Chapter 3

Daniela was upset because of that conversation with André. Imagine, him thinking she was making a pass at him... Nothing more impossible. She was a realist person and knew he was the popular guy at school, boyfriend of the model-photographic style girl. But how could he think that she considered herself with chances? She was so self-centered, she didn't even approach him at school, more so because it didn't make sense. Daniela had a close group of friends and had no need to promote herself with the popular school guys, or draw attention to herself. She had never sought to be the center of attention for others. Life, in her opinion, was an intimate event, to be shared with those you love. Family, friends.

She wanted to be a lawyer, like her father. She focused on that and was very busy with her goals. She applied at school and always helped at church. She didn't even think about dating, but if she did, she would focus on someone possible to happen.

It was not a matter of low self-esteem on her part. She was mature enough not to let herself feel inferior. She just felt that she had nothing in common with André. So, how could love awaken between them? If she spent hours choosing a T-shirt at the mall, or sat at the back of the classroom to pass whatsapp messages to her friends, she would have a profile that would suit him better

Oh! How embarrassing! She had been dumped, without even making a pass. He cut her words off sharply. He didn't even give a chance to hear a full statement, of what he imagined to be a girl declaring herself. But it was already to be imagined. He must have been very much in love with Vanessa.

Oh my! What if he told Vanessa? It was going to be very humiliating. She and her friends were going to laugh a lot at Dani in the school hallways. They already teased Lourdes, just because of the braces on her teeth, the poor thing hadn't even done anything. What would they do to herself, who was supposed to have hit on André? She was going to be crushed by the meanness of the others. She hated conflict.

Oh, he couldn't tell. Dani thought about asking Mrs. Luiza for help. Ah, what a passionate old lady. A sweet person! She was always taking candy for the group of young people at church, she always bought the raffle tickets for charity and still kept a place at Mass for Dani, when she was late. How cute! She could ask her to speak to her grandson. But how to explain everything? It would be another embarrassment.

Maybe it was better to forget everything. That's right. André, for sure, had already forgotten.

...

Mrs. Luiza was harvesting cabbage in the garden to make juice for André. Cabbage had super food properties. She knew that her grandson was not going to be a professional soccer player. For that he would have had to start his career much earlier, in sports clubs. And her grandson wanted to be a publicist. But she believed that the person should do his best in everything he did. Happiness in life, in her opinion, was in surrendering body and soul to the present. And she encouraged André to do his best. In studies, in sports. He asked her not to have so much work with him, after all, it was just amateur soccer. But she smiled and warned him that he was a project of her joy. And she was involved in his activities. She fulfilled herself with his achievements. Love was natural, not an obligation because he had careless parents. He felt this deep connection with his grandmother and reciprocated in the same way.

Roberval, Mrs. Luiza's son, was not a bad person, a bandit. But he had made all the wrong decisions in life. At first, he worked, almost didn´t go out, he did not disturb. Being an only son, he followed the profession of electrician, which he learned from his father, because after retiring, the father worked in this area.

Roberval married Sheila, a pharmacy cashier. They had two children. Glorinha was already 16 years old when André was born. They didn't even enjoy each other for long, because she got married at 18 and moved with her husband to Japan.

The problem had started when Roberval fell off a roof while doing a job with his father and broke his foot. He had surgeries that didn't work. He ended up lame, unable to work as an electrician anymore. He moved in with his father, whom he blamed for everything. He accused his father of having forced him to be an electrician, which was not true. He said that his pain was caused by his father's carelessness, who had not wanted to pay good doctors. But he had all possible medical assistance, although his case was really complicated. His father always answered him with disdain and he was increasingly angry. How many memories... It was always like that, when Dona Luiza was in the garden, she remembered the past.

...

André was walking down the school corridor looking for Daniela. It was funny how there were people who got stuck in our thoughts without us even realizing it. The school was not that big and he wanted to see her, even if only from a distance. Friends commented on the difficulty of the tests. He agreed and moved his head, without paying much attention.

It was not that he considered himself lacking in romance, since he had a girlfriend, and he, like most boys, did not care so much about praise. But Dani had said some really cool things about him. Did she really think so? Or had she just been nervous about the embarrassing situation? He didn't know her at all. She was with his grandmother all the time, preparing things for the church, like brochures for the prayer group or the youth group. But he always followed his way and they didn't even talk. To tell the truth, she didn't seem to care much about him either. She greeted him, always polite... But when she was laughing, telling jokes, or concentrating on something, she was always with her attention directed at his grandmother. It was no wonder, Mrs. Luiza adored her. It was always Dani this, Dani that.

One day he asked his grandmother if she didn't like Vanessa, since she never touched her name. His grandmother replied that she had nothing against or in favor, because his girlfriend looked like an empty plastic girl to her.

He had been offended a little, had taken Nessa's pains, but he could never be angry with his grandmother. Especially when she spoke the truth. Because Vanessa was indeed empty for his grandmother. She offered her nothing, not even a smile. She was always bored in the presence of the elderly woman and made that very clear. She preferred that he always picked her up at her house, when they went out. She never spent more than two minutes in the presence of Mrs. Luiza.

André recently wondered what he had in common with Vanessa. What connected them? What was their bond? Of course, he liked to walk with her, it was almost like a parade, they always called attention. But did he need an audience? Was he one of these people who lived to get the attention of others? Did he want to please others more than himself? He did not know. He had never been concerned with that before.

He left school without having seen Daniela. Another day without seeing her. He was disappointed.

...

‘Sonny, could you go to the market for grandma? I want to make a cake and the yeast just finished.

‘Is that all you need, grandma?’

‘Get some grape juice for grandma and something for you’, grandma loved grape juice. She said that was why her heart worked so well. The doctor agreed with her whenever she did health checkups.

In André´s case, he loved ice cream. Of all kinds.

The market was half empty, so he soon got what he needed and when he was going to the checkout, he saw Daniela down the aisle. He was surprised and his heart skipped a beat. He thought it best to get more grape juice so he could get closer to her. The girl saw him and went all red.

‘You didn't go over to our house anymore,’ he said in a quiet voice. If she knew that in fact, he was very alert and his heart was racing, she would at least be intrigued...

Daniela decided to be honest with him.

‘I was a little embarrassed. I talked too much that day.’

‘Nonsense. I enjoyed our conversation.’

They both seemed to be surprised by his conclusion. They looked at each other for a moment.

‘I think I'm going there tonight.’

‘We'll be waiting for you.’