Allegro con fuoco

LXIX

"Wow, it's so beautiful here!" Brett said as he took Lee's outstretched hand and allowed himself to be taken into the space in an enthusiastic semi-shake, semi-pull. There were a few small houses around a sizeable patio with a pond to the left, and a large barn further along. In the middle of it all was a tiled area, decorated with yet more pergolas, flowers, and large plants which Eddy couldn't name to save his life. Around twenty people were standing around the patio in colourful clothes, chatting happily, holding glasses of what looked like sugarcane juice decorated with fresh fruit. There was food, as well, lots of it, he could smell the gorgeous looking dishes crowding the table at the back of the tiled area from where he was.
A small woman in red and purple silk came up to them, her dark hair up in an ornate bun, her face lit up. 
"Hello!" she called as she threw her arms around him like he was her favourite person ever and she hadn't seen him for six years. Eddy hugged her back somewhat awkwardly, quickly, hoping his shock wasn't showing on his face.
"I'm so glad you came!" she enthused. "I'm Li. Welcome to our home, please come, eat."
Brett shot him a humorous glance while he was receiving his own hug and a nervous giggle escaped Eddy's lips. Look, Brett may have been good at showing nothing, sure, but that didn't stop Eddy from knowing that he was just as surprised. 
"I can't believe we're being hailed like this." Brett whispered to him as they followed their hostess to some chairs right by the food table. 
"I know, right?" Eddy breathed back. "I think we may pay in violining, later."
Brett grinned. 
"I thought it was weird you insisted it wouldn't be safe to leave them in the hotel room, this morning!"
"Yep." Eddy laughed. "I knew you knew something was up right then."
Brett's eyebrows raised a couple of times and then he shrugged lightly. 
"Full disclosure? I thought something was up when you went jogging again. I was sure when you came back and said you'd happened to see a monastery. I mean... a monastery? But I never in a million years could have predicted this, though."
Eddy eyed him for a quick moment as they were pushed down on two wooden seats and bowls of rice and vegetables were placed in their hands. He smiled his thanks at Li and tucked in gratefully. He hadn't really eaten, today, because of how nervous he had been, so by now he was absolutely starving. 
"God, this is good." he groaned, a few moments and several bites of fragrant rice with perfect sweet and sour vegetables later. Li had turned around again with a satisfied nod when she saw they were eating and was now in the crowd, talking to some guy in a bright blue linen shirt. "So, what you're saying is, I'm a terrible liar?"
Brett chuckled heartily and swallowed away his own mouthful before answering with a proud smirk. 
"Yep!" 
Eddy would have said something else, a retort, or maybe a comment about how good the food was, but at that moment a guy started playing a wooden flute on the other side of the tiled area, accompanied by a small teenage boy playing several drums. It was lovely, actually, a single, ethereal melody on the flute, with the drum giving it bass, somehow, not just rhythm. He looked around him where people were starting to dance. 
Yeah. He wasn't about to do that. 
Maybe he could do something else? Show his gratitude in what little way he could? He already knew he could never repay Lee for everything he'd done for them. 
So he shot Brett one glance, quickly put a few more bites of yummy rice in his mouth, and he was already unpacking his violin.