he saw the price. The waiter doesn't take long to bring the wine. He pours each of them a glass, then puts the bottle on the table. Brett lifts his glass to Eddy and says "cheers!" They clink the sides together and then take a sip.

Eddy puts down his glass and takes Brett's hand across the table.  "Thank you for bringing me here Bretty.  It's perfect".