Melodies of a stranger

Chapter 20

"Are you sure that you'll be ok?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely fine, go and enjoy yourself."

"I can stay with you if you would prefer."

"NO! Go and spend some time with the boys. I've got my phone with me, I'll let you know if there are any problems, I promise."

Riftan wrapped Maxi in a tight hug. He was well aware that he would exhaust her if he continued to protest, but it was so difficult to leave her. He focused on the feeling of her warm body against his.

Oh, how he would miss her. He placed a chase kiss on her lips.

"Call me if you need anything, ok?"

"Stop fussing and go."

He let out a small chuckle. He liked it when she showed her fiery side. It had been too long since he had last seen it.

"Ok, ok, you win. I'll be back in a few hours; I hope you have a nice evening with Sidina."

Riftan kissed the tip of her nose and made his way out the door before he could have any second thoughts. He drove his car over to the guy's house.

'Strange, why didn't I think of it as my house?'

He shook off the thought as he fished his keys out of his pocket and let himself in. A booming voice met his ears.

"Dear God, he is alive. Cancel the search party, hang the streamers, call the marching band, our fallen brother has returned!"

"Oh, ha ha ha Hebaron, has anyone told you that you're absolutely hilarious." Riftan muttered in a deadpan voice.

Elliot clapped him on the back "It's good to see you. How have you been? How is Maxi doing?"

"I'm ok, Maxi is doing much better. She gets tired quickly but she's able to do little things for herself now. I'm hoping to take her down the park for an hour as long as the rain holds off, I think she'll like going to see the ducks..."

He trailed off as he noticed Gabel giving him an odd look. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, trying to cover the awkwardness he felt. He returned his attention to Elliot.

"Uhhh... what's the plan tonight anyway?"

"We're grabbing food at Nando's, then going to the pub for a couple of rounds of pool and drinks. Speaking of, do you want a beer?"

"No thanks, I've got to drive afterwards. I promised Maxi I would head back home before it got too late."

Loud coughing filled the room as Uslin turned bright red and began spluttering. Riftan gave him a few sharp blows to the back.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah sorry, beer went down the wrong pipe."

"Slow down, you don't want to waste good beer."

After giving Uslin a chance to catch his breath and making sure he was ok, Riftan turned back to Elliot.

"Anyway, how are things going with the band?"

"Really great, we're fine tuning the harmonies on a couple of songs, but we've been asked to perform at the music festival next weekend. You should come and see us, it wouldn't be the same without you."

Riftan felt his stomach tightening. He had made his choice to care for Maxi and he would never regret that for a second, but it hurt to see the rest of the world continuing to turn without him.