David stared at me; his eyes red from crying. I remembered Mário saying he was Paula's son, and I could see it because he looked so much like her.
"They lost the baby. Aunt Teresa had a miscarriage."
"No." I shook my head. "No, that couldn't have happened to them. They were so happy about becoming parents."
"They were never able to get pregnant again. I guess that's why they kept me."
"What do you mean?"
"Mom died when I was fifteen. She had cancer. Aunt Teresa and Uncle Mário looked after me until I was old enough to live on my own."
I got up and ran to the bathroom, making it just in time to throw up what I'd had for lunch earlier.
When I ran away from the hospital all those years ago, I knew I'd never get a chance to see my family and friends again. I'd spent years thinking my brother had taken our father's side, but I'd always regretted not getting in touch with Paula. She would have kept one more secret for me, even if that secret was that she knew where I was. She would have told me about my brother.
Whenever Dri had asked me if I regretted not going back to see my family or Paula, I'd always said no, and now it was all I had, regret.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth before going back out to the living room.
David stood by the open glass panels. It was a warm day, and with the small breeze, the scent of the flowers came into the house.
I walked up to him and gave him a heartfelt hug. "I'm so sorry, David. I loved her so much. She was my best friend. I'm so sorry."
He tensed up but then gave in and hugged me back.
"It must have been hard on your dad, raising a teenage boy by himself. Is that why you're so close to Teresa and Mário?"
"I don't have a dad. My mom raised me on her own."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know who my dad is. No one knows. Mom never talked about him." He looked at me and his cheeks went a little pink. "Er, that was one of the reasons I wanted to find you. It wasn't just because of Uncle Mário."
I wasn't sure what he meant, so I nodded for him to carry on.
"Uncle Mário and I didn't have a great relationship for a long time. He suspected I was gay when I was thirteen, and I didn't know this at the time, but he was afraid that I'd run away like you did. It wasn't until last year when Joel was back that I came out to them. That's when they mentioned you. I didn't even know you existed. They said you were Mom's best friend, especially after Joel's mom and dad left for America. I thought… I thought you'd know if she had a boyfriend."
"I'm sorry, David, I don't know. She didn't have a boyfriend before I left."
Looking into his brown eyes that were so much like his mom's, it suddenly dawned on me.
"David, how old are you?"
"I'm going to be twenty-eight at the end of the summer."
I stared at him, unable to talk, and then I laughed. I laughed so hard I started to cry and then I pulled him into my arms.
"I have a son. I have a son."
He looked confused. "I know. Tiago said you have a son called Mateus, right?"
"Yes, Mateus is my son, but he isn't my biological son. But, David, you are."
"What?"
"We can do a DNA test to verify, but I know it, David. You're my son."
"How do you know?" His voice broke, and I could hear the hope and the fear in it.
