Building My Life

Chapter 28 - The Explanation

At night, Teodoro was listening to the news on the radio when Melissa entered hesitantly, looking around. Teodoro saw the girl and made a friendly gesture for her to come in.

“Can I help you with something, young lady?”

“Good evening!” She approached the counter. “Is this where a boy named Josias lives?”

Teodoro raised an eyebrow. A girl looking for Josias? It could only be the one he had been hearing about.

“There’s a nice young man named Josias who works at a construction site as a helper. Is that the one?”

“That’s him,” Melissa smiled. “Is he in?”

“He certainly is,” Teodoro replied with a wry smile. “He doesn’t have much to do outside of work. I just don’t know if it would be prudent to invite you upstairs.”

Melissa’s cheeks immediately turned red; she stared at the floor. “I didn’t mean to meet him in that context, sir.”

“I imagine not, and I hope it stays that way. To make sure of it, I’ll go up and call him. You wait here.”

Teodoro’s voice sounded fatherly, and Melissa understood he wasn’t judging her. He went up the stairs and knocked on Josias’s bedroom door.

“Who is it?” Josias’s voice came from inside.

“It’s Teodoro. That girl is here to see you.”

A few seconds later, the door opened just a c***k. Teodoro could barely see Josias behind the door; only his head was visible.

“Is Melissa down there?” Josias asked, curiosity plastered on his face.

“Is that her name? I didn’t ask.” Teodoro tried to get a full view of Josias, stretching his neck forward. “She confirmed she was looking for you, so I connected the dots.”

“Okay, I’m coming down.” Josias closed the door. Teodoro smiled, concluding that Josias was shirtless or perhaps only in his underwear and didn’t want to open the door all the way.

In fact, after closing the door, Josias realized he was only in his new briefs because of the heat; he hadn’t wanted to wear his T-shirt and shorts just to have them stained with sweat. After getting dressed, he hurried down the stairs, anxious to see Melissa.

When they met, Josias grinned, and Melissa returned the smile. Teodoro, amused by the two young people, suggested, “Go on, talk in the kitchen.”

With a firm gesture, Josias led Melissa into the kitchen. He turned on the light and asked, “What are you doing here, Melissa? Did your father allow you to leave?”

“Yes, I told him I was going to Pamela’s.” Melissa pulled out a chair and sat down.

“It wasn’t wise of you to lie,” Josias warned her, though he smiled slightly. “If I had a daughter, I wouldn’t like it.”

“If I told him I was going to see a guy, he wouldn’t let me.” Melissa shrugged. “And it seems this is the only time we have to talk. You work, I study, and when we’re around other people, they just get in the way.”

Josias liked what he heard and nodded. “So, what do you have to say to me that requires such privacy?”

“Can you tell me what’s really going on? Is the story true... that you had nothing to eat and nothing to wear?”

Josias’s smile faded, and he took a deep breath. He hadn’t wanted to burden her with this story. But if she was the one asking...

“Melissa, I didn’t mean to upset you, but my friend Uélton was very indiscreet. He told Pamela that I showed up here in the favela with absolutely nothing. I had to run away from home because... they murdered my father.”

Melissa’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. She could see that the tragedy still weighed heavily on Josias’s heart.

“You don’t have to go into details if you don’t want to...” Melissa began, starting to stand up.

“No, no, it’s fine!” Josias stopped her; he didn’t want her to leave. “I’d prefer to explain everything to you. It might even be good for me. I need to vent to someone.”

Touched and full of sympathy, Melissa agreed to stay. Josias pulled out another chair, and they sat together. He told her the whole story. At one point, he interrupted the narrative to get some guava juice from the fridge.

Listening to the story while refreshing herself with the juice, Melissa understood Josias’s dilemma and promised herself she wouldn’t be hard on him or demand too much. Most importantly, she would stop listening to Pamela’s nonsense.

“At least Pamela needs to know,” she explained. “It’s too easy to judge and condemn you without knowing the full story.”

“Don’t worry about her, Melissa.” Josias was clearly displeased by the mention of Pamela. “I settled things with Uélton. I think Pamela didn’t like me even before she knew who I was. Even if I were from Europe Garden, she’d still turn up her nose.”

Melissa let out a good laugh, and Josias relaxed as well. Teodoro entered the kitchen and looked at the clock on the wall.

“My, look at the time! It’s past eight already!” Teodoro exclaimed, pretending to be casual, but Josias understood the hint: Melissa needed to go home.

“You’d better go, Melissa.” Josias stood up and picked up the empty glasses. “Your dad might worry.”

“You’re right. I don’t want him calling Pamela and finding out I’m not there.” She stood up and said goodbye to both men.

When she returned home, her father was sitting on the sofa watching a football match.

“Daughter, someone called for you,” he reported, without taking his eyes off the TV.

“Who?”

“A boy named Fabrício. Said he met you at the party yesterday. Is that right?”

Melissa reacted with intrigue. Who on earth was Fabrício?