Although I don't mind Fred hugging me, his bear-like structure was such a contrast to my slim frame that it almost crushed my ribs. I regained my life after he released me. This man always had an enormous structure but why was his face so different. I studied his face again but except for his sunny smile and amber eyes, there was literally no similarity

"Why is your face so different?" I asked bewildered

"Long story," he said, smiling sheepishly, "Where's Champ?" he asked, brightly

"Oh! He is waiting for me over there" I said, pointing at the seat he was in.

"Great” he exclaimed, “Wait there, I'll get your food," he said jumping back inside the counter.

I was still in a little daze but I did as he told, strolling back to my seat. I can’t help wondering if he was really Fred, but if he wasn't, he wouldn't have known about Twen and wouldn’t have called him ‘Champ’ as he used to. I sat down at my seat only to see a pouting Twen.

"Mommy, you didn't order food?" he asked, massaging his stomach

"Of course I did, Munchkin. My friend is going to bring it" I smiled at his swollen look.

I had just finished soothing Twen when Fred came with three orange juices and two ham-cheese sandwiches. He served them to us and took one of the orange juice for himself. Since the restaurant was so full, he couldn't get a chair and remained standing.

"How did you get so skinny?” he asked, eyeing me with displeasure

“Work” I answered, shrugging

Fred frowned before looking at Twen with bright glowing eyes, “Woah! Goddamn, I can't believe how much Champ has grown. The last time I saw him, he was a baby"

"He was a toddler, not a baby" I laughed

"Mommy, does this uncle know me?" Twen asked, eyeing Fred, with slight apprehension.

"Oops, sorry!! I forgot to introduce you to him. Twen, this is the friend I was telling you of. His name is Fred and he is the one who took care of us when we came to this city" I told him, before sipping on my orange juice.

Fred looked a little shy from the introduction I gave and patted Twen to distract himself from the embarrassment. 

"How you’re doing, Champ?" he asked with his usual infectious smile.

For some reason, Twen looked upset. He eyed him with round beady eyes before blasting off in a high-pitched irritated tone, "If you are here to take my Mommy, I am not giving you" 

That was the last thing I expected coming out of his mouth. I almost spilled my juice in surprise, "Tw-Twen, what are you saying?" I stammered, turning scarlet.

However, Fred was not at all bothered instead he laughed boomingly speaking in a highly amused voice, "You got a straightforward kid there!! At least he knows what he wants” he kept chuckling before speaking to Twen, “Don't you worry, kiddo, your Mommy is already taken. I can't have him" he grinned at Twen, earnestly.

"WHA- FRED!" I said, annoyed.

Fred shrugged nonchalantly. Twen turned away, munching his sandwich sullenly, as he looked confused by Fred's words. 

After a while, Fred finally found himself a chair and took his seat beside me. I stared at Fred’s new face and wondered what happened for him to change it. Being an over-thinker, I ended up wondering if it was my fault. Fred felt my stare and looked at me before his face broke into a familiar cheeky smile, 

“Do I look that handsome?” he asked, jokingly, winking at me.

I rolled my eyes before asking him with a straight face, “When did you return? You did not even contact me”

Fred’s smile vanished on my question. He looked away before muttering, “I thought you did not want me to contact”

Silence greeted his reply. It was true. I was the one who tried to distance myself from him.

“I am sorry about everything, Fred. I should have explained to you the issue” I said, quietly.

“Sam gave me a pretty good idea of the situation and even without him saying, I am not dumb enough to not figure it out” Fred replied in a neutral tone.

I nodded as I was not sure what else to do. Fred was not even to blame but he was the one who suffered the most due to that incident.

“I do not want this misunderstanding anymore”  I suddenly said in a guilt-ridden tone, “Fred, listen-”

“I know,” Fred said, “You don’t have to recall all those terrible memories. In the three years, I was with you, I knew you enough to not misunderstand you."

“But Fred, I should have-” I started, swallowing back another wave of guilt.

“Tony, it's okay” Fred sighed as he swallowed the last of his juice, “I know that the mess was my dad’s fault and I never blamed you”

I blinked in surprise, “Then, why did you never say so?”

“I tried but you never gave me a chance. Ultimately, I decided to not inconvenience you and respect your wishes” Fred explained

I looked down feeling extremely horrible to have treated Fred with such disregard. If only I had explained the issue properly, we may have not been so distant after all. I almost lost a precious friend due to my bullheadedness.

"How's uncle?" I asked, hesitatingly

"PFFTT” Fred guffawed, “You are amazing. You still care how’s he doing after everything?”

I had nothing to say to that, so I just kept quiet though Fred continued with a sigh, “He's doing great!! He is in Hawaii, enjoying with his new wife" he said, casually but there was a slight bitterness in his tone.

My eyes widen in complete surprise. I can't believe that Uncle Fernando actually married at this age.

"You- you are ok, right?" I asked Fred, gazing at his face for a sign of sourness.

"Yeah, I am. Though, I am not staying with him any longer. You see, he wanted me to acknowledge that woman as my mother, but she was barely 2 years older than me. On his wedding night, I drank too much and ended up having a huge row with Dad. I left in a great temper and drove past the speed limit ending up in an accident. That's how my face changed" he said, grinning with a sour look.

I was shocked! This guy was so reckless. How can he so casually talk about being in an accident?

"You are unbelievable!! What if something happened to you? Did the cops get into this issue?" I glared at him.

"Yeah! I heard from Dad that cops were all over the accident. The man driving the truck that crashed into my car had his head bashed too. Oh-chill--he didn’t die” Fred quickly added seeing my eyes about to be popped off in shock, “I heard that the injury was not even that serious. Instead, my car got rolled off, throwing me down, and then blasted. My face was badly damaged. It was huge and even got the media involved. My old man almost got a heart attack on hearing about my accident. When I woke up, he was a changed man, he promised to divorce my stepmom and even confessed about-” he stopped, abruptly.

I quietly waited for him to continue. After a long silence, he said in a muffled tone,

“I couldn’t get mad at him. I knew how much it took for him to confess, and I understood why you always wanted me to not isolate Dad. He got this slimy little lawyer to help my case and paid a hefty fine to cover it all. Afterward, we came to a sort of understanding. I decided to not involve myself with his personal issues nor will he interfere with mine”

I took a deep breath of relief on hearing this. Uncle Fernando always loved Fred and did whatever he did, good or bad, only for him. Being a parent myself I knew that uncle was only thinking of Fred. Still, I can’t believe it took an accident for both of them to forgive each other. What a stubborn son and dad pair!

"So, now you work at the beach restaurant's counter?" I asked, smilingly picking up my sandwich.

He looked at me and said softly, "This is my restaurant"

Was today a day of being stunned? My mouth remained open with the sandwich an inch away from it. "Woah! How did that carefree high school kid grow so much?" I teased

He slightly blushed, "I am 23 already. Stop treating me like a kid!"

"I should have taken this meal as a treat," I said, faking my disappointment.

Fred and I laughed at our own dumb joke. The only person who did not seem happy was Twen. He glared at Fred even when we were leaving. Fred waved at us and asked us to visit again. He wanted us to stay but I can't. I have to return and arrange my room and also think about the job. It was good to see Fred and I am glad that he is happy and healthy. I, somehow, felt my stress wane away. I picked Twen on my arm and started walking back towards the changing room.

"Mommy, you won't choose that uncle over me, would you?" Twen suddenly asked, looking at my eyes intently. 

So, this was the reason for him being so upset with Fred. I laughed at his baseless childish insecurities and said, "Twen, I would always choose you no matter who the other person is"

Twen smiled on hearing this and hugged me tightly. Nothing in this world is more important to me than him, though he doesn't know it.