"I missed you." It all starts pouring out now. "Not just in Spain, either. In China. When I saw you in London, I thought we would catch up, the three of us. We were such good friends, and..."

The rest of that sentence huffs out in a despairing sigh, as if he really can't explain this and isn't sure if he should.

"I know it wasn't your fault. You were doing what you had to do. But I want to be sure you're not beating yourself up about it, so...I forgive you. Can we just...be friends again?"