I missed you too Ric

Dad and I were still in the living room when the doorbell rang.

"Are you expecting anyone?" I ask dad

"No. Maybe it's one of your mother's friends." He says without looking up while the doorbell rings again.

"Let me go get the door then" I say casually getting up from the couch and making my way to the front door. I didn't even bother looking at the intercom monitor before I opened the door. I wish I had done that. Maybe that would have given me enough time to prepare but here I was still holding the door open while I just look straight at the visitor who showed up without warning.

"Hi Bee" he says after a very quiet minute passed.

"Hi Ric" I say so quietly I didn't even hear myself well. I wonder if he did. But he clearly did since his lips did turn up in a bit of a faint smile.

"Beanie are you still at the door?" Dad asks from inside. Guess i did stay long just staring at him.

"Yes" Is all I say to dad.

"Can I come inside?" Ric asks sounding skeptical as if I wouldn't let him in.

"Yh, sure." I say stepping aside to let him in. I close the door when he gets in and direct him to the living room where my father is.

"Oo, it's Richard" dad says looking up at us.

"Hi, Uncle Matt." Ric says as he takes a seat beside me just opposite dad with a table separating us.

"We were just talking about you." Dad says while I look at him giving him an unimpressed look. How can he say that. I don't want Ric thinking anything wierd.

"About your work" I say quickly and dad just laughs.

"Yh, about your work." Dad manages to say while Ric just looks at me as if there's something more to say. I have to give it to dad for making me look suspicious. ( My damn luck, then).

"Don't mind me. I just wanted to pull her legs" dad says and am grateful he did.

"Not a problem." Ric says smiling and I can't help but smile too. I guess his smile is contagious. ( Way to go Bee).

"Thought you weren't coming. What changed your mind? I can remember my wife complaining about you not free to attend the party" dad says and I nod at that. I remember mum telling me that too and asking me to convince him which I didn't. So am also surprised to see him here.

"The finishing date for the project got extended so I figured I could just spend the weekend at my parents since I haven't been here in a while. That way I get to attend the party too." He says. "And congratulations on your retirement Uncle. You really deserve the rest" he adds

"Thank you Richard. Although I must say I just got jealous of your father's free time." He says and we all burst out laughing. The conversation continues from there. Mainly dad and Ric talking. I just chip on when I need to. I try as much as possible to say less.

"I think it's time for me to get some rest. I've been sitting here since morning." Dad says rising up from his seat while he picks up the book he was reading.

"Send my regards to Old Ben will you. Tell him to come prepared on Sunday." Dad says to Ric.

"I will." Ric responds and I just look at dad walking away. He looks just a bit older than when I last saw him. He's still strong and that fills me with pride.

" He doesn't look like someone retiring right?" I ask Ric still looking at dad as he turns left to his and mum's wing of the house. The right wing is theirs while the left wing which is bigger is ours.

"He looks like he can go another sixty years without sweating it." Ric says and I laugh. I miss such moments with him. I look at him and he's looking at me too but none of us say a word. I watch him drag his hand up and down his knees. A sign of him being nervous. I am nervous too. Really nervous.

"I miss you Bee." Is all he manages to say and I just continue looking at him. Not saying anything in return.

"I really do. I'm sorry I broke our friendship. I wish I could take everything back to how it was." He says.

"I know. I know you would if you could." I say truthfully. I know he meant what he said. I know he misses me and most importantly, i know our friendship may never go back to the way it was.

"I wish we can go back to how we were." I say and he just looks at me. His eyes conflicted. He knows it's close to impossible.

"We can try. No, I promise I'll try Bee." He says looking determined suddenly as if he just made up his mind.

"You know It's hardly possible right." I say. I can't even see any possibility of us being close friends again. We may remain friends but definitely not as we were before everything.

"No it's not. It's hard but it's possible. We can go back to how we were Bee. I promise we can." He says sounding so sure that I get taken aback by his words. A determined Ric is someone I can't win against. I know that. But I still have to try to make him see reason.

"Ric you know after everything, am not sure I can try to behave as if nothing changed." I say and he opens his mouth to say something but decides against it.

"Just trust me Bee. Please. Everything will be fine. I promise I'll behave myself around you. I'll try to not be in your space too much okay." He says after a while.

"It's not only about that." I say. His being in my space too much is not the problem but when what he does when he's around me is.

"I'll not ..... I'll not care if you go on dates Bee, even if it is with Paul. I'll.... I'll just support you as a friend.You can do what you like and date whoever you want to. I wouldn't be in you way. I promise." He says partly stammering but still sounding serious.

"Can you really do that Ric?" I ask him not even sure if I should. The Ric I know cannot stand Paul at all. I wonder if he's just blabbering or he means it.

"Yes. You know I always stand on my word. You can trust me on that Bee." He says pleadingly and I believe him. I know Ric well enough to know that he's a man of his words. That he always stands by his words and that I can trust him to do just as he says. Not that I will not give our friendship another try if he were to say otherwise. Ric is too important to me to let out friendship just go without trying.

"I missed you too Ric." I say debating whether to reach out for a hug or not but he just reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze while looking at me.

"But you have to date too." I say, my hand still in his. "It's not just me that's going to be dating. You have to move on with your life too. For this to work." I say and he nods. His nod even came faster than I expected. Infact, I didn't expect him to agree to that. Normally, he'll just say he doesn't feel like dating anyone yet. That has always been his reply, even before everything that happened. Ric has not dated anyone for as long as I can remember. He always says he's too busy or not ready to date when asked. So I really am surprised he agreed to this easily.

"I will Bee. I will." He says with alot of seriousness as if trying to make me see that he means it. I hope he does. I'll really be happy if he does. That way I know we'll definitely still be friends.

"I can't wait to tell Ace then. I know she'll be happy to know you decided to date. She'll start her match making madness" I say, giggling at the thought of that while Ric just squeezes my hand in response. I almost forgot we were still holding hands. I squeeze his too to assure him that we'll be okay. We'll really be okay.