We read a few similar entries where the girls had started by describing their day and then carried on with an on-page dialogue. It was the best insight into their young minds, but it also made me miss my mom so much.
“I wonder who this guy Vítor is,” David said.
“Yeah. Do you think he’s of any significance to your mom?” I asked.
David looked out to the view in front of us like he was trying to remember something.
“Not sure, really. It’s strange thinking about her with a boyfriend because I never saw her with anyone all my life. I hadn’t even thought about it until now. She must have been lonely. I wonder why she never dated.”
I thought the same thing. I remembered Paula was very beautiful. She’d had long dark hair and smiling brown eyes. There was so much of her in David. I wasn’t sure he realized that.
“Wasn’t there another entry that mentions Vítor and your mom?” I took the book from David and started leafing through the pages. When we came on the road trip, we’d read the destinations of the school trips but had decided on reading the content once we were on location, but I thought I’d seen Vítor mentioned elsewhere.
“Here, this one.” I pointed to another one of the girls’ on-page dialogue that had stood out because it wasn’t a regular entry. It looked like maybe they’d been in class when they wrote on this page.
David scooted closer to me to read.
Paula - I really like Vítor.
Sílvia - I know. You two are so in love it makes me sick!
Paula - I don’t think he likes me.
Sílvia - What?? Don’t be silly. Of course he does. Has he done something?
Paula - No
Sílvia - Then why?
Paula - I just have a feeling he’s got a secret that he’s not telling me.
Sílvia - You think he likes another girl?
Paula - No, I think it’s something else, something bigger.
Sílvia - Talk to him.
Paula - Okay. I’m baking an apple cake today. Wanna help?
Sílvia - You know I’m your official taste tester and spoon licker. I’ll be there.
“This is intriguing,” David said. “It looks like this Vítor might have been her high school love interest. Maybe there are more clues later in the journal.”
We put the journal in the rucksack and walked back to the car. Our next stop was Óbidos where we would stay the night.
David drove this time, so I took the opportunity to call my grandparents to check in. I was glad to hear they were all well and told my grandmother about some of the places we visited, especially the beautiful fields of the Alentejo, although I left out the part where we’d slept in the car a couple of nights before. I didn’t want to worry her.
“You will have to tryginjinha,” my grandmother said. “It’s a sour cherry liqueur very traditional inÓbidos. In some places, they serve it in little chocolate cups. One day, I’ll tell you the story of when your granddad got drunk on ginjinha.” She laughed.
I couldn’t believe how easy it was to feel close to my grandparents after all these years. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I hadn’t stayed away at all. Yes, I’d talked to them on the phone at least every month and more often when I’d been at my parents’, but it was different.
I felt warmth in my heart after talking to my grandmother, and happiness. A different kind than the one I felt when I was near David.
We also called Teresa to check how things were at the café. Because David was driving, we put her on speakerphone. She was such a lovely woman, full of energy, and I could hear in her voice how much she loved David.
I wondered if David knew that or if he was so caught up in his secret that he didn’t see what was right in front of him. I had a strong feeling that despite Mário’s beliefs, Teresa wouldn’t care about who or what David was, other than a son to her. But it wasn’t my place to tell him that. He would need to know it in his heart first.
Óbidos was similar to Santarém in the way that as we were approaching it from the highway, we could see the village high up on the hill surrounded by the castle wall. The difference was in the surroundings. While Santarém was a district capital developed beyond the castle walls, Óbidos was a more traditional settlement. It had expanded beyond the walls, but it still kept the quaint small-village buildings.
