Rick: The Fisherman Father in Congratulations, the Best is Over
Overview
Rick is a figure who looms large over R. Eric Thomas’s memoir not through page count but through emotional weight. He is David’s father, a retired direct-marketing businessman and lifelong fisherman whose sudden death from a heart attack becomes the book’s most devastating event. Rick appears in three key sections: a fishing trip after Eric and David’s engagement in 2015, a flashback where he gives career advice, and the extended grief narrative following his death in 2021. Though Rick is not the narrator, his presence shapes Eric’s understanding of family, love, and belonging.
Internal link: Home and Belonging theme analysis
Plot Role
Rick serves as a bridge between the couple’s pre- and post-loss lives. His introduction—the fishing expedition described in “The Invitation”—is an initiation rite for Eric into David’s family. Rick’s death in “Soft Ground: An Interlude” marks a clear before-and-after that tests the couple’s resilience. Afterward, Rick’s material remains (his apartment, paperwork, and aquamation) become practical and emotional work for David and Eric, forcing them to navigate grief together.
Rick also functions as a catalyst for Eric’s personal growth. The career advice Rick offers—to write a bold ultimatum letter to a potential employer—directly leads to Eric getting the job. This moment shows how Rick’s blunt, businessman demeanor can yield surprising mentorship.
Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions
Rick is portrayed as a complex man who values self-reliance, hard work, and direct communication. His motivation to include Eric in the fishing trip stems from a desire to share his passion and welcome his son’s partner. When he sees Eric struggling with seasickness but still insisting he is having a wonderful time, Rick comments that Eric seems “very shy.” This indicates Rick’s inability to read emotional cues—he interprets Eric’s silence as shyness rather than physical distress. Interpretation: Rick may have been more comfortable with clear, verbal assertiveness than with indirect signals.
His advice to Eric about the job search reveals a core value: taking decisive action rather than waiting passively. Rick tells Eric to “write them a letter and give them an ultimatum,” which Eric initially thinks is crazy but later follows with success. This action-oriented mindset contrasts with Eric’s more cautious approach and shows Rick as someone who believes in creating his own opportunities.
Rick also demonstrates a willingness to evolve. After a difficult period of coming to terms with David’s sexuality, he ultimately accepts the marriage. The fishing trip celebration is evidence of that shifted heart.
Chronological Arc
- 2015 – The Fishing Trip (Chapter 17): Days after the engagement, Rick invites Eric and David to Astoria, Oregon. Eric suffers seasickness but perseveres, hooking himself accidentally. He declares he is having a wonderful time—a statement he means sincerely as a gesture of gratitude for being included.
- Between 2015 and 2021 – The Job Advice (flashback in Chapter 18): Over lunch after a TEDx talk, Rick tells Eric to assert himself and write an ultimatum to a nonprofit that is dragging out a hiring decision. Eric follows the advice and gets the job.
- June 2021 – Death and Aftermath (Chapters 16 and 18): David cannot reach his father. Eric calls David’s mother Rachel, who discovers Rick dead of a heart attack. The couple flies to Oregon, manages Rick’s apartment, holds a Zoom funeral, and oversees Rick’s aquamation. David presses START on the machine. Eric reflects on the rainbow promise.
Relationships
Rick and David: Their relationship is tense but evolving. David is a pastor serving housing-insecure people, a sharp contrast to Rick’s business-oriented life. They argue about politics, and Rick took time to accept his son’s homosexuality. By the time of the fishing trip, Rick has changed his heart, though old patterns of frustration can resurface. David later shows deep knowledge of Rick’s end-of-life wishes, indicating they had honest conversations before the cancer diagnosis.
Rick and Eric: Initially intimidated by Rick, Eric sees him as a “movie businessman.” The fishing trip is an attempt to gain approval. Rick’s eventual advice earns Eric’s respect, and after Rick’s death, Eric supports David by shredding documents and handling logistics. Eric’s grief is partly for the relationship that was still developing—he was only beginning to truly know his father-in-law.
Key Decisions and Consequences
| Decision | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Rick invites Eric on the fishing trip | Eric feels welcomed into the family; the trip becomes a memory that later carries emotional weight. |
| Rick tells Eric to write the ultimatum letter | Eric gets the job he was pursuing, learning the value of assertiveness. |
| Rick chooses aquamation and a Viking burial | David and Eric must coordinate the process, creating ritual and closure. The water-based burial method aligns with Rick’s love of the ocean. |
| Rick leaves a cluttered apartment and scattered paperwork | David and Eric spend two weeks sorting through documents, a labor of love that also symbolizes the work of grief. |
Theme and Symbol Connections
- Home and Belonging: Rick’s apartment in Lake Oswego, nestled in the woods, initially feels idyllic. Sorting through it becomes part of Eric’s integration into David’s family. The home and belonging theme recurs as Eric must find his place within this new dynamic.
- Grief and Loss: Rick’s sudden death is the central loss of the book. The grief and loss theme is explored through the mundane tasks (canceling cable, shredding papers) that accompany mourning. The aquamation machine, with its “START” button, literalizes the process of letting go.
- Identity and Self-Discovery: Rick’s advice helps Eric discover his own assertiveness. The identity theme is echoed in Eric’s realization that he can advocate for himself.
- Hope and Resilience: The rainbow symbol—from the Noah’s Ark story—appears during the crematorium scene. Eric thinks of “the rainbow and the promise it made,” linking Rick’s return to nature with enduring hope. The hope and resilience theme ties to the way Eric and David move forward.
- Community and Friendship: The neighbors who share memories of Rick, the friend Ethel the embalmer, and Rachel’s support illustrate how community can hold space for grief.
5 Book-Specific Questions and Answers
1. Why does Eric insist he is having a wonderful time on the fishing trip despite being seasick?
Eric means it sincerely. He is grateful to be included in an activity that Rick loves, and he wants to show appreciation for being welcomed into the family. The phrase echoes the sincerity of David’s first-date declaration, “I had a really great time.”
2. What career advice does Rick give Eric, and does Eric follow it?
Rick tells Eric to write the potential employer a letter giving an ultimatum: they will not find anyone better, and they must respond by next week. Eric initially thinks it is crazy but writes the letter anyway. The nonprofit offers him the job three days later.
3. How does Rick die?
Rick has a heart attack at his apartment in Lake Oswego, Oregon. David cannot reach him, so Eric calls Rick’s ex-wife Rachel, who goes to check on him and discovers his body.
4. What funeral wishes did Rick express before his death?
Rick wanted to be aquamated—a water-based cremation process—with his ashes given a Viking burial near his family’s summer house in Maine. He and David had discussed these wishes after Rick’s cancer diagnosis.
5. What does the rainbow symbolize in the chapter “God in the Machine”?
As David presses START on the aquamation machine, Eric thinks of the rainbow from the Noah’s Ark story, viewing it as a symbol of promise amid destruction. The rainbow represents hope that life continues even after profound loss.
For further study, see the ending explained page and the discussion questions.