It was a good thing that the other residents in Eddie’s block of flats were not that observant, Zak reflected as he and Joe made their way there. When they arrived, the others were already there and waiting for them.
–Sorry I’m late,†Zak said.
–How did it go?†Webster asked. Joe grinned.
–Perfectly. You lot now have almost all the instruments you need, and I have a fair amount of work to do,†he said.
–Did you find somewhere?†Zak asked Amy and Sam. They nodded.
–It’s a little theatre off New Street,†Sam said. –The owner has half a dozen places like it, he’s quite happy to rent it out at a low price.â€
–Brilliant!†Zak said. They had so far struggled to find a space to rehearse. Amy shook her head, giggling.
–That’s not the best bit - we’re literally around the corner from the Studio,†she said. Adam laughed. The Studio was the little place that the former members of Mixed Blood, Eddie’s mum’s group, owned together.
–God, imagine Jack and the others’ faces when we crop up right under their noses,†Adam crowed, delighted. The rest of the group laughed.
–Eddie, how’s the music coming along?†Zak asked. Everyone turned to listen to Eddie’s reply.
–I’ve got it all perfected, almost,†he said, nodding. –I just need to either put it on the computer or find some other way -â€
–- of making it readable?†Sam suggested. Eddie nodded, smiling.
–Well, Mr Spartz said we could start moving our stuff in tomorrow, and because no one else is using the building it’s okay for us to store it there,†Amy said. –If we can all meet at Joe’s at around eleven tomorrow, we can start shifting stuff.â€
Joe nodded.
–Zak has my spare keys, because I’ll be at work, but I’ll come meet you guys there on my lunch break and see how things are going,†he said. The others nodded.
–Has Henry figured this out?†Webster asked. –I mean, it’s got to be pretty obvious, surely…â€
Joe laughed.
–Henry’s a sweetheart. He knows something’s going on, but when he asked I told him it was supposed to be a secret and did he mind if I kept it to myself, which of course he didn’t. He’s going to kick himself when he finds out, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.â€
–What’s next on the itinerary, then?†Amy said.
–Well, we’ve got a rehearsal and performance space, and the instruments are more or less sorted, the music’s at half-way point,†said Zak, counting things off on his fingers as he said them. –All that’s left is technical and publicity.â€
–I’ll call Josie tomorrow,†Eddie said, sounding weary. –She should be able to slip us into Review without a problem, hopefully.†Review was a yearly show featuring a song or two from several up-and-coming bands and performers. It drew a big audience of critics and journalists, and often determined how the critical reception of an act would play out. Phoenix were relying on Review to be the source of their publicity - their own show went on one week after, and having effectively disappeared from the public eye for the last few months, they were hoping that their sudden and unexpected reappearance would evoke enough curiosity to sell tickets.
Zak held back a grim smile. They all knew it wasn’t so much their disappearance as Eddie’s - the so-called musical genius retreating into virtual solitude after a debilitating injury was a story that had kept quite a few reporters busy for some time after the event. Eddie himself didn’t seem to realise this, though. Zak eyed his best friend with no small amount of concern; he seemed no less pale and thin than he had been in the days after the fire, and although since they’d started to pull the band back together he had seemed reinvigorated, there was rarely a smile on his face.
Zak pulled himself out of his thoughts and back to the matter at hand. He clapped his hands together once.
–Right, then we’re on track,†he said, making sure to inject some cheer into his voice. –What does anyone want to do now?â€
–Well, I should head home,†Joe said. –I want to get started on some of the stuff we found today.†Zak nodded.
–Thanks again, Joe,†he said, smiling. His older friend grinned back at him and grabbed his coat before leaving. Phoenix had very little money to spend and had lost all of their instruments in the fire; Joe had agreed to help them find old, damaged or broken instruments that they could buy comparatively cheaply, and then fix them himself for free. He had become quite enthusiastic about his ‘project’ as he called it, constantly fiddling with odd bits of wood, metal and plastic, and turning up out of the blue with repaired instruments that Zak barely recognised as the mangled things they found in car boot sales and junk markets.
–I promised my mum I’d be on skype tonight,†Sam said, shrugging and rolling his eyes. –She’s in America visiting my cousins and I don’t think she thinks I’m alright on my own.†Zak nodded.
–Well, if no one else has anything on, we could order pizza,†he suggested, glancing at Eddie to see how he took this idea. The youngest member of their group was still sat perched on the arm of the sofa, his face pale as ever, his stormy eyes gazing at nothing in particular.
–Eddie?†he asked. Eddie blinked suddenly and turned to him.
–Mm?â€
–Pizza?â€
–Yeah, okay,†Eddie agreed, a faint smile gracing his lips for a moment before disappearing again. The others agreed, and Amy was soon on the phone to the local pizza place, pacing their order.
The food came and was eaten quickly; Eddie’s gloomy, pensive mood seemed to be infecting everyone else. Just over an hour later, they all said their goodbyes and made their separate ways home. Zak was the last to leave, and he felt a now familiar uncomfortable twist in his stomach at the idea of leaving Eddie home alone tonight. But he couldn’t think of any excuse to stay and so walked out of the door after the others, leaving Eddie with his music.
~
August 2030
–Happy Birthday, Ed!â€
–Happy Birthday, Eddie!â€
Eddie laughed, shaking his head to get some of the confetti off of it.
–Thanks, guys,†he said. –I’m old.â€
–Nah, you’re just finally catching up with the rest of us,†Adam said cheerfully.
–You’re still the baby of the group,†Zak continued cheekily, slinging an arm around Eddie’s shoulders and leading him towards the little bundle of presents on top of the piano. Eddie rolled his eyes.
–Guys, you didn’t have to -†he started, but stopped at a stern look from Finea.
–We know that, Ed,†she said firmly, smiling. –But we can if we want to, okay?â€
Eddie grinned and nodded.
Present-opening took up a fair amount of time, but Eddie did notice that all of them had been wrapped fairly loosely so as to make it easier for him to open them with his still awkward and weak fingers. He ignored the piano as best he could while thanking everyone; he did not need another reminder, on today of all days, that his hands were not strong enough to even lift the lid, let alone play properly.
Then all the presents were done, and the group was talking and giggling until Joe coughed.
–So,†he said, aware of everyone watching him curiously, –I’ve been doing a bit of fiddling around.â€
Eddie glanced at the others; they did not seem to know what Joe was talking about either. Joe continued.
–And I don’t know if it’s going to work, but I think it’s worth trying,†he said. He looked at Eddie. –Ed, come over here?â€
Eddie followed him until the two of them were standing by the closed piano. Joe nodded to himself, and then looked at Eddie.
–Eddie, would you open the lid for me please?â€
Eddie looked at him, frowning, uncertain. The others had gone very quiet.
–Joe, you know I -†Joe waved him off.
–I know. Try it anyway? For me?†he asked. Eddie swallowed, then shrugged. Reaching out his two hands, he carefully worked his still-sore fingers under the rim of the lid and lifted - and the lid came up easily, resting upright like it was supposed to. Eddie looked at Joe, surprised.
–What did you do?†he asked curiously, now testing the lid in his hands. It was much lighter than it should have been.
–I took the old one off and made another hollow one out of lighter wood,†Joe explained, smiling. –I’ve still got the old one at home, if you want me to put it back on any time.†Eddie nodded, pleased, but Joe was not finished.
–Have a seat,†Joe said quietly, nodding to the piano stool. Eddie sat down, uncertain again, and rested his fingers on the keys out of habit.
–Have a go?â€
Eddie took his fingers off the keys, leaning slightly away and shaking his head.
–Joe, I can’t. You know I can’t. I -â€
Again Joe interrupted him.
–Just try. Please.â€
It took longer for Eddie to decide this time, but eventually he placed his fingers in their places and after a reluctant pause, began to play.
The notes were slippery at first; there was something odd about the way the keys were moving that Eddie could not quite pin down, but they responded under his fingers and so he adapted to the change without really thinking about it. The piece he played was short and relatively simple, and there were a few shaky moments in it where his fingers would not quite do what he wanted them to - but force of habit and nature helped to compensate. After a minute or so, the piece was finished and Eddie took his hands off of the keys. He felt as though he could not quite breathe; this was impossible, it had to be a trick, it could not be real. He looked up at Joe, who was beaming.
–I fiddled around for ages and ended up mucking around with some of the balances, so that the keys would play a bit lighter,†he said. –Like the lid, I can put them back if you need me to, just let me know. I just thought it might help, seeing as you don’t really have a problem with dexterity, just with - Eddie? Ed, are you okay?â€
Joe sat down on the edge of the piano stool next to Eddie, concerned; because Eddie’s eyes had gone very glassy and wide, and he seemed to be shaking slightly.
–Eddie?†Joe said softly, putting a gentle hand on Eddie’s shoulder. This seemed to wake him up slightly; he blinked a few times and swallowed before he nodded mutely. After a moment he spoke.
–Yeah; yes, I’m… I’m… thank you. Thank you.†Eddie’s smile was watery and Joe realised that he had overwhelmed the younger man. He carefully pulled him into a hug and held him.
–I’m sorry, I’m being,†Eddie sniffed a little, –stupid, this is brilliant…†Joe smiled.
–It’s okay, Eddie. I should have warned you,†he said to Eddie’s shoulder. Zak, who had left the room briefly, came back in, and Joe heard the sound of the kettle beginning to boil in the green room.
It was a few minutes before Eddie was completely calm again, and he was embarrassed about his reaction for some time after. So they changed the subject. But Eddie seemed, under his shakiness, to be the happiest person in the room that afternoon - and when Joe looked back, he would point to this moment as being one he was most proud of.
~
Two months passed in a flurry of late night secret rehearsals, repaired instruments and the careful laying of plans. Zak had barely enough time to register the days, though there was one thing he was grateful for: he spent most of them in Eddie’s company. The pianist had now written and completed fourteen new songs, and Zak had helped him transcribe them to the computer screen so that they could be clearly read by the rest of the band. Eddie’s energy was feverish and his sleep fitful, but he wouldn’t let anyone stop him from working. Zak realised after he had nagged Eddie about getting more rest for the umpteenth time that the work was the only way Eddie was handling what had happened. Zak let the matter drop, hoping that Phoenix Rising - as they had nicknamed their project - if successful would be enough to get Eddie back the way he had been.