"Say hi to Max and Lucy for me."
"Will do. Speak soon."
I put the phone down and fell back on the bed. Staring at the ceiling, I considered Isaac's words. He was right. I knew I'd lost myself along the way in the search for my brother. When Vítor had come along, I'd leaned on him because it was easy and he was so good at looking after me.
This was the time to think about who I wanted to be.
I already had the best job in the world, check.
My brother was safe and with me, check.
I tried to come up with more but kept falling short. I really didn't have anything else going on in my life. How did someone get to be nearly thirty and not have a hobby or an interest?
I was pulled out of my thoughts by a knock on the door. It would only be Afonso, so I told him to come in.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.
"I love you, Flea, but you need to stop asking me that every five minutes. What's up?"
He came over to the bed and lay down next to me.
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay."
"Well, it was more your opinion. Dr. Vasco said I need to work on asking for an opinion rather than permission because I have a choice even if you don't agree with it."
I turned sideways to face him and leaned my head on my elbow. He turned to face me.
"That's right. What do you want my opinion for?"
"Do you remember when we talked about what I wanted to do and I didn't know? I think I do, at least for now."
"That's great. You know I'll support you with whatever you want to do."
"Pedro asked if I wanted to work at his beach snack bar. I wasn't sure at first, but I've thought about it."
"What weren't you sure about?"
"I was afraid of all the people. I still get anxious when there are lots of people around."
He was doing much better now, but I could understand his reluctance to work in a place full of people all the time.
"And now?"
"Pedro will be there with me. He said if I struggle, to let him know and I can always go over to Bruno's apartment and hide away until the anxiety goes."
"Sounds good."
"I know it's not a job that will bring in lots of money, but I don't think I'm ready to go back to school just yet."
That had been something else we'd talked about. Afonso had missed all of his schooling from the age of thirteen. He'd had access to books and enjoyed reading, but we still needed to assess how far behind he was and how he could catch up.
"It sounds like an excellent idea to me. I hope I get a friends and family discount." I winked and pulled him in for a hug, ruffling his hair.
This was good. Talking to my brother and finding our new normal was good.
"What if I take tomorrow off and we go over to Estoril to watch the surfers?"
