by O. E. Boroni
“Lenora? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, a little harsher than was necessary. “What’s going on with you?”
He was silent for a while, and then I knew that something was really wrong.
My tone instantly softened. “Nathan?”
“Lenora, my dad died,” he said quietly, and I gasped.
“What?”
“The night I last called you. He had a heart attack. I tried rushing him to the hospital but it was too late.
“Oh my God,” I said, my voice breaking. Tears were already rolling down my cheeks. I was shaking. Nicholau was dead? It couldn’t be true.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I asked.
“I didn’t want you to worry, and it’s all been a huge shock so I’m still trying to take it all in.”
“Are you alright? Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t feel too sad,” he said. “It’s still a bit early but, we didn’t even expect him to live this long. He’s been having heart problems for a while, so for us to have him for this long was good enough.”
“Do you want me to come over?”
“No, there’s no need. You’re still recovering so just focus on resting. I have to go now but I’ll call you back soon okay?”
“Okay,” I replied. “Please be alright.”
“I will be.”
“Later, dear.”
He ended the call, leaving me staring down at my phone in shock. I started sobbing and put my hand over my mouth to stifle my crying. I remained there for a while until I decided on what to do. I picked up my phone and called my assistant.
“Dorothy? Please get me a ticket to …” I sighed when I realized that I didn’t even know where in Portugal he lived.
“I’ll get back to you,” I said to her, and hung up.
I didn’t know if he lived in the capital, Lisbon, or in some other town. And I couldn’t ask him because he would probably refuse to let me come. I thought about what to do, and then it occurred to me that maybe Carlie had been in communication with his brother, Adriano. They seemed to have had a connection with each other when I was in the hospital, so maybe they had exchanged contacts. I called her to ask.
“We didn’t,” she replied.
“Why?” I cried.
“Uh, what’s going on with you?”
I sighed. “His dad died.”
She gasped. “Oh my god.” I wiped off another tear that rolled down my cheek.
“I’m so sorry. How is he?”
“I don’t know. He sounds okay.”
She sighed heavily. “Why don’t you just ask him for the address?”
“I don’t want to give him the chance to refuse me first. He’ll probably insist I stay here and rest.”
“That’s true. You know what, I’ll work on this with Maxwell immediately. We can contact his brother’s real estate office and ask for his phone number or something.”
“Thank you. But he might have already left New York though.”
“I’ll still try. Is there no one else in his family that you can get in contact with?”
“No,” I replied sadly. “I’ve only met Nathan and Adriano … and their dad.”
“What about his mom? You’ve never mentioned her. Is she alive?”
I froze. “Holy shit.”
“Lenora?”
“Carlie, she is still alive.”
“Really? Do you know her?”
“I do,” I answered, my thoughts far away. “Carlie I’ll call you back later,” I threw my things into my purse and left the office.
On my way, I tried calling Elizabeth’s number and it rang a couple of times but she didn’t pick up. I was sure she was purposely ignoring me but I didn’t have the time to be offended, so I headed over to their gallery.
Thankfully, I didn’t even have to request an audience with her in her office because as soon as I walked in, I spotted her over by a corner speaking to a tall man with silver hair.
I headed straight over to her and the moment she spotted me coming, the smile left her face.
She excused herself from the man and walked towards me.
“Lenora,” she said coldly. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you about something.” I replied, and I could see from the worry in her eyes that she thought that I’d come because of what Nathan’s dad had told me in the hospital. However, she wasn’t sure of what exactly he had told me so she couldn’t jump to conclusions.
“Is this about Damian?” she asked, but I didn’t respond. If I out rightly said no, I knew that she would send me away before I even had my chance.
“Can we talk somewhere private please?”
“I’m busy right now. I’ll call you when I can find the time.”
“Elizabeth…” I said in a hard, desperate voice and I could tell that my insistence surprised her.
“Is there something wrong?” she asked.
I nodded. She eyed me for a few more seconds, before calling someone to show me to her office.
I followed the tall girl who flashed me a beautiful smile. When I was seated in the somewhat small but surprisingly simple office, the girl nervously said, “I love your company, and you.” She looked down at her dress and then back to me with a twinkle in her eyes. “This is from your brand. Can I please take a picture with you before you leave? It’ll be such an honor.”
I forced a smile and gave her a nod. “Of course. Thank you. You look beautiful in it.” With the brightest of smiles, she left the office and a few minutes later, Elizabeth came in and walked around the desk to take a seat.
“What’s this about?” she asked, refusing to meet my eyes.
“I need a favor from you.”
“If this is about Damian then you’ve come to the wrong person. I’m not going to interfere in his life.”
“It’s not,” I said, wondering what exactly he had told her. It was sounding as if he had been the one to break up with me instead of the other way round.
She cleared her throat. “So um … what uh … what is it?”
I sent her a compassionate smile. I’d never seen her so flustered.
“I need Nicholau’s address in Portugal.”
It took a few seconds for my request to sink in, but when it did, such intense anger flashed in her eyes that I flinched. She rose to her feet.
“Get out,” she said and pointed to the door.
“Elizabeth –”
“I said get out!” she yelled. Her voice was shaking.
Gently, I stood to my feet. I was hoping that I would find a way to gently tell her what had happened, but I saw now that I had no choice.
“Nicholau died, Elizabeth,” I said, and my chest tightened with pain. Tears rushed to my eyes as she clutched the sides of her table, and stared at me as if I’d just grown two heads.
“What did you just say?”
“About two nights ago. He had a heart attack.”
She started to shake, and then she fell back into her chair. I automatically reached out to her but then stopped myself when I realized that I didn’t know how I would console her.
“When … how?” Her voice was coming out in loud gasps, and barely audible sounds.
“I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.”
We remained like that for a while, with her staring straight ahead at nothing. Eventually she asked, “When is the funeral?”
“I don’t know.”
“Didn’t you ask Alex?”
“I haven’t yet.”
“Oh my God.” She took a deep long breath , and then reached for a pad of notes.
She found a pen and then slowly wrote the address on the paper for me. She tore it out , and handed it over. Her hands trembled as I took it from her but she refused to meet my eyes.
“What did they tell you about me?” she asked, but I didn’t know what to say.
“They just told me you left.”
“Did they say why?”
“B
ecause you were unhappy.”
“Did Alex tell you that? Or Nicholau?”
“Nicolau.”
She took a deep, long breath to calm herself.
“Thanks Elizabeth,” I said and turned to leave.
“Do you think … um …” she began. I turned back to her. “Do you think they would tolerate me there?”
“I really don’t know,” I replied softly, and started walking away. But I glanced back at her before I pushed the door open. “I think Nicholau wouldn’t mind though. He still cared for you.”
I glimpsed the tears as they rolled down her face, just before I closed the door and left the gallery. I got in the car and headed straight home. On my way, I called Dorothy and told her to get me the next flight to Faro Airport in Portugal. When I got home I had a quick shower, packed a few things, and by the time I was ready to leave, Dorothy had gotten back to me with the details of my flight.
Later that evening, I was out of New York.
« CHAPTER 4 »
Lenora
When I arrived in Faro, Portugal, I was so exhausted that every joint in my body ached. After retrieving my bag, I headed out and found a taxi, gave the driver the address and was on my way. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but I knew that I didn’t want to call and bother him until he saw me, and then I could decide if I’d made a mistake in coming. I could always go back. I had an open return ticket to New York, but I prayed that I wouldn’t have to use it for at least the next two days.
The ride took about thirty minutes, and by the time we arrived the sun had gone down. I told the driver to stop a couple of homes away from Nathan’s, so that I could walk over myself instead of just barging in with a car. I didn’t know what difference that made but it made me feel a bit better, since I was practically a stranger.
The entire street was lined with mobile homes which at first glance, could be mistaken for normal homes because of how decorated they were with attached front porches and small gardens. The evening was cool so I wasn’t cold, and my suitcase was very light, but my heart was filled with dread as I came closer and closer to the home.
When I reached it, I stood by a corner and watched. On the small front porch there were about five people who were sitting around a plastic table, talking. There was a car parked in front, while a bicycle laid on the neatly mowed lawn.
I waited for the courage to step forward but it didn’t come, until eventually one of them noticed me. I couldn’t see their faces clearly, but I was sure that Nathan wasn’t with them.
“Hello, can we help you?” a woman called out.
I took a deep breath, and stepped out of the shadows.
“Hello.” I said as I headed towards them, and stopped a little distance away from the porch. “I am uh, looking for Nathan. I mean Alexandre Roque.”
They were all staring at me, but I only kept my eyes on the woman. She was older than the rest and had a kind face.
“He’s been gone for a little while now.” She slightly turned her face towards the man sitting beside her, but kept her eyes on me. “Carlos, do you know where he went?” she asked.
He replied in Portuguese.
“We’re not sure,” she said to me, “but he’ll probably be back soon. Do you want to come in and wait?”
“Uh no, it’s fine. I’ll just come back later. Thank you,” I said and turned around to leave.
I was disappointed as I walked away. I pulled out my phone to call the cab driver, glad that I’d remembered to take his number from him. However, just as I placed my phone against my ear, I heard someone yell out to me from behind so I stopped. One of the men from the porch was coming towards me.
“Hey,” he said, when he finally reached me. “My Aunt says you should come and wait in the house. It’ll take you a while to get to the main road.”
“No, its fine, I don’t want to intrude,” I said, but he took my suitcase from me.
“C’mon,” he said, so I put my phone away, and followed him back to the house. Squaring my shoulders to appear confident, I looked straight ahead even though all I really wanted to do was look down- they were all staring blatantly at me.
My hair was definitely a mess, since I hadn’t run a comb through it in the last fifteen hours. I was wearing a short chiffon dress, which was rather creased, a snakeskin leather bag slung across my shoulder, and a pair of sandals. I stopped in front of the porch while the man went on with my suitcase, and placed it in a corner.
“I’m Lenora,” I said to them with a small smile. “I’m Alexandre’s friend from New York, so I just thought I’d stop by to see how he was doing. I’m really sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” The woman said with a sad smile. “Do you work with Alex?”
“No, I mean yes, but we’ve also been friends for a while. Well not really a while, we went to school together.”
“Come have a seat with us,” she said. “Carlos bring a seat for her.”
The same man who had brought my suitcase got up again, and retrieved a chair for me. He placed it beside the woman so I walked over and sat down.
“Do you want something to drink? Or are you hungry?”
“No, I’m fine,” I automatically replied but truthfully, I was starving. However, I wasn’t about to eat at a table with five strangers staring at me. This had to be the weirdest situation I’d ever been in I thought, as I just sat there listening to them converse in Portuguese and send me smiles like I knew exactly what they were saying. It grew even weirder, until eventually I just had to get up. I didn’t want to seem rude so I forced myself to remain for at least twenty minutes, before expressing my apologies that I was too tired to stay.
I rose to my feet, ready to scram out of there, when one of them yelled. “Alex!”
My head instantly turned towards the street. He was dressed in a white shirt and black shorts, with his head slightly bowed as he walked towards the house. He looked up then at his family and at first, his gaze just glided over me but then he stopped, and his head snapped back in surprise.
“Lenora?” he called out.
I went towards my suitcase just so that I could easily pick it up and claim that I was leaving first, if he were to kick me out.
“Hey,” I said and turned to him.
He climbed the steps to the porch and stood in front of me.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. His hair was a bit longer than it usually was, and a dusting of stubble covered the sides of his face. He looked different – tired and sad, but strangely exotic.
“I just thought I’d stop by,” I replied, and he just stared at me since that obviously didn’t make much sense.
“Let’s go in,” he said, and picked up my suitcase. I nodded quietly and smiled at our audience, before following him into the house.
Once we were away from prying eyes, I turned to face him. “I just had to be sure that you were okay. I’ll leave if you want me to, but I really want to give you all the support that you might need.”
“Relax.” He said and patted the side of my arm.
I took a deep breath, and released it. I wasn’t sure if it was just me, or maybe it was because I was dressed so casually but he seemed so much taller and bigger than I was as I stared up at him.
“Have you eaten?” he asked. “When did you arrive?”
“I just got in.”
“I’ll find you a place to stay.”
“Thank you.” I replied. “But how are you? How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” he said, but I could see that he wasn’t. I wanted to give him a hug but he seemed so distant. But this was Nathan, and we loved each other. So despite my insecurities, I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He stared down at me with his beautiful blue eyes, and raised his hand to tuck escaped tendrils of my hair behind my ear.
I rested my head on his chest but I wanted to be the one to comfort him, to have his head against my neck, so I rose up on my tiptoes, and gently brought his head
down to the crook of my neck.
“I’m fine Nora,” he complained, but he still allowed his head to rest on my shoulder. His hands slid around me, and I knew he didn’t realize it but his hold was tight and desperate, almost as if he was trying to squeeze some comfort out of me by gluing his body to mine.
We remained like that for quite a while, until I heard a toilet flush and then a door to my left opened. I turned to see Nathan’s brother, Adriano. He had just a pair of shorts on, and it suddenly hit me that this was a mobile home. Currently, I was standing in a space that tripled up as a living room, a kitchen and a dining room and it was very small. It was well decorated, but with these two huge men inside of it, it felt crowded.
Nathan stepped away from me and suddenly, I felt a little cold, as if I needed the warmth more than he did.
“Hey,” Adriano said, and I waved my hand in response. It was obvious he was surprised to see me and a little embarrassed, since he’d just come out of a toilet a few steps away from me.
“Nathan didn’t tell us you were coming.”
“He didn’t know,” I replied. “I just thought I’d see how he was doing.”
“That’s really kind of you. And it’s so great to see you well again. This one was going out of his mind for a bit.” He moved his gaze from mine to Nathan’s and I didn’t know what Nathan did, but Adriano’s smile immediately lessened.
“Anyway, uh … it’s nice having you here.”
“Thank you,” I said.
He turned to Nathan. “Are Atilio and Beatrice back yet? I’m starving.”
We heard a bit of noise outside, and then some loud voices. The door opened and a man that looked like a taller version of Nicholau and a woman with bright red hair came in. They were carrying plastic bags.
“Adriano and Alex, please go get the rest of the stuff from the car,” the man said, and they instantly responded.
“I’ll be right back,” Nathan whispered to me before he left with Adriano, while I was left with the man and woman staring at me. This family had an uncanny talent for making me feel like I was behind a cage at a zoo.
“Well, hello,” the man greeted with a nice smile.