Gerald looks a bit surprised at the long apology, I don’t know what he thought I might tell him if I did come to apologize. Maybe he thought I’d try to excuse my behavior in some way.

But I don’t want to do that. I want him to know that he means too much for me to treat him so lowly despite what I did in the morning. I want him to know that I value him, and even if sometimes I act and talk like a vicious idiot, I would never undermine his importance.

Gerald gets up from his seat, and round the desk. Then, he approaches me. For some reason, I brace myself, wondering if he’d slap me. He wouldn’t be entirely wrong if he does.

But to my surprise, he steps in front of me and encircles me with his arms.

Gerald hugs me, his frame an inch or two shorter than mine, and I feel like a lost little boy who had just found a home. My eyes start to itch from suddenly getting wet and I valiantly keep the tears down from flowing down my cheeks. I know that if I let them flow, I’m going to start to blub