Chapter 3
The weather is murky, and the memorial was private, so no press is outside waiting for us, which is a nice change. Ringo allows me to be alone with my thoughts. And just when my head feels like it's about to explode, he begins to talk. He tells me about his strangest dreams, the goofy stuff the guys do, mostly it's stories about something John has done or said. When we get to the coffee shop, Ringo opens the door for me. I lay my hand on his arm.
"Thank you." I say and he nods his head.
"There's really no need for that here. You'd be doing the same for me." He says, following me inside the warm building. We sit in the shop for a short while. When we start walking home, I ask Ringo to take the long way home. Not even questioning it he nods and turns left down the street.
After a minute of silence I start to talk. For the first time since in almost an entire month, I say more than a few words at once. I talk about my parents and the tragic event. I didn't realize the depths of my pain until I started talking. And Ringo is the perfect person to talk to.
He doesn't speak a word for almost three hours as I barely take breaths between words. At the end, he simply pulls me in and holds me tight while I cry once again. While he holds me, I suddenly stop, exhausted from all emotion. He pulls me back to look in my eyes.
"I know just the thing you need." He says. He grabs my hand and starts to run. For the first time in a long time I let out a laugh. The sound is strange and wiry but feels good.
***
We end up back at Ringo's house. I sit on the couch as he puts in my favorite classic comedy. He pops some popcorn and the two of us spend the rest of the afternoon giggling and talking.
After expressing everything earlier to Ringo, I feel so much better. He knows me so well. He hadn't pushed me to talk about my parents, but instead he waited patiently until I was ready. Now that it's out, I laugh and talk more, truly feeling better. Nowhere near where I once was but I feel an improvement from hours ago. Ringo jokingly impersonates one of the movie characters. I give him a kiss to get him to stop.
"I love you to the moon and back." I say. His eyes sparkle as he looks at me.
"To the moon and back sweetheart. Always."
