"Hello," he responded simply. He could have taken the opportunity to apologise for disappearing, or explain some of what was really going on, but he let the moment pass, and instead decided to explain his appearance and the pack of medication.
"I would have returned sooner, but I ran into Miguel," he said, and then realised it was going to need more of an explanation than that. "I was doing some fencing and he offered to be a moving target. I pushed myself too far, and ignored the twinges in my back for longer than I should have," he explained. "He wanted me to rest it for a while before I walked back," he added.