When Maine entered her hotel room, Ardee quickly launched at her giving her a very tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry!" Ardee exclaimed. "My phone died and I had a little too much to drink last night. But I've asked Martin to check up on you and also gave him the key to our room so you can just come in."
"It's okay, Ardee," she replied and noticed that Ardee had already showered and was ready to go out. "Where are you guys heading today?"
"We're attending mass at the basilica and then we will be hitting a bunch of museums," she answered. "You're not joining us?"
Maine shook her head and said, "the Captain's taking me to Rome today."
Ardee just nodded in understanding, hiding her giddiness from the news. That was the only time she noticed what Maine was wearing and she suddenly asked, "I couldn't help but ask, Maine. Where did you sleep last night and whose shirt is that you're wearing?"
Maine bowed her head in embarrassment, a blush was forming in her face.
"It's the captain's," she answered shyly. "He lend it to me last night."
Ardee couldn't help the shriek that came from her mouth and she once again gave Maine a tight embrace.
"I am so happy for you!" She exclaimed. "How was Captain Jase? Was he good? Was he gentle? You're not hurting are you?"
"My goodness, Ardee!" Maine exclaimed. "Nothing happened last night! We just talked and he played some songs for me. And then we slept."
"On the same bed?"
"He only had one bed."
Ardee shrieked a second time, but said, "that's a shame. The Captain is such a gentleman. If I was in his place, I really don't think I have his willpower to resist."
Maine recalled that morning when they woke up, a blush formed on her face at the memory. It seemed that she wormed her way to him while they were sleeping. The pillow in between them was gone, and she found herself lying beside Richard. One of her hand was resting on his chest, and her head used his arm as a pillow. Richard's other hand was holding the one that she had on his chest, drawing small circles at the back of her palm. He'd been awake for a time already and when he saw her wake up, he smiled and kissed her forehead.
She smiled timidly at the memory but she kept silent.
"That look on your face makes me want to ask a lot of questions," Ardee said. "But that would be too nosy of me. I am just happy that the Captain found you. I haven't seen him this happy. I've known him since I started working here. We were on the same batch so I know he's very different when he's around you. And I like what I see."
She checked her watch and suddenly stood up.
"I need to go," she said as she started for the door. "I guess we'll see you tonight. Enjoy Rome, Maine!"
With a last wave, she closed the door behind her leaving Maine to get ready for her trip.
-oo-
They were on the TrenItalia, a nonstop train that would take them from Milan to Rome in 2-hours and 55-minutes. Richard and Maine sat in companionable silence next to each other; he was reading a book while she was playing "Harvest Moon" on her PSP, the one Alden gave her for her birthday. Richard was taking sidelong glances at Maine, watching her play the only game his brother got him to play when the Play Station came out.
"So," he finally asked as he put his book down. "What year are you in?"
"Second," she replied. Her eyes not leaving the console. "It's Summer."
"You're courting Kai?" He noticed that her avatar was going to the beach area where the NPC Kai has a store that only opens during the Summer.
"Yes," she said. "He's the obvious choice. He's quite a challenge since I only get to see him during the Summer. Unlike the other guys who I see all year round."
"Yeah," he agreed with a smile. "He was my choice too when I played it before. I remembered Rich courted Rick back then. He had a thing for the siblings because I remembered he was courting Popuri in the guy version."
He saw Maine scowl a bit and kept silent until her day ended in the game. She saved it and turned it off.
"The first time I ever saw Alden angry was because of this game," she recalled. "I pulled a prank on him and told him Popuri's heart went back to orange. And then he got angry with me. He was scary because he didn't shout. He had a deadpan look on his face. But you could feel he was angry. I thought I would lose the only friend I had. You were like him, when you got angry with Jerald."
"I remember Rich telling me about that," Richard remarked. "He was scared for you when you had an attack."
"What did he tell you about that day?" Maine asked.
"He was so distressed," he replied. "He didn't know how to make things right. Especially when he checked his game and saw that nothing happened. He actually wanted to ignore you that night if you tried to reach him on the radio. I told him not to. I told him it would make things worse for you if you weren't able to talk to him."
"You told him to talk to me?"
"Both of you had the same fear that time," Richard went on. "You were afraid you went too far with your prank, he was afraid he went too far with his anger. He was terrified when he saw you had your attack. He didn't want to see the look on your face when you were feeling so much pain. He hurt for you. And he also felt that he hurt you. He didn't know how to make it right."
He reached out and held her hand. He gave it a squeeze. He continued, "Rich mentioned that you guys were able to talk that night. But he was still remorseful. I told him to fix the bike ride as a means to make amends. He kept making excuses like he needed the seat reupholstered, he wanted to double check the route that he was planning to take you or where he would take you first. If I was there back then, I'd have whacked him on the head. I told him to just get on with it and talk to you."
Maine just kept silent and suddenly tears fell from her eyes. Richard saw this and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her close and just allowed her to cry. She followed, wrapping her arms around his waist and held him tight.
"Sorry," she said in between sobs. "I just suddenly missed him."
"It's alright," he replied softly, his hand rubbing Maine's back up and down. "I miss him too."
He held her to him until he felt her sigh and reluctantly disentangled herself from him. She smiled timidly and then without any warning she leaned forward and kissed Richard on his cheek.
"Thanks, RJ," she said.
"No problem," he smiled, a blush forming on his face.
They sat once more in companionable silence watching the scenery outside changed from the countryside scene to a cityscape. Richard's arm was now draped over Maine's shoulders, her head leaning on his chest.