CHAPTER 6

On Tuesday, July 10, 2018, with my briefcase ready to go home, I heard a noise coming from the living room.

I went out of Nikko's room and noticed the arrival of many young men, some with their girlfriends, all well-dressed with cans of Corales, Sagres and Super Bock under their arms.

'What's going on out there?" I asked my boyfriend.

"Shit, I forgot to inform you," Nikko said, putting his hands on his head in an exaggerated way.

Then, he burst out laughing and I made my bored face.

"Very funny. C'mon, tell me, what did you forget?"

"Today is Maël's birthday and they're going to celebrate it here."

I wrinkled my face.

"And why here? Why not at his house?"

He sighed and raised his body a little on the mattress of the bed.

"Since his family is in Lisbon, Mom offered him the house for the celebration."

"And why are they in Lisbon, isn't it their son's birthday? Shouldn't they be here with him, or he with them?"

"I don't know, Delu, you know my uncles live on the road. Dad told me at the office that they were coming but they missed their flight, something like that. Anyway, I don't think Maël would mind so much."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why?"

"Because he's like that," he answered with a strange gesture.

"But... Maël must have gone with them, right?"

"I think he's studying here... or Braga, I don't know."

"Braga?" I felt something crumple in my chest. "And Marcellino?"

"His brother helps my uncle with the business."

I mean, he's also in Lisbon.

"Yes."

I nodded, staring blankly. It seemed so unfair that a young boy like him should have to celebrate his birthday alone or without his close family. There was—what could be called—a good party going on out there.

And where were his parents to keep an eye on him, or share with him? I allowed my own pity to stop me for a few minutes, something I hadn't done for Maël until then. I had just realized that his life was not as perfect as I had imagined it to be.

I made the decision not to travel home that afternoon, what did one more day matter?

I jumped into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Perfume, simple make-up, the nicest clothes I had, my boots, I was nervous, Maël had a birthday, I had to look regal, beautiful!

When I left the room it looked like a pitched battle of laughter, people walking from one side to the other and the kitchen was very crowded.

"Hey, Delu!" one of the Saravia aunts shouted at me, "Can you help me here?"

There began my evening's journey, not as a guest but as a helper, and the birthday boy... paid no attention to me all night. What a waste and what a fool that made me feel! What else was I going to do? I started serving portions of food and drinks; I could barely congratulate him because he was chatting with two boys very animatedly, and my head was stuck between the curves of the cute and cuddly Katty because (of course) there she was his girlfriend, whom I finally got to meet in person.

The music was loud, the grown-ups were complaining, and it brought back memories of when my brother and I were arguing with our parents about the volume of the radio. Nikko joined the party, recognizing some other guests, and from time to time, my partner and I took advantage of his good mood to grope me in some corner. It was rare to see him like that; he was DRY in public, and this is why I wouldn't waste those few opportunities.

After a while, someone shouted: Happy Birthday! And they all shrieked the well-known song, because yes, they didn't sing but laughed, shouted, howled like wolves our beloved "Parabéns a Vocé". They all returned to their reality; I, on the other hand... Uff, I could breathe when I saw the lonely kitchen.

I started to wash the dishes. A song started to play through the music speakers.

I stood still and smiled, it was the band Arctic Monkeys.

I immediately relaxed and started humming the lyrics. Someone opened the fridge and I gasped. I turned around with my hands full of soap and realized it was Maël stuck head-first in the freezer.

I swallowed and I couldn't sing anymore.

I wanted to understand my nerves: Hadn't I just seen him there at the party? Wasn't he the birthday boy? Wasn't I supposed to bump into him all the time? I anchored my eyes on the dishwasher and suddenly jumped again.

«What the...?» Whoa, whoa, whoa, It was Maël who, very strangely, had just given me a hip-to-hip touch.

And not happy with that, he positioned his wonderful body next to me, very, very close to me, I mean it, very close.

I felt hot and I felt tempted to splash soap and water on my face.

"Hello," I said, bordering on pathetic.

"Did you eat? Did you pour yourself a drink?"

"Huh?" I looked away in disbelief. "Are you talking to me?"

He came much closer and I felt as if water was being poured on a freshly painted wall.

Holy Christ... How beautiful he was! How was that possible?

He had touched my hip, nothing more, nothing less. He smiled beautifully at me for the first time, with such a divinely charming expression, a brilliant combo. Those two questions he asked me were the longest speech he had ever addressed to me in his life up to that time.

I was twenty-eight years old and looked like a fifteen-year-old girl next to him. He was turning eighteen that night, but he had a mammoth height and years of body training on me. Years, yes, years. Suddenly, the heels of my boots felt melting under my feet.

"Yes, I had a few beers," I replied with my best smile.

"And food, did you try it?"

"Yes, it was delicious, thank you very much." My smile again.

And before I spoke, the very... puppy... winked at me and I felt that my clothes were heavy.

"Thank you for helping me at the party, Delu, I really appreciate it."

I nodded as best I could and watched as he walked away without looking back.

«Ok,» My confused head began to project bubbles into the air, almost a rather effervescent froth. And the internal sneers at having been gawked at by a little boy just talking to me, just like a schoolgirl, began their attack against all coherent thought.

He was supposed to dislike me, so why the sudden change?

«He was drinking at the party, wasn't he?» I wondered mentally.

My hands remained in the air with a sponge in hand; I snorted and dropped my shoulders in disappointment. That was it! He sure was drunk and even if he didn't notice it, that had to be the reason for his truce.

I almost pouted at the fiasco, but I avoided doing it, I had enough of so much childishness.

Just after finishing my chores in the kitchen, I ran into Nikko's arms, crazy, desperate! I needed to lose myself in his slender body and forget about that show of politeness. I needed to do it by snapping my fingers, like this, this, this! I needed to tear that antichrist out of my mind.