Chapter 3 looks

. — Send me your address, I'll ask one of my company's drivers to pick up your things to bring to the house. Arlete will prepare a room. — I am very grateful, Mr. Otávio. She got up shortly after, said goodbye and left. Her soft perfume remained in the room for a while, until it became just an invisible trace of a provocative presence. ✽✽✽ — ​​Nice girl — Arlete told me, while she served me dinner. Igor was on my right, and Isis on the other side. I was less demanding with Isis, so she ate using her fork and her hand. However, Igor fought bravely with a knife over the piece of steak. “Very nice,” I said. Arlete took the knife out of Igor's hand and helped him cut. She knew I didn't like being helped, but Arlete was my babysitter when I was growing up and almost like a second mother, I didn't have the courage to tell her anything. - How old is she? “Almost thirty,” I highlighted. — She dresses very poorly — I observed. — I will ask you to wear a uniform. Arlete gives me a strange smile, as if she wanted to tell me something, and I almost questioned her, but Isis caught my attention. — She looks like Princess Merida, daddy. — Merida? I didn't know anything about princesses. I tried to pull it through my mind. Sleeping Beauty was Aurora, Snow White was White. What was Cinderella's name? — From Valente — Arlete helped me. — But she's not redheaded, Isis. — Just a different color. Her hair is full of curls. I smiled because it had a bit of truth in it. - You liked her? - I liked. And you, daddy? - Me too. My response was so automatic that it scared me. — Would mom like her? — Isis asked. Once again, the similarity struck me. Both were full of life, witty. I saw little of Maria Eduarda, but the way she smiled, the way she tried not to show her cheerful personality seemed like Analy. — I think so, Isis... The answer ended the conversation. Talking about Analy, or feeling her absence, always sunk us all into a nest of pain. Chapter 3 — Will you come back? I smiled, folding the shirt and putting it in the suitcase. I turned my face and faced the brunette who lived in the boarding house, in the room next to mine. — God willing, no. I will spend many years taking care of the children. — But, will we still be friends? — She curved her face a little as she asked and my heart watered. When we are lonely, we long for friendship, or anything that resembles security. Salete and I met here at the pension, I was a day laborer at the time, and she worked on the street, making paintings and selling them on the sidewalks of the city. Like me, she was an orphan, and like me, she managed as best she could. — Of course, Salete. Because who am I going to see on my days off? Let's always talk on WhatsApp. Her smile made me focus on putting my things away again. I didn't have much. But with the contract value I received that afternoon showing my new salary, clearly living on little would be a thing of the past. I was already starting to plan to buy some things, save the money for when I moved out... God, it would be incredible to be able to rent an apartment, have my own kitchen, my own bathroom! — So, tell me... What's the house like? I stopped packing things again. This time I sat on the bed because I wanted to talk. I wanted to share all my expectations. — It’s a dream house, the kind you see in movies — I said. - And the kids? — They're... well-mannered — I pointed out. — I couldn't talk to the girl properly, she seemed shy, but the boy was... — my heart accelerated at the memory. — He was so... — So what? — I can't say. His father told me that he needs to be educated strictly because he will be a count and, I believe, that is how all the men in the house are educated. I believe his father was raised like that too. “It looks sad.” Her voice was low. Yes, it was sad. The boy's gaze held a need that touched my heart. I suppressed the feeling because I desperately needed this job, but it would be difficult to maintain a distant relationship with Igor. He seemed to be missing love, and I was willing to give it to him. However, he could not go against his father's wishes. - And the mother? — Salete continued. - How it is? — I didn't see her. From what I understand, they are divorced. — And the father? When it came to this question, my heart accelerated in a way I didn't want to happen. That man was beautiful in a way that really moved me. He reminded me of the models of newsstand romances that I secretly read on rainy nights, when I dream that I'm going to find great love. But great loves didn't exist, and if they did, they weren't for people like me. “He's handsome,” I told her. — He was extremely polite and kind to me. But he has a firm look that is scary. — Fear in the sense of causing chills? — She gave me a silly smile that made me realize exactly where she was going. “Not that kind of chills,” I laughed. - No way. He is my boss, father of the children I will take care of. And the guy is a count! Imagine the type of woman he dates! I don't even have a place to live... The memory of the look he gave me as he judged my outfit crashed over me. I know he judged, even though he didn't say anything. I ignored the feeling of humiliation, because I was used to doing this. People used to look at my super curly hair with a weight that crushed me. The truth is that I didn't have the money to get treatment to reduce my locks, so I tried to keep them tied up in a bun. I also didn't have money for fancy clothes, so I bought second-hand, at thrift stores in the city center. Even shoes, I bought the cheapest and most comfortable ones I could, because I would wear them for a long time, as I couldn't change them frequently. — I don't know, Maria Eduarda... Dream a little — she sighed. — You're going to work with a count, so like... imagine yourself as Cinderella... I laughed. — Salete, it’s very risky — I denied. — I can't lose this job — she said firmly. — It's my chance to have a future. I'm almost thirty years old. Her gaze fell. - I know. Me too. Salete walked to the bed and sat down next to me. — Jonas asked me out on Friday — she told me, quoting one of the guys who worked at the bakery near the boarding house. Salete and I used to