Tiago
"Morning!"
I looked up from my computer to see David and Joel coming into the center. I normally didn't have any visitors this early, which meant they were concerned about me.
I got up to greet them. "Guys, shouldn't you be in bed?"
They exchanged a look and a smile that managed to warm me even though it wasn't directed at me.
"I'm going to work on the wall," Joel said before he gave David a kiss and went out through the door behind my desk.
The secluded back garden was by far the favorite hangout for the majority of the kids that came to the center after school. When we remodeled it last year, we'd asked for some suggestions, and they'd wanted a wall they could paint over and over again. The idea was that a group would paint something on the wall and we would keep it for some time before we painted over it and started again. So far, we'd had six awesome pieces of temporary art.
The art didn't get completely lost once it was painted over. Apart from the group photos we took after each piece was complete, we also took photos we could use for marketing purposes and to raise money. Some of our benefactors loved the idea so much that they were now collecting each photo every time we had a new painting. Thankfully, that also came with a much-needed donation, so I was glad to see we were about to get a new piece.
"The kids asked Joel to help them with some quotes for the wall. He wouldn't stop talking about it," David said.
"Is that why you're here?" I raised a brow, and David smiled shyly.
"I have custard tarts. Want to get some coffee going?" he said, placing a small box on my desk.
"Like I'd say no. Keep an eye out here."
I left and headed for the kitchen. The garden was out back through the kitchen, so I expected to see Joel getting ready to paint the wall white again, but I was surprised to see him sitting at one of the kitchen tables looking at his phone.
"Why do I feel this is a trap?"
He smiled and pointed at the chair across from his, motioning for me to sit. I noticed the coffee machine was already going.
"Sorry, it wasn't our intention," he said. "David was really worried about you yesterday. He wanted to follow you home to make sure you were okay."
"Thank you. I am okay, honestly."
He played with the phone and then took a big breath. "I know we haven't talked much about it, but if you ever need to, you know you can talk to me, right? After yesterday, I realized what an unfair thing it was to ask you to find Vítor. David had a hard time growing up with such a strained relationship with Mário. Now that things are back on track, I know he's desperately trying to do this for his uncle, knowing how much he still misses his brother."
"If anyone gets it, it's me." I put my hand on Joel's restless one.
"I want him to be happy."
"He is happy. This is the happiest I've seen him since I've met him. He was always good at pretending he was okay, but now that I've seen how his face lights up even when he just says your name, I can tell the difference. That is true happiness. He may want to find Vítor so badly that it consumes him, but it doesn't mean he's not happy."
"Thank you," Joel said, and I got up to pour the freshly brewed coffee into our mugs so I could return to the front of the center.
David looked more worried than before as I placed the coffee mug in front of him and reached out for the custard tart box.
"Come to daddy," I said, inhaling the scent of the pastries and taking one out. "If Joel doesn't come out, I'm having his, too."
"They're all for you."
"Man, you keep this up andI'llmarry you." And as if he was listening behind the door, Joel came back, planted a toe-curling kiss on David's mouth, stole a tart, and left again. I couldn't help laughing.
"Now that he's marked his territory, shall we talk about what's on your mind?"
He put an envelope on the desk and pushed it toward me.
"What's this?"
"Aunt Teresa said they don't have any photos of Vítor because his dad destroyed them all. Last night, Joel had the idea to go through my mom's old photos. I found a few that I'm pretty sure have Vítor in them."
