Second Chances (14 page)

“I know.”

She walked toward the door, and Carolina
followed. “We’ll see you next week in Rio,” Beatrisa said in a breezy tone with
a wave of her hand.

After his sisters left, Renaldo stared out of
the window. He thought about how he’d left Sabrina that morning, exhausted in
their bed with the sheet around her waist. He hadn’t been able to resist giving
parting kisses to her exposed breasts.

He unlocked a drawer in his desk and
retrieved a photo. He’d kept one of the incriminating photos of Sabrina and the
other man here at the office. Every time he had thought to call her, he’d
looked at it to remind himself of her betrayal and his folly.

Without stopping to think about what he
was doing, he took a pair of scissors and neatly cut out the image of the man
in bed with Sabrina. When he was finished, he stared down at the man’s face.

Younger. Good looking. Sleeping with his
wife.

He picked up the phone and dialed Paulo.
“Come by my office. I have a job for you.”

Paulo arrived minutes later and Renaldo dropped
the image onto the desk.

“I want you to find this man. As soon as
possible.”

“Who is he?”

“That’s what I want you to find out.
He’s the one Sabrina was with.”

Sabrina’s affair had been a blow to his
pride. Paulo was the only person who knew the reason for their pending divorce.
Not even Leonardo, with whom he was very close, or his sisters knew the full
story.

“Just a photo and no name?” Paulo tucked
it into the breast pocket of his jacket. “It may not be easy to find him.”

“I’m sure you can do it. I want every
bit of information you can get on him. Right down to his shoe size.”

Paulo lifted an inquisitive brow. “Is
that all you want?”

Actually, no. Renaldo wanted to rip the
man limb from limb. Wanted to make him hurt the same way he had hurt.

“For now.”

Sabrina’s words replayed in his head.
I…I
think I was drugged
.

He had no idea what Paulo would discover.
But he knew it was time he found out exactly what happened that night.

Chapter Twelve

Days passed, and an unspoken truce had developed
between Sabrina and Renaldo. One in which they silently agreed to live in the
moment and enjoy, rather than deny, the passion that was ever-present between
them.

It made Sabrina look forward to the trip to
Rio. Now she didn’t have to worry about sharing a room with Renaldo and faking
the entire weekend while she spent time with his family.

Sabrina had never been to Renaldo’s birthplace
before, though he’d talked about it many times. His father had moved the family
to Sao Paulo when he was very young, but most of their family lived in Rio.

 Leonardo sent a car to pick them up from the
airport. On the ride to the house, she watched the passing scenery, noting the
differences between Rio and Sao Paulo. Although Rio was a large city, it didn’t
have the same overwhelming cityscape as Sao Paulo did.

Cariocas
, as the residents of Rio were
called, lived a different lifestyle than
paulistanos
. She could already
feel the slower pace and knew they conducted business differently. In Rio, you
were more likely to get to know your associates on a more personal level, and
business lunches lasted twice as long.

Then, of course, there was the Atlantic Ocean,
which stretched for miles and lapped at the shores of some of the most beautiful
beaches in the world. The water twinkled an invitation, bright as a sapphire in
the sun, and had her looking forward to their visit to the beach the next day. 

The car pulled into a gated community three
blocks from Copacabana Beach and the driver parked under the carport of a
white, two-level house resting in a cul-de-sac between two other houses. The
driver toted their bags down the short walkway, which bisected a verdant lawn
with bushes filled with tropical flowers.

They walked up three stone steps and the driver
opened the door. Alexa, Leonardo’s wife, immediately appeared.

Her face lit up when she saw them, and she
cried out excitedly. “You’re here!” She and Sabrina fell into each other’s arms
and hugged warmly.

Alexa was Sabrina’s only true friend in Brazil.
An immediate bond had formed between them because they were both
African-Americans. Everyone else she had met in work-related settings or were mere
acquaintances.

She was reminded of Renaldo’s words:
“
There must be a balance. You cannot work all day, all the
time.”
Had she really spent so much time concentrating on work and
success? It appeared so since she’d neglected to establish a social circle.

“How are you?” Alexa asked, ushering them into
the house.

Always stylish, she wore a cute empire-waisted maternity
dress that sat loosely on her pregnant belly. Her hair had been straightened
and cut into a short bob.

The driver sidled past them to take the luggage
upstairs to the bedroom prepared for her and Renaldo.

“Not as well as you,” Sabrina replied. “You
look amazing. I can’t believe this is your third baby in three years.” 

Alexa’s tawny skin glowed, and she laughed the
contented laugh of a happy pregnant woman. “You’re flattering me, and I
unashamedly accept it. But I have no choice but to keep popping babies out. I
had to cram them in during our three-year stay because Leo insists all his
children have to be born on Brazilian soil.”

“That’s the way it should be,” Renaldo
interjected.

Alexa rolled her eyes.

He laughed, which was such a good look on him,
so relaxed and approachable.

“I knew you’d agree with him,” Alexa said. “You
Brazilians are a proud bunch.”

Renaldo kissed her cheeks. “Where is my
cousin?”

“He’s off making sure we have what we need for
the party tomorrow night. You know Leo, he has to take control. It’s his
birthday, but he’s busy making sure everything runs smoothly instead of letting
us handle it.”

“How old is he now? Fifty-six?”

“
Thirty
-six.” Alexa wagged a finger at
him. “Don’t you dare talk about my husband’s age.”

“Where are the kids?” Sabrina looked around as
if they would suddenly appear. They must have grown so much since the last time
she saw them. Lucélia was just over two years old, and Alessandro was eleven
months old.

 “They’re taking their afternoon nap,” Alexa said.
“We can have some grown up time before they wake up and start screaming for my
attention.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than the
pitter-patter of little feet could be heard across the terra cotta-tiled floor.
Her daughter came running out, clutching a blue-and-white stuffed rabbit. Sabrina
remembered how much the little girl loved the toy. She’d brought it when they
visited her and Renaldo in Sao Paulo. Senhor Bunny, he was called.

Lucélia paused when she saw Renaldo and
Sabrina. She was a miniature version of her mother, but had her father’s dark,
wavy hair. She watched them curiously for a moment.

“
Olá, boa tarde
, Lucélia,” Sabrina
greeted her. She doubted Lucélia would remember her. It had been months since
they’d last seen each other.

The toddler’s face crumbled and she started to
cry.

“Oh, no, what’s wrong?” Sabrina asked, amazed
so much noise could come from such a tiny mouth.

“Nothing.” Alexa sighed. “She’s in a bad mood
because she’s supposed to be asleep, but she hates taking an afternoon nap. But
if she doesn’t have a nap, she’s miserable and cranky. Come here, sweetie.”

Lucélia ran pell-mell into her mother’s leg and
buried her face in the folds of her dress.

 “
Mamãe
,” the little girl wailed,
lifting her face toward her mother and stretching her arms upward.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Alexa picked her up and settled
her on her hip. Lucélia buried her face in her chest, still holding Senhor
Bunny. “You need to take your nap.”

“
Não.
” Lucélia shook her head, the word
muffled.

“
Sim
, Lucélia.”

“Não
,
mamãe. Não
sono.
”

“Yes, you are sleepy.
Você está muito
sonolenta
.” Alexa spoke to the children in both languages to make the
transition easier for them when they moved back to the States. “As you can see,
she’s changed a lot since you last saw her. She’s not sweet and quiet anymore. I
have my hands full. Notice how she’s making all that noise, but there are no
tears. My daughter is quite the actress. I’m convinced she has a career in show
business.”

She stroked her daughter’s hair. “You want to
stay with me?” When Lucélia nodded she patted her back. “Okay, but you have to
calm down.
Acalme-se
.”

After several moments of talking quietly to the
toddler, Lucélia’s whining quieted and her eyes drooped as she settled against
her mother’s breast.

“I don’t know how she slipped past her
grandmother, but it looks like she’ll be fast asleep by the time I get finished
showing you around. I’ll put her down when we’re done. Come on and I’ll give
you the grand tour.”

Renaldo had been there before, but since
Sabrina hadn’t, Alexa showed them around the downstairs and took them out to
the back yard. On the second floor, she showed them to their room and explained
Leonardo had insisted his favorite cousin get the best room in the house. It
overlooked a flower garden. A few steps outside the bedroom door and they were
at a staircase that took them to the rooftop terrace and pool.

“Sabrina, I’m sure you know we’re all one big
happy family, so don’t be shy—make yourself at home. We’ll have a full house
when Beatrisa, Carolina, and the other cousins get to town. Then of course, all
the family in Rio will be here tomorrow night for the party. If you all need
anything, just holler for me, Mamãe Silva—who’s around here somewhere—or the housekeeper.”

After she left, Sabrina threw open the French
doors and stepped out to view the garden below. “This is so nice.”

Renaldo stepped up beside her. “Do you think
you could live in a place like this? Away from the city?”

“I do.”

The house felt so homey, lived in. Each room
was decorated with heavy, traditional furniture in rust, brown, and green
patterns and tall potted plants sat in the corners of the rooms. She would love
to have a home like this with Renaldo. A place where children ran through the
house and family members stopped by for parties or just to say hello.

“Could
you
?”

He looked off into the distance. “I grew up in
a house like this.” He went back into the room. “We better go downstairs to see
if Alexa needs help. We may be guests, but we’re family. I’m sure she’ll want
to put us to work.”

We’re family
.

He’d included her. A good sign, surely.

They spent the rest of the day getting ready
for the party by putting up decorations and clustering furniture together to
create pockets for conversation. When the little ones woke up, Sabrina helped
Mamãe Silva, their grandmother, keep them out of the way.

By late afternoon, family started coming
by—cousins, in-laws, Carolina, Beatrisa and her children. When Leonardo came
home, a loud cheer went up from the back yard where everyone had congregated.
Sabrina greeted him and received a big bear hug and kiss. He had the same
broad, muscular build as Renaldo, but unlike Renaldo, he allowed his hair to
grow out, exposing the wavy pattern to curl around his collar.

A few trays of food set aside for the big event
the next day were brought out, and someone turned on the radio to a station
that played only local music. In typical Brazilian fashion, an impromptu party
broke out.

Renaldo’s family—no, they were her family, too,
for at least a little bit longer—was a loud, happy bunch that hugged and kissed
each time a new person arrived.

When he’d asked her to marry him, he’d told
her, “
In my country, family is very important.
When we marry, your family becomes mine, and my family becomes yours
.”

She hadn’t truly appreciated those
words until now—now that she was about to lose it all. She
sat
back and watched all the revelry. A few people sat at a table arguing about a
soccer match. One of the cousins’ new baby was being passed around from person
to person. They fawned over the little girl, but that didn’t slow down Lucélia,
who thrived on being the center of attention. While her little brother drank
from a bottle in the arms of one of his cousins, she ran around with a yucca
fry in her hand, offering a bite to each person. It was a game to her, and whenever
anyone pretended they wanted to take a bite, the little imp yanked it back,
giggled, and ran off.