Vítor
As much asI was happy to let Tiago lose himself in me, it also worried me that whatever news he'd got from Fred was bad enough to put him in this state.
Unfortunately, I'd had to wait until the next day to hear it since Tiago had exhausted us both to such an extent that we'd fallen asleep straight after finding our joint release.
As Fred and his team worked on the new intelligence they'd gathered at the party, Tiago was getting more and more impatient. He wasn't eating properly, and he wouldn't sleep in the hope Fred might call with news that they were ready to carry out the rescue.
It all came to a head when Tiago had been called by Fred's team to talk about the plans for the center and to make sure now that the center was open, they could still go ahead as planned. He'd ended up watching some of the surveillance with them. I'd been called to pick him up because he was too distressed to drive after seeing Afonso's bruised face on the screen. Fred went mad at the team because he hadn't been there and wasn't able to either warn Tiago or to stop him from seeing his brother after he'd clearly been beaten to a pulp.
I couldn't stand seeing him suffer like that, so I'd spoken to the partners at work and arranged to take a few days off to take Tiago to Porto for a break. I knew it would take a lot of convincing to get him away, but Fred had agreed it would do him good, and he reassured me that nothing was happening until we came back.
The first part of the plan was to catch him by surprise, so I left work early and headed to the center to take him out to lunch. My workload had grown considerably in the last few weeks, so despite discussing with Tiago about volunteer opportunities, I hadn't actually been to the center.
There was a guy working at one of the desks when I walked in. The other desk, which I assumed was Tiago's, was empty. The guy told me Tiago had gone out for a meeting with the city council, but if I wanted to wait, I could go to the back garden. I'd heard great things about this garden from Tiago, so I decided to check it out.
I was directed to follow the corridor leading to the kitchen. I wasn't expecting to find anyone in the kitchen, so I stopped in my tracks when I saw a guy standing by a kitchen island surrounded by bags of flour, sugar, and various other ingredients.
"Hey, sorry, I didn't know there was anyone here. I'm just on my way to the garden."
"Hi, no problem. Sorry if I scared you. The garden is through that door." He pointed at the double doors behind him. "Are you one of the new volunteers? I haven't seen you around here before."
"Oh no, I'm not a volunteer yet. My name's Vítor." I extended my hand, but the guy stilled and stared at me like I was a ghost. I was about to take my hand back when he recovered from his strange moment and shook it back.
"You're Tiago's boyfriend."
"I am. I bet I'm not what you expected."
He shook his head. "You're exactly what I expected. Hi, I'm David. I'm Tiago's friend."
"Oh yeah, the chef. He's brought home some of your custard tarts. They're the best I've ever had."
There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't place it. He looked younger than Tiago, but not by much, so I wondered if it was my age and the fact I was dating his friend that was weird for him.
"Er… thanks. They're a special recipe I developed with my mom." He rubbed the back of his neck and then went back to what he was doing, so I moved to go around the island toward the door.
"I could use some help," he said. Well, he almost shouted. I was truly puzzled as to why the kid wanted me around when he was clearly uncomfortable with me for some unknown reason.
"I'd love to help. What do you need me to do?"
"Just weigh the ingredients on that list. I can prepare the baking tins while you do that. Can I get you a coffee?"
"That would be great, thanks."
I looked at the list. It seemed like a simple set of instructions for a marble cake.
David seemed to relax as we worked side by side. Tiago had told me about the workshops David ran, so when I asked him about it, he opened up immediately and our conversation flowed a lot better after that.
Tiago hadn't come back by the time David started his workshop, so he invited me to join in with the kids. I didn't need help learning how to make a cake I'd made hundreds of times, but something got me agreeing to it. The class was fun. And because I already knew what I was doing, I was able to chat to the kids and find out more about them.
They all played out like they only did the class because they were bored, but what I saw as David guided them through the recipe was something totally different.
David was very engaging and inspirational, and the kids hung onto every word he said. When the cakes were in the oven, we worked on the filling and then washed up while the cakes cooled down.
"Why are you making them wash up when there's a dishwasher there?" I asked David so the kids didn't hear me.
"It's about discipline and pride. Before my mom taught me how to bake, all I was allowed to do was watch her. It wasn't until I started asking more questions about what she was doing that she finally allowed me to bake with her."
"How old were you?"
