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Well, he obviously HAS forgiven him, as they seem to get on well now.

My personal O-PIN-ION is that Brian was concerned about Helen, as he didn't like Paul much and thought he would hurt and humiliate her. I was of exactly the same opinion, and I'm delighted to have been proved wrong, as Brian will obviously be.

A true friend tells it like it is, warns you of the pitfalls of a given situation and doesn't just tell you what they think you want to hear. He impressed upon her time and time again that she shouldn't put all her eggs in one basket and count on Paul being there when she got out. This was based on statements and comments that Paul himself had made, his general attitude to women, and above all the 60/40 comment. Would you have liked to see Helen dissolve into floods of tears at the newspaper headlines showing Paul out with another girl?? For all they knew, that's exactly what would happen, and Brian in particular was simply trying to prepare her for the worst. ("selective memories"??? I don;t think so - just realistic and rational ones that don't try to stir things up when everyone is getting on fine. full marks to ROB for not rising to the bait.)

I don't think there's anything to forgive. No doubt Paul challenged Brian about his comments when they were all reunited, and my guess is that Brian would have said "Ok, so prove me wrong!" - which he has!

All's well that ends well!