Leo reaches out and places a hand on Victor’s. “It’s okay. You don’t need to excuse yourself.” He pats Victor’s hand as he leans back into his seat. “I lost my grandmother at a young age too. I miss her every day. But I know she’s still with me.”
Victor takes a deep breath to compose himself as he sips water. They finish their breakfast in silence. When the check arrives, Leo hands the server cash before Victor can say anything. The server walks away, thanking Leo in Portuguese.
“Wait, you don’t have to do that,” Victor explains.
Leo smiles at Victor as he puts his wallet away, “I invited you, didn’t I? Are you ready to go?”
“Where are we going?” Victor questions.
“Come with me. There’s something I want to show you,” Leo says mysteriously as they exit the cafe.
Chapter Seven
Victor and Leo walk through the streets of São Paulo. Leo points out some points of interest from growing up in the city. They walked by some boarded-up stores where Leo used to get candy as a child and a restaurant that had once been an arcade where he would hang out with his friends after school. They stop in front of theMuseu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand.
Leo looks over the building as memories of his childhood return. “This is where I came on my first date. Well, sort of. I was 16, and there was a boy I liked in my class. I didn’t know if he liked me back. We came here on a field trip, and when it was time to find a buddy, I made sure he was mine. We never really spoke in class and didn’t exchange words during the tour. I was so nervous, I couldn’t think of what to say.
“He finally broke the silence when he made fun of an art piece we were looking at. I started to giggle. Then I pointed out how funny a painting looked, which made him laugh. We endedup enjoying each other’s company. We got in trouble with our teacher when she overheard us making fun of a piece resembling a penis.
“Eight months later, he brought me back here, just the two of us. It’s when I discovered his love for art. He gave me a private tour, discussing his favorite pieces on display. It was quite charming watching his eyes light up when we arrived at his favorite painting.”
Leo turns around and nods for Victor to follow him across the street. They walked past some street vendors and into a park. “We came to this park after the museum and sat on that bench for lunch,” Leo says, pointing to a bench in the shade of a lush tree. “He got a couple of bags ofpão de queijofrom a street vendor that used to be on that corner. This park was also where we had our first kiss. He told me how it took him so long to get the courage to ask me out because we always had other friends whenever we hung out.
“We started dating secretly, since no one knew we were gay. After we finished school a year later, he wanted to join the U.S. military because he wanted to leave Brazil and move to the U.S. He knew joining the military would help with his immigration. I decided to stay for a few more years and go to university.”
Leo stops in front of the bench and looks down as he continues, “We kept in touch for almost a year while he was on tour in Southeast Asia, and then I couldn’t reach him. I thought the worst, but I kept telling myself everything was okay. It had been almost three months since his last letter arrived when I received a letter from one of his military friends.
“His friend told me that my boyfriend’s platoon had been attacked. They lost several soldiers, including him. I cried for days, but my family and friends didn’t know I was in a gay relationship. It was hard for me to talk about him because he was my first gay lover.
“A little over a year passed, and I started dating someone from my university. We were together for almost two years. He was too afraid to come out, but I wasn’t anymore. I was going to tell my parents I was gay, but he didn’t want them to know we were dating. So, he broke up with me.”
Victor and Leo take a seat on the bench when Leo had his first kiss. “Why did you choose to share this with me?” Victor asks.
Leo looks down at the bench as he moves his hand across the smooth, but still rough surface. “Because I can tell that you are still in pain. And I wanted to share with you some of the pain I’ve had in my life.” He looks up at Victor and says, “Sometimes, the pain is what helps us move forward. We shouldn’t fear it. We should embrace it. It’s what makes us stronger and helps us learn and grow. It’s only harmful if you don’t learn from it and let it repeat itself.”
Victor looks off into the park in deep thought. Many people are enjoying their day. Kids are running around in the play area. Couples are holding hands, and elderly couples are sitting together, feeding the birds. Victor places a hand down on the bench to lean on it. He doesn’t realize he brushed his hand against Leo’s. Victor gets startled and jerks his hand back. He looks up and makes eye contact with Leo, but they say nothing.
After a moment, Leo finally breaks the silence, “So, what did you think of Madame Jeanette?”
Victor is caught off guard by Leo’s question. “You two know each other?”
“We do,” Leo nods. “Also, I want to apologize if I scared you the other day in your hotel room.”
Victor’s eyes widened. The realization of everything that happened since his birthday was not a dream. Everything he saw, smelled, and felt was real. “So, I wasn’t seeing things? You guys were looking at me.” He is shocked by his subsequentrealization. “I was naked! You and that Japanese woman both saw me naked!”
Leo couldn’t hide his laughter. “That’s right, Chiyo visited you too. Our apologies. We didn’t mean to startle you or see you naked. It was just a coincidence that it happened.”
Victor crosses his arms, clearly upset. “You could have just introduced yourselves and not remained silent. At least made sure I was dressed before you appeared.”
Leo smiles, “You know you’re cute when you’re angry. Also, we were technically looking at you through the mirror. So, we didn’t know whether or not you’d be clothed. Also, you have no idea how tricky it was to make sure I placed a rune in the right room.”
“Wait,” Victor pauses, “you walked into the elevator when I was heading to my room, and I could have sworn you were standing beside me in the airport restroom. Why didn’t you say anything to me then?”
Leo straightens up and smooths out his shirt. “I was asked not to engage with you, only observe. Jeanette wanted to have a look at you first. She knew you would visit her while in New Orleans.” Leo crosses his legs and leans back on his hand. “After your second encounter with her, she and a few others determined I should officially introduce myself to you.”
Victor begins to calm down, but keeps his arms crossed as though he is guarding himself. He looks into the distance and asks, “So, what is going on? Why am I being looked upon, and why did you have to wait to introduce yourself?”
“How much do you know about your grandmother?” Leo probes.
