Chapter 18 - Who’s That Boy?
797 Words
“Ah, yes,” Teodoro smiled proudly. “A great guy. You did very well to invite him to the construction site.”
“Yes, he didn’t tell me the details of what happened, but it looks like he doesn’t have a penny in his pocket and he ran away from home.”
Teodoro’s smile faded. Romualdo realized there was a heavy explanation behind it.
“Did something very serious happen to him?” Romualdo asked.
“Yes, something very serious.” Teodoro stepped closer to the other side of the counter and lowered his voice. “I heard the news on the radio, and then it was a headline in the newspaper. They murdered his father, and he ran away so he wouldn’t be killed too.”
Romualdo was shocked by the information. “Poor boy! So young and already suffering such trauma?”
“Do you believe he barely had time to mourn his father’s death?” Teodoro spoke with great concern. “If he really cried, it was alone in his room. In front of me, it only happened once. He was in his bedroom getting dressed when he heard the shots; he didn’t think twice and just ran.”
“That explains why he has so few clothes. He’s out there shirtless and in sweatpants. Those pants are going to get dirty quickly, and he won’t be able to wear them casually.”
“He is counting on his first payment to buy several things. He left everything behind.”
Romualdo lowered his tone even further to ask a sensitive question. “Drugs?”
Teodoro didn’t find the question offensive and immediately answered, “No! It was debts with loan sharks. His father was an irresponsible man who didn’t like to work. Josias’s mother divorced him and vanished from the city. The poor young man always found a way through odd jobs to get the kind of allowance every teenager wants. And now there he is, at eighteen, getting by however he can.”
“It’s very heartening to see that Josias didn’t give in so easily,” Romualdo praised. “Other boys his age would have already entered the world of crime or drugs because of a broken family, but he decided to take a different path.”
“And he will walk it,” Teodoro said, telling Romualdo what had happened that morning between Josias and Jeremiah — the bathroom incident. Romualdo nodded.
“Yes, that sounds like Josias. Courageous, smart, determined... he isn’t afraid to face the unknown. All I had to do was reach out to help him, and he accepted the job as a bricklayer’s assistant. But do you want to know what I think?” Romualdo smiled with satisfaction. “I don’t think he will be in this line of work for long.”
“Ah, without a doubt!” Teodoro laughed. “If he had parents with their feet on the ground, they would’ve already helped their son get a formal job. But he’ll do it on his own merits; he won’t wait for anyone.”
“And he keeps encouraging the other boy to stop thinking small,” Romualdo recalled, still smiling. “He wants to grow and motivates others to do the same. I’m amazed.”
“Well, if that’s the case, we’ll do our best to help him, Romualdo,” Teodoro said. “He stays here with me, and you help him there at the site. Whatever he doesn’t know, teach him. Deal?”
“Deal!” The two friends shook hands to seal the agreement.
In the afternoon, Josias remained firm, stirring the mortar. Uélton was approaching for another round of bricks. Josias had his eyes fixed on the hoe and only heard Uélton’s whistle.
“Look at that babe!” Uélton called out, mimicking the older workers.
Josias turned toward Uélton, who was admiring a girl. Out of curiosity, he looked toward the main street and saw Melissa in her school uniform, on her way to class.
Josias had always been a gentleman. Just as he had reacted in defense of the girl who had accidentally seen Jeremiah in the bathroom, he now reacted in defense of Melissa, scolding Uélton for the comment. “Take it easy! Watch how you talk about a lady!”
However, in Melissa’s case, was there an additional reason for his reaction?
Uélton, as always, thought it was all a joke. He laughed, nudging Josias with his elbow. “What’s this? Do you know her? If she’s your girlfriend, I won’t bother her.”
“You shouldn’t be bothering her anyway—”
“Josias?”
Josias had spoken too loudly, and Melissa had heard him. She turned and looked at him with a surprised smile.
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