"Paula and I were together once. It was only a month before everything happened. She wouldn't have known she was pregnant then. She was too dedicated to her work and her baking to date; she'd never even been with anyone before."
"But you're gay."
"Yeah, well, it was complicated back then. I was confused, inexperienced, and on that one night, I was also drunk. We both were. Also, David is my middle name."
"She named me after you."
We stood there staring at each other with the sounds of the birds in the background. It was so clear now, yes David had a lot of Paula's features in him, but he also looked so much like me. How had they all missed the similarity? He must have looked so much like me when he was a child.
More regret washed over me. I'd missed so much from David's life: his first steps, first words, first day of school, the first time he'd baked something with his mom.
"David, I want you to know that whatever my father did to me, if I'd known Paula was pregnant, I wouldn't have run. I thought I was protecting everyone that cared about me from my father."
"I believe that. The actions and beliefs of one man shaped the lives of so many people around him, people it was his job to love and protect." He paused before shaking his head and saying, "Oh my god, I have a father."
My chest expanded, and I couldn't stop more tears from falling. "Yes, you do. Nothing would make me happier than to get to know you. I hope soon you can meet Mateus, too."
"Holy shit, I have a brother." He was beaming. "I always wanted a brother."
We hugged again.
"Er, Vítor." We both smiled and then he pointed at the bags by the door. "Are you going somewhere?"
"I have to go back to Lisbon because of work."
"Does that mean you'll go back to Tiago?" He looked hopeful.
I wasn't sure what to say. Despite everything I'd just found out—we'd just found out—I knew David still very much had Tiago's back, and the truth was, I didn't know how to handle any of this.
"Don't stay stuck in the past," David said. "The only past we should remember is the good one. When Mom died, I was so angry because I was left on my own. Yes, I still had family, but I didn't have a dad and Joel was in America. He didn't come back for a long time. I held on to that hurt and hid myself away. We can all live with regret, but I think it would be better if we lived with hope."
I laughed because it was like I was listening to Paula all over again: "Vítor, you are who you are. What if you get to be ninety years old and you look back and all you can show for it is a life that wasn't yours?"
"You sound just like your mother," I said.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been told that before."
"Do you think Tiago will forgive me?"
"I'd say he's asking himself the same question. Did you know he came here?"
"What? When?"
"Just after you left Lisbon. He came to speak to you, but when he got here, he said he saw you with another man."
"That would have been Luís. He's my best friend; we've known each other for years. There's absolutely nothing between us."
"Then Tiago needs to know that because he's mopey as shit and my cakes come out all wrong when he's in the center."
I laughed. I didn't believe in a world where David's cakes came out wrong. I'd had some of them, and my boy was talented.
"David, do you have a way to get me in the center while Tiago isn't there?"
"Yes, I have keys."
"How did you get here?"
"By train. It was quicker and I was too angry at you to drive."
