Longtime friend

Returning to the living room she noticed that the door of her apartment was open, she should take care of it better, even more being a woman alone in a city that she didn't know very well, she walked to close the door and then decided that she would eat something, she opened the freezer to see exactly what was there, according to her father he had bought some lunch boxes from a nearby restaurant for her to eat during the week, this way she wouldn't have to worry about preparing food to take to lunch much less prepare something when she got home after work for dinner, everything was organized in the freezer with the labels of the date of manufacture and expiration, as she would not have to worry about it, the best thing to eat at that moment was a sandwich just to gain courage to start the work of organizing her things, but to eat even if it was so simple would need at least a plate, object that was stored in one of the boxes, so she would have to start organizing anyway, She then mentally thanked herself from the past for leaving everything labeled, in the corner of the room next to the sofa was a cardboard box with the name "kitchen" written on it, she then let out a deep breath remembering that the knives were inside, it would be incredibly difficult to cut the tape like this, she then started looking for something sharp enough to cut a hole in the tape, she looked around the apartment looking for about a minute, but her attention was taken away from her search when she heard someone knocking on the door, Catherine walked to the door and when she opened it she was faced with a handsome young man, approximately one meter eighty of height, he appeared to be in his thirties, strong, with a well done beard and light brown hair, practically blond, blue eyes and a smile that was not strange to her, her look at him began with an immense suspicion until finally she heard his voice and memories came to her mind. 

- Catherine, Cathzinha, who would say that that little brat would become such a beautiful girl, if I knew you were going to be like this I would have gone on vacation to your house to make a long term investment - The boy spoke in a very humorous tone, that voice, that face. 

- André? - asked Catherine, incredulous at who had just knocked on her door. 

- The very one, in the flesh, when you were little I always got a hug, now I don't? - He questioned, opening his arms and receiving what he had asked for, a hug, an act that demonstrated much more than a simple greeting, but a warmth. 

- I can't believe you are here, I really can't believe it, what are you doing here? Do you live near here? Do you want to stay here for a while? Wow, I don't even know what to say, how nice to have a familiar face. 

- Let's go Cath, first I'd love to come in, you know I found a great recipe for a drink you might like, I remember when you were little you loved the colorful drinks in the movies, now I can make them for you to drink.

- Of course, of course, please come in." She gave him room to pass, and as soon as he entered she walked to the kitchen opening the refrigerator. 

- You know, I helped your father to clean the house, it's not the first time I've opened this refrigerator, even if you look well, I left a bottle of vodka hidden inside the oven, I didn't want to risk your father giving me an ugly look by offering you alcoholic beverages. 

- André, you know that I am twenty-five years old, right? I can already drink and I've been drinking for a long time - She then went to the oven actually finding a sealed bottle of vodka, then put it on the counter. 

- I know, but your father still treats you like the little girl he used to ask to take to the playground after school, so I didn't want to risk getting a disapproving look from someone I like so much. 

- My father gave me drinks, you're so out of date about things." He laughed, then opened the cupboard, but then stared at the empty cupboard with a strange look on his face. 

- Let me guess, you haven't packed yet and you have no idea which box the glasses are in, correct? - asked André, standing behind her and also looking at the empty cupboard.

- Actually I know exactly where they are..., but I couldn't open the box, I need a knife to open the box of knives - she joked then pointing to a box that was in the corner of the room.

- In other words, you packed it so well that you can't unpack it, I think that's so you, come on, I'll help you - He said following towards the box, he put his hand in his pocket taking out his keychain and showing her the car key, then he bent down and used the teeth of the key to tear the tape that sealed the box - There, box open, do you want me to open the others too?

- I can't believe it, I've never thought of opening a box with a key in my life, I thought it was great! - If you want you can open it, it will help me a lot, if you want you can also put it in the cupboard to help me. 

- You complained that I opened your fridge in less than five minutes, but in less than ten you're already enslaving me, you haven't changed much Cathzinha - He implied now opening the other boxes that were nearby - By the way, I didn't answer one of your questions, yes I live nearby, being more specific, at the end of the hall, last door.  

- Are you kidding that we are neighbors? - she asked excitedly. 

- Practically we are, because I was the one who indicated this place to your father, when you got the job he called me, asked if I knew of some safe and good place for you to live since I live in the city for eight years, then I said I would see and talking to the owner of my apartment I found out that she had another apartment at the beginning of the hall, just this one, then I passed the contact to your father and he made all the necessary arrangements and here we are," André explained as he finished opening all the sealed boxes, then started to get the dishes and put them on the table so that she could arrange them, "In short, you have this place because of me, I think it's only fair that you make me breakfast once in a while.

- I'll write it down in my little notebook, gratitude comes through breakfast. 

- Write it down, sometimes I stay up late working, some big projects, then I end up waking up at the last minute, having a coffee ready once in a while would help me a lot, you know, I wake up in the automatic sometimes - He commented, finishing taking all the dishes out of the first box and then tearing it up and putting it in a corner by the door. 

- Hey! I might want the André box! - she exclaimed.

- Take it from me, you don't want to, if you accumulate cardboard in this building the cockroaches will quickly find you, I don't know if you've seen before, but the window of your living room leads directly to the building's garbage dump, any little thing the cockroaches appear, that's the disadvantage of living in a modern big city with some old buildings.

- Cockroaches are no problem for me, I kill them with my shoe," he retorted.

- Yeah, until you wake up with one on your bedclothes, too unpleasant for my taste, I also kill it when it gets in the house, but I'm not a fan of waking up with insects on me, so my windows have mosquito nets and I would recommend you to do the same. 

Catherine with that comment simply grimaced, she didn't have a problem with insects but actually imagining a cockroach that was in the garbage on her clean bed bothered her, she ended up agreeing to put the mosquito net as soon as possible, the pair of old friends took the opportunity to catch up, in the distant past André was the neighbor who frequented her house almost every day, Catherine's father ended up assuming a paternal image for the boy after the biological father had left the family and fled from his responsibilities, the beginning of the approximation of the two in childhood was not the happiest but it was a proximity full of affection and true, by her parents' house there were pictures of the children playing in the backyard or on short trips they made to the outskirts of the city, Unfortunately the friendship cooled down when André's mother was called for a job in another city and that would be a reason for the children to separate, the pain of distance had affected Catherine more than the brothers because wanting or not they had each other but she only had herself, they kept sporadic contact, They kept in touch sporadically, but only called each other on special dates or when they had bombshell news. Other than that they almost never spoke, so the two of them would have a lot of catching up to do and things to clean up at home, this task ended up taking the whole afternoon of the pair that by nightfall were already exhausted so the best possible idea came up, order a pizza for dinner. 

- Tell me Cathy, are you ready for your first day on the job yet? - he asked, serving himself the first piece of pizza. 

- I think so, we're never quite ready, are we? But I can't be afraid, I already know what clothes I'm going to wear, I also know more or less how to get there, all my documents have already been delivered, so tomorrow I'm going to get to know the facilities and the team I'll be part of.

- It's still hard to believe that you became a lawyer, and even more than that, you became a lawyer starting at a big firm. 

- Yes, but if it wasn't for my professor I wouldn't have gotten this job, I must admit that forever I will think that my father has a finger or two in this story, he is a professor at the college, I have no doubt that he asked for an appointment.

- Believe me, if he did that, he did the best thing he could do for you, nowadays it is very difficult to get a good position in the job market, I myself have been in the same company for five years and even so I am still the guy who gets the jobs that the older ones don't want. 

- But didn't you say earlier that you were earning well enough to help the whole family? - she finally asked, grabbing a piece of pizza. 

- I help out as much as I can, I'm not rich, but I can afford health insurance and a good school for my niece, but it's precisely because I take the jobs that the others don't want that I do well, I take so many small and fast jobs that I end up earning in quantity and not in greatness, I'm building my name this way, you could use this tactic at work too. 

- I already had this plan, Ladislau, my professor, explained that we started in the effort to reach success, that today he is a professor in a college, but he was once the guy who just wrote the documents for the big name lawyers, so he learned from the best to become the best. 

- A very smart teacher, follow the advice of older people at work, we always end up getting along well - André then finally stood up, taking the vodka from earlier, opening it and mixing it with soda - Would you like some?

- Just a little, no soda, even though I'm only going to work on Monday I don't want to be hung over on Sunday. 

- I think that's a great idea, we get hangovers after the first month of work or after the first frustration, I just don't call you tomorrow so we can do something because I'm still going out today and I don't know how I'll be tomorrow.

- André! Why didn't you tell me you had an appointment today? I wouldn't have asked you to make such an effort! She felt embarrassed by this, she had abused the kindness of a friend without even asking if he had other commitments. 

- It's okay, Cathy, I had already calculated to stay with you until almost ten o'clock at night, it's still eight, we can talk some more before I have to leave to get ready. 

- Wait, going out at this hour, are you going on a date? - She asked with a huge smile on her lips, taking a sip of her vodka and realizing that the idea of drinking it neat was a bad one, it's a good thing they were eating because that drink would have been a bomb on an unaccustomed empty stomach. 

- I will, but there's no need to get excited, it's nothing serious, just a diversion in common agreement between both parties, I'm not sincerely willing to get serious with anyone, I still have many things to do before thinking of putting someone in my life romantically - He justified taking a sip of his drink - My sister got a boyfriend who got her pregnant and dumped her, my mother had my father, I have to be a good example for my niece, imagine if her uncle is also a bad guy, she will think that all men are like that.

- I think it's really cool that you think this way about your niece, who would have thought that your sister would have a daughter, but she's a lot older than us right? It's not really a surprise if we stop to do the math.

- We are a ladder, remember? She's ten years older than you, five years older than me, and I'm five years older than you, it's like our mothers programmed it, my niece is eight years old, if she's not eight then she's got some work to do, and I'm honestly a bit of an absent uncle, even though I try to be a good example, I don't think I've seen her for two years.

- Two years André? - she asked abashed.

- I got my first big job last year, even though I graduated eight years ago, I didn't go home for a long time, my Christmas was at my apartment sleeping because at the end of the year there was problem after problem with suppliers and stuff like that, you have no idea how this city is in December, you can't solve almost anything quickly and efficiently.  

- André is always forgetful, empty-headed, but always a nice guy," Catherine smiled, eating another piece of pizza.

- Changing the subject, what about you? Have you left any young men in love in the city? 

- I believe not, my last year in college was very chaotic, I had a boyfriend, but he couldn't stand that I only wanted to study, so we broke up near the final exams of the penultimate year of college, they say this is common, I was very sad, but it was not a surprise, totally different goals.