"Go for it. It would be good for you to have some change."
"Thanks. I'd like to see you before I move."
"I'll think about it."
"Okay, son. I love you, Mateus."
"Love you, too, Dad."
When I ended the call, I felt a need to move, do something, so I left the café and resumed my walk.
I don't know how I didn't realize the direction I'd been walking in, and then didn't have to wonder for very long if the bar was still there, because as soon as I turned a corner, what I saw had me stop in my tracks.
After twenty-seven years I'd expected the entrance to have had an upgrade, but the "Bar Livre" sign was still the same. One thing was strikingly different, and that was the big rainbow flag flying proudly above the door.
Two guys walked out of the bar hand in hand. The music coming from inside was inviting. Maybe it was morbid curiosity, but suddenly I needed to revisit the place that had sealed the fate of my life.
