Love Means No Boundaries - Andrew Grey

to a chair.
    “What am I going to do, Arie?”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Robbie couldn’t speak, so he nodded his head slowly.
“That’s good, because he’s in love with you too.”
“He hasn’t told me.” Robbie felt tears welling in his eyes.
“Have you told him how you feel?” Robbie shook his head as an answer. “Then how can you expect him to say something? You have a mouth, use it.”
    Robbie nudged Arie, and he felt a ghost of a smile come to his face.
“Besides, if the look I just saw is any indication, he feels the same way you do and probably has for a while.”
“What do I do?” Robbie’s smile faded and his misery returned.
“I don’t know what you can do except make the most of what you have.” The room around them became quiet as the conductor gave them last minute instructions. Then they tuned and warmed up before Arie took his hand and led him to the stage.
     
As he took his seat to applause, he listened carefully.
     
“Robbie.” The word was whispered but it sounded to him like a welcome bullhorn, and he turned, instinctively knowing where Joey was, feeling his gaze on him.
     
Robbie heard the applause again, and the orchestra tuned and became quiet before the applause started again, and the conductor entered. He waited and then heard the small tap and felt the tapping of the conductor’s foot.
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Love Means … NO Boundaries
    The first note of the symphony carried Robbie away. The music never ceased to fill him with awe. He felt a kindred spirit with this music. He’s never seen it, only heard it. And Beethoven had only seen it on paper. He’d never heard it because he was deaf when he wrote it. That bit of irony bound Robbie to the piece.
    As they moved through the first and second movements, he could feel an invisible connection, like Joey was linked to him and the music. After the second movement, they took a brief break and the choir and soloists entered, the risers behind them creaking and moving. Robbie felt his excitement ramp up.
The third movement began, lively and energetic, building toward the climactic final movement. As the music faded away, Robbie heard a whisper, one that went right to his heart. “It’s beautiful.” Joey had used that word enough that he’d know it anywhere.
     
The choir stood behind him and the fourth movement began.
    The “Ode to Joy” was one of Robbie’s all-time favorites, and it never ceased to move him. As the piece built from the soloists, answered by the choir, up to the melodic climax, Robbie felt everything recede, the orchestra, the conductor, the voices, and his focus moved to the seat in the front row.
    As he played like he’d never played before, the music swelled to a crescendo and the choir sang out loud and full, a song to joy, and Robbie’s violin sang along with them. Echoing the blissful joy in the music, Robbie sent everything he had to Joey, all the joy, all the love, everything. This was his one and only chance. He gave it his all, and the orchestra seemed to understand, building and carrying his joy along with theirs, filling the space, and it seemed to Robbie as though every one of them was sending their joy to his Joey.
    The music backed away and then built again to Beethoven’s frantic, bombastic closing that echoed through the hall long after the 117 Andrew Grey
music ended. Robbie breathed hard, gasping for breath as the final note drifted away, replaced by deafening applause.
He’d been playing for one person, and he heard something unique, a soft chant, “Robbie, Robbie.” It wasn’t loud, but he could hear his friends letting him know they were there. Robbie smiled and stood up, taking bows when Arie indicated before following his friend off the stage.
    As soon as he made it backstage, he was engulfed in a bone-crunching hug as someone, he presumed Arie, took his instrument. “You were amazing!”
“Thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say, and his brain was barely functioning.
Robbie felt lips press to his and heard a few tuts in the background, but he ignored them as he was kissed within an inch of his life. And to think a few weeks ago, he was trying to accept who he was, and here he was being kissed in front of everyone, and he really didn’t mind. “You two go on,” Arie chuckled behind them. “Here’s your case, I’ll look for you in the morning.” Robbie felt Joey pull back slightly, but he didn’t let him go. Then his case was placed in his