I don’t know what’s wrong between them, but something tells me it didn’t start now.
Just when I think the atmosphere is going to sour completely, however, Nina, now fully awake, sits up in my lap and starts calling for her father. “Da-da-da-da-da . . .”
The CEO’s coldness disappears instantly, but he still adds, “You can go now, Miss Taylor. I’ll call you if I need to.”
As soon as she leaves with her skin slightly red and seemingly foaming with anger, he comes to where we are and reaches for his daughter.
“How was your morning, my love? Did you drive our Olívia crazy?”
I’m smiling because I never imagined Guillermo capable of being so gentle.
That is until something he said hits me hard:our Olívia.
“If you want, I can take care of her for the rest of the afternoon. Melissa informed me that your schedule today is quite complicated.”
“Would you do that for me?”
“It wasn’t exactly a sacrifice to spend time with your daughter. I had forgotten how interesting babies can be. Valentina is very smart.”
After the initial excitement of her father’s arrival, Nina fell back asleep, and now we’re having lunch in the adjoining room while she lies in the stroller.
“Thank you for standing up to Kathleen and not leaving Nina with her. Of course, it’s not your responsibility to take care of my daughter, but I really didn’t know what to do.”
“I would never hand her over to anyone other than you.”
“In the past, I would have left her with my mother, but she’s too busy now that my father’s health has worsened.”
“May I ask what’s wrong with him?”
“He suffered his second stroke a few months ago. The first one was over ten years ago, and although it was the reason he handed over the company to me, he still led a normal life, albeit not at the forefront of everything anymore. This second one, however, practically incapacitated him.” There’s such torment on his face that I immediately feel sympathetic. I know what it’s like to see a loved one deteriorate.
“I’m so sorry. It’s horrible, isn’t it? The feeling of helplessness, I mean. I spent almost four years like that.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I’m adopted. My adoptive mother was Brazilian. She worked as a social worker in the orphanage where I was left. It was just the two of us, so when she got sick, I dropped everything to take care of her.”
I notice his jaw clenching.
“You asked why I didn’t try community college. That was my intention and still is for the future, but when Mama Heloísa found out about the tumor, I decided to stay by her side until the end. That’s why I said that day that I would go out with Melissa and her friends. I don’t even remember what it’s like to have fun anymore.”
“Did you have a happy upbringing, Olívia?”
“Yes, very much so. We were nowhere near having a financially stable life, but there was so much love in our home, you know? To the point where I didn’t even remember that I wasn’t her biological daughter.”
“And what about afterward?”
“After what?”
“When she passed away.”
“Ah, yes. I grieved a lot because I wouldn’t see her anymore, but at the same time, I felt relieved that she was finally resting. Does that make any sense?”
“It does indeed.”
“Cancer is not a pretty disease to witness. She was in a lot of pain.”
I lay the utensils down on the plate, as my appetite has disappeared. He seems to notice and holds my hand over the table. It’s the first time we’ve truly touched, and a wave of warmth washes over me.
