Building My Life

Chapter 21 - Meeting at the Party

Uélton said goodbye to his parents and left the house with Josias, feeling somewhat embarrassed knowing his friend was heading to a public place without underwear. Josias, however, wasn’t embarrassed at all. He would have even worn his own briefs, but Uélton had insisted it wouldn’t be appropriate. If only Uélton had kept his mouth shut...

The two walked toward a part of the Happiness Slum that Josias hadn’t visited yet. They passed the direction Melissa had pointed out earlier as the location of her house. The high probability of meeting her at the party encouraged Josias.

They arrived at a two-story house with a terrace. From a distance, the crowd could already be seen upstairs, and the loud music, Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall”, thumped through the air. Uélton went in and greeted everyone his age; the boy looked like the son of a politician, he was so well known. For every friend he greeted, Josias was introduced.

What Uélton didn’t realize was that every person introduced to Josias reacted as if they were standing before someone important. Josias had an aura that commanded respect and authority. With his slight smile and firm handshake, he made it clear he wasn’t just anybody. The effect was even greater on the women.

“Meet my new friend, Josias,” Uélton said to a group of girls wearing heavy makeup. They looked Josias up and down with evident approval. To some, it seemed as if Uélton were a valet or a secretary introducing a Great Master to the people.

Meanwhile, Melissa was already on the terrace with her friends, sitting on a bench and eating barbecue — specifically, chicken wings. She ate with her hands, without ceremony. Her two friends approached, each with a chicken wing in hand.

“So, Melissa, are you enjoying the party?”

“Thank you so much, Pamela, thanks for inviting me,” Melissa said, chewing as she spoke.

“I told you, my sister knows how to throw a good party,” Pamela boasted. She spoke of her older sister, but it was their father who was controlling the grill, ensuring the party didn’t turn into a drug den or a scene of debauchery.

Uélton led Josias to the terrace, guided by the smell of the meat. “Boy, the food is being served up here. Do you smell that?”

“It smells delicious,” Josias admitted. “And it’s good for us to enjoy the view from up here.”

When they went up, the first person Josias saw was Melissa. He smiled, satisfied. Melissa hadn’t seen him yet, focused on eating and talking to her friends.

“Enjoying the view, buddy?” Uélton patted Josias on the shoulder, already understanding what he was looking at.

Josias smiled and headed toward the barbecue. Pamela’s father was just placing pieces of picanha on the cutting board.

Uélton grabbed two slices with his hands, like everyone else, but Josias picked up a plastic fork and speared the slices, avoiding eating with his fingers. The forks were there, but no one else seemed to care, except Josias. Pamela’s father looked at him as if he were looking at a prince.

Josias approached Melissa. Her flowered knee-length dress and wavy hair made her look more beautiful than ever. Melissa finally caught Josias’s eye. She smiled when she saw the black T-shirt and jeans that seemed to have been tailored for him (if only she had known they were borrowed clothes...).

“Josias!” Melissa stood up promptly, wiped the chicken grease from her fingers, and approached him. Then she turned to her friends. “So, girls, THIS is Josias.”

Pamela and the other friend were dumbfounded. Yes, Josias was a handsome man; that couldn’t be denied. He looked at them as if he were about to marry them both, like in those arranged marriages in the Middle East. Then he looked at Melissa with a smile, as if she were the primary wife. A real sheikh.

“Melissa, what a pleasure to see you. Uélton said you would be here,” Josias spoke, completely ignoring her stunned friends.

“You must have walked by my house,” Melissa hurried to say. “When we leave, I’ll show you.”

“But it’s too early to go!” Pamela stood up immediately and approached the couple. “Make yourself at home. My dad is killing it on the grill.”

“Yes, it is very delicious...” Josias didn’t know her name.

“Pamela,” she said, smiling — perhaps a bit too much. When she noticed Josias eating with the fork, she added, “Are you using a fork?”

The second friend burst out laughing. Even Uélton joined in. Melissa didn’t understand their amusement, and neither did Josias.