I broke up with Daniel on a Tuesday, which felt rude. If a three-year relationship was going to end, the least it could do was wait until Friday so I could spend the weekend being dramatic.

Wednesday I cried at work. Thursday I drove to Lauren's without calling.

We'd been friends since college. Showing up unannounced was practically tradition.

Richard answered the door in socks, holding a dish towel.

“Natalie.” He smiled. “Hey.”

“Please tell me Lauren's here.”

“Out with a coworker.” He looked more closely at me. “Everything okay?”

“Spectacular. Can I steal something from your fridge?”

Richard stepped aside. “Come in. I'll call her.”

I dropped my bag while he dialed.

“Natalie's here,” Richard told his daughter. “No, I didn't invite her. She just appeared.” He glanced at me, amused. “Forty minutes, apparently.”

“Tell her not to rush,” I called.

He listened a moment longer. “She says stop being polite. It's unsettling.”

He handed me a glass of water.

“Daniel and I broke up,” I said.

Richard shut off the tap. “Ah. I'm sorry.”

“That's it?”

“Would you prefer a speech?”

“God, no.”

“Then sit down.” He pulled out a stool. “You look like you need a minute.”

I told him about Daniel's job offer in another city. He'd discussed it for weeks without telling me. When I asked where I fit, he'd said I was making his career about myself.

“I spent three years trying not to be needy,” I said. “Apparently I got so good at it he forgot to include me.”

Richard leaned against the counter. “Sounds exhausting.”

I laughed. Daniel could turn dinner into an argument. Richard listened.

“The worst part? I keep checking my phone. I don't want him back. I just want him to notice I'm gone.”

“Those aren't the same thing,” Richard replied.

“Am I pathetic?”

“A little.”

My mouth fell open.

“You asked,” he said, grinning. “And you're allowed to miss someone who wasn't right for you.”

“Were you always this annoying?”

“Lauren says it's gotten worse.”

Then the front door opened.

Lauren arrived with chips, ice cream, and fury.

“Where is he?” she demanded. “I just want to talk.”

“You don't even know what happened,” I told her.

“I know he's an idiot.” She turned to Richard. “Dad, back me up.”

He took the groceries from her. “I try not to make judgments before hearing both sides.”

“Unbelievable. Whose side are you on?” Lauren asked.

“Whoever brought dinner.”

“It's chips!”

“Then I'm open to negotiations,” Richard said, inspecting the bag.

Lauren hugged me until my glasses went crooked. We spent two hours on the couch revisiting Daniel's greatest failures. She even remembered how annoyed he'd been when I stayed late to help wash dishes after her birthday.

“He was jealous of a sink full of plates,” Lauren said.

“Maybe the sink was prettier than me.”

“It had more emotional range.”

Richard appeared in the doorway to rescue our melting ice cream. Lauren threw a pillow at him. He caught it without looking and tossed it back.

Lauren corrected my stories, I stole her chips, and Richard wandered in to make unhelpful comments. Nobody treated me like I might break.

I caught myself watching Richard laugh at something Lauren said.

Huh. Her dad was a very good-looking man.

I'd just never paid much attention.

Lauren tried to make me stay. I wanted my own bed. She hugged me goodbye and threatened to block Daniel herself.

Richard came onto the porch carrying the bag I'd left in his kitchen.

“Thanks for letting me hijack your evening,” I told him.

“You didn't hijack anything. I was washing dishes.”

“Thrilling Thursday.”

“Best one I've had in weeks.” He handed me the bag. “Come by again. Preferably before Lauren eats all the good food.”

“Careful. I might take that as an invitation.”

“That's generally what it means,” Richard said.

I was smiling when I backed out of the driveway. I didn't reach for my phone at a red light.

Instead, I remembered Richard leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling at me.

Huh.

Natalie went looking for her best friend and found a rather charming distraction instead. Was Richard simply being kind, or did you notice a little chemistry? Tell us which moment caught your attention. Leave a heart if you're curious where this is going.