Ana Oliveira

**Present Day...**


When I turned the corner onto Marta's street, I was both surprised and irritated by what I saw. Three of her dining chairs were on the sidewalk in front of the house, and on them were the trio of people who irritated me the most.
Josiah had a calm demeanor, paying attention to something Harry was saying, which was making Isabela laugh.
I had planned to meet Luana and Josiah at his grandmother's house, where I would leave Júlia in their care and go out with Luana. I hadn’t anticipated that the dog would invite his little pack to be near our daughter.
I gritted my teeth, taking a deep breath as I walked with two bags over one shoulder and my daughter clinging to the opposite arm. I tried not to get too angry; after all, when I understood that he was the father of my baby, I also accepted that Júlia would end up with those two goofs as uncles, Harry and Isa. After all, Josiah was hardly ever without them.
When I reached the group, the man gave me a once-over, from my high-waisted denim shorts to my shoulders covered by a black off-the-shoulder top, before looking at his daughter. I completely ignored Isabela, while Júlia began to squirm in my lap, excitedly.
“Daddy?” she asked, laughing at him and eager to go to his lap.
It seemed the little one hadn’t forgotten Josiah, nor the number of times he’d told her to call him “daddy.”
“Hi, Little One!” my ex said, standing up and taking her from my arms.
His eyes had a calm gaze on the little girl. He smiled as he looked at her, who was dressed in a sky-blue ruffled dress with two bows holding her pigtails.
“Lookaaa!” Júlia shouted, waving a Masha plushie between her fingers, making it hit her father’s chin.
I gave a slight smile, grabbing the small bag of essentials for her—diapers, ointments, clothes, and her cloth for securing her pacifier to carry around the house. Although she had everything she needed at her grandmother’s house, I always brought extra just in case. I set the bag carelessly on Isabela’s bare thighs, clad in a very short black dress, ignoring the hateful look she gave me.
“Since you want to be an aunt, you better start learning to change a diaper!” Harry mocked.
“And you too, jerk!”
“Jerk...” Júlia repeated, on her father’s lap, who had returned to his chair.
We were all shocked by how quickly she repeated the word. Harry started laughing, but I kept a stern expression, and so did Josiah. Isabela blushed, biting her lower lip, with an apologetic look on her face as she looked at the child’s father.
“Let’s go over the rules, since the kids don’t know how to behave!” I warned, looking at the trio. “Obviously, no swearing in front of her, okay, B-I-T-C-H?”
I spelled out the insult, finally glaring at that fake. Josiah gave a small laugh, reprimanded by my acid gaze.
I didn’t want to have to deal with him or his friends, but it seemed these interactions would become more frequent.
“Fine, B-I-T-C-H,” the redhead retorted, her gaze fiery.
I locked away the feelings I had for Isa, ignoring the remaining affection and only giving voice to my disdain. I looked at the small white wooden table in front of them, inspecting for something alcoholic, but only found soda and water in the ice bucket.
Turning my back on everyone, I walked into the house. I walked slowly, hoping Júlia would call out to me, asking to return to my lap. When I reached the grand wooden door, I glanced over my shoulder. Josiah was holding the girl in front of him, with her standing on his thighs, calling her “Little Sweetie” repeatedly while she laughed.
I held back the jealousy, swallowing hard as I entered the house. The scent of Luana’s perfume filled the space, a fragrance reminiscent of sunny days. Another dominant smell in the house was the orange cake in the oven. Marta was certainly baking the cake her son loved and would serve it to him and his friends along with some hot coffee. That woman loved to win people over through their stomachs, and it always worked.
I left the black crossbody bag on the L-shaped sofa and headed to the guest room in the long corridor. The house had only one floor but was huge, featuring five wonderful suites. Generally, the house had an amazing scent of verbena, but on weekends, when Marta would take care of her granddaughter, all the smells were more subdued to avoid irritating the child.
I reached Luana’s room, and she was finishing applying mascara, making her long eyelashes even more voluminous.

“Friend!” she cheered. “Come get your makeup done!”
“But aren’t we just going to the movies?” I whispered, sticking my head out to make sure Josiah wasn’t nearby to hear.
“Yes!” Luana agreed in a conspiratorial whisper. “But wouldn’t it be better to look like we’re going out for the night? Don’t you want him to be jealous?”
“Of course I do… I want him to burn, just like he makes me,” I murmured, as if thinking aloud.
“That’s right, girl! Now sit down and let’s do this makeup!”
I let her glide brushes across my face, layering foundation, concealer, and many other things. When I finally looked in the mirror, I was almost another Ana. I was a sexy, seductive Ana, with brown smoky eyeshadow under a Fox Eyes eyeliner that made my gaze captivating, and red lipstick to top it off.
“They’ll think we’re overdoing it, showing up to a superhero movie with red-carpet makeup.”
“Let them think so!” She shrugged.
Finally, Luana fixed my hair, positioning it so a curly lock fell on the right side of my face, while the left was pulled back behind my ear.
“Now we’re going to rock it, Aninha!”
I said goodbye to Marta, asking her to keep an eye on my daughter. I knew Isabela hated me, but I also knew her well enough to notice her affectionate gaze towards the child whenever she saw me with Júlia. My fear was that they wouldn’t pay attention and something bad would happen. They were my shadows, whispering nightmares in my ear, reminding me of the child I couldn’t save.
I took a deep breath as I walked behind Luana towards the entrance to meet the Uber that was minutes away. I arrived at Josiah’s mother’s house, keeping an eye on the time and worried about Júlia being out in the cold.
“Josiah, you’d better get inside. I don’t think it’s right for Júlia to be out here like this at night,” I warned, bending down to give her golden curls a kiss. “See you later, sweetie.”
“Mommy,” she said, waving and saying goodbye before turning her face away, as if dismissing me.
“I’m going to take her inside,” he replied, looking back at my legs with a predatory gaze. “Where are you going?”
“It’s none of your business!” I retorted, with a mocking look at him.
“And when will you be back?” he asked.
“When I feel like it!”
I turned my back, fed up with his unreasonable interrogation, seeing Harry stifling a laugh.
“Man, you look like a hyena!” I teased, glancing over my shoulder at my ex’s friend.
“What’s wrong, crazy? Let my horse run… Go on with your way!” Harry shot back, irritated.
Isabela started laughing, and I couldn’t help but join in, following Luana to our destination. My boat-style sneakers made my feet sweat in the extreme heat that was my hometown. And so we headed out to follow the night’s simple plans: looking as glamorous as possible and letting Josiah’s imagination run wild.