Tiago
As I crossedthe bridge over the river Tagus on the way to pick up Filipe for our day out at the zoo, the only thing on my mind was what I'd been thinking when I'd asked Vítor about the zoo yesterday over dinner.
"God, I think my last time there was on a school trip. Amélia Sousa pulled me into the spider house and tried to kiss me," he'd replied.
"What happened?"
"I threw up on her."
"I take it you weren't into girls even then."
"Girls were fine. It was the spiders I didn't like."
I couldn't help my laughter. "So, you're saying Amélia would have been lucky if she'd taken you to the butterfly house instead?"
"She never had a chance to find out." He'd winked.
"I promise I won't make you go into the spider house."
"How about the butterfly house?"
"What?" I'd choked. He'd had his elbows on the table and his chin resting on his hands, and all I could think was how much I'd wanted to lick that fucking dimple.
"Will you take me into the butterfly house?"
"Oh, er, yes… if you want." And that had been when I'd tripped over myself explaining it was a day out with Filipe, but yes, if he wanted, we could go into all the houses, including the reptiles. Vítor simply smiled and said he would love to join us on our adventure to the zoo.
Before I rang the bell for Bruno's apartment, I saw Filipe running down the stairs with his little backpack on and his Superman doll in his hand. He struggled to open the front door to the building, but Bruno was right behind him to help.
"Uncle Tiago, I'm ready to go."
"He's been up since six," Bruno said. "Wouldn't even sit down long enough to eat his cereal."
"Come on," Filipe said, taking my hand and dragging me toward the car.
I laughed and followed him. Bruno was working this morning, but he was going to join us at the zoo after lunch.
Vítor was waiting for us by the entrance to the zoo. His smile as we approached did funny things to my tummy.
Filipe had been chatting non-stop in the car about all the animals he wanted to meet, but when he saw Vítor, he went a little shy and tightened his grip on my hand. Despite what had happened to him, he was comfortable around adults once he got to know them, which was demonstrated by the number of uncles and aunts he'd adopted.
Vítor noticed and crouched down to Filipe's level and stretched out his hand.
"Hi, you must be Filipe. I'm Vítor, and I'm Tiago's friend."
Filipe looked up to me for confirmation, so when I smiled and nodded, he smiled back and held out his little hand to shake Vítor's.
"Hello, I'm going to see the animals today. Are you coming with us?" he asked.
"If you don't mind me joining you, I would love to see the animals, too."
"Okay. This is Superman. He's coming, too."
I chuckled when Filipe pushed the doll into Vítor's face, causing him to pull back at the risk of being punched by Superman's extended arm. Vítor's expression changed for a moment when he looked at the doll, but he recovered too quickly for the little boy to notice.
"What's your favorite animal?" Filipe asked.
Vítor pretended to think for a long time and then said, "The lion."
