"Yes."
"How did you find him?"
We continued walking. I felt like there was a frog stuck down my throat. As soon as the words were out in the world, I wouldn't be able to take them back.
"He found me."
"How?"
"I didn't know, David. Please believe me, I didn't know. The guy I told you about."
"The sexy silver fo—oh my god." He stopped mid-stride. "You've been living with him for a few weeks."
"I didn't know he was Mário's brother." My eyes were a blink away from shedding the tears I felt were coming.
"When did you find out?"
"This weekend. He took me to his house in Porto. He had a drawing on the wall of one of the photos you showed me. I asked him about it, and he named Mário, Teresa, and your mom."
"Does he know you know who he is?"
I shook my head.
"Fuck, Tiago, this is a whole new level of complicated."
"You don't even know the half of it."
We sat on one of the benches facing the beach. There were already a number of people enjoying the warm spring weather on the beach, and even a few brave ones that had taken to the water. I couldn't remember the last time I'd spent a day on the beach. I wondered if Vítor would want to do that.
David's phone dinged with a message.
"Joel finished his tutoring session. I've got to go, but can we talk about this? I understand that we can't just barge into his life, but he should know his brother's side of the story." He paused before he got up to go. "Can I see you at the center before my next class?"
"Of course. Go meet your sexy man and we'll talk about it then."
"Tiago, I can't keep this from Joel."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
He gave me a hug and left.
I stared at the glistening water in the distance and tried to understand the whirlpool of emotions going on inside me.
Vítor had heard about my childhood—he'd been the first person I'd ever told the whole story—but I couldn't tell him about his family's wishes to see him again. In Isaac's absence, David was the friend I wanted to tell about the amazing man I'd fallen for. I wanted to share the excitement with my friend and also ask for his advice and tell him how scared I was I'd do all the wrong things and push him away. Except I couldn't do that because of who Vítor was to David.
There was only one person I could reach out to, and even though I was worried and angry about his silence, I knew he'd be there for me. Pulling out my phone, I sent Fred a text.
Hey. Do I need to fill out a missing person's report? I need my friend back. T
