Ana Oliveira Part 2

The days passed, and Señor Barriga had me completely smitten with his sweetness and company. He was the most adorable, cute, and innocent thing in the world. He drove me, Marta, and Luana crazy, peeing in the wrong places, chewing on shoes, and nibbling at the corners of furniture. Yet, he also brought many laughs and sighs of cuteness.
Marta said the puppy was her grandchild, while Luana couldn't stand the animal. She would always shoo him away, scrunching her nose. She claimed she didn't like dogs because they licked their private parts and then tried to kiss us. It wasn't untrue, but Señor Barriga was the most beautiful thing. I would fill his chubby little belly with kisses, and if it weren't for the fact that he already had a family waiting for him, with Lucah coming to pick him up that day, I would have been tempted to be his mom.
I took a long bath, and while brushing my hair in Josiah's bathroom, Marta squeezed into the small room, her eyes misty. I looked at her reflection in the mirror, elegantly dressed in a burgundy silk outfit, with her hair recently cut in a Chanel style with layered, brushed ends.
"Lucah has already taken Señor Barriga," she said, drying a tear. "My little grandson is gone..."
"Oh, don't be like that..." I consoled, turning off the blow dryer, which was making an absurd noise. I felt a pang of sadness in my chest thinking I wouldn't have that warm little ball sleeping with me anymore. "He's surely going to a wonderful family."
"Yes, he is. Lucah checked everything out; he called it 'conscious adoption,'" she said, starting to back away.
"He’ll be fine!"
"Yes, he will. Now I’ll let you get beautified..." she said.
Marta was undoubtedly an exceptional human being. I continued brushing my hair, as it was almost time to meet Luana. We were going to a bar in Lapa. Jow had told me he couldn’t come this weekend, and I was so down that Lu had invited me out.
I finished getting ready, putting on a denim romper that reached mid-thigh and had a subtle ruffle over the neckline. I completed the look with boat shoes and went to Luana's room.
"I'm all set!" I said, finishing applying red lipstick to my lips and then rubbing them together to spread it. "Let’s go..."
And before I could blink, she threw her crossbody bag over her shoulder and pulled me out with her hand around my wrist, excited.
"Tequila... Here we come!" she cheered.
And so we went through the night, lively, drinking to the sound of a live MPB band, sharing stories while downing shots of the clear, bitter liquid, interspersed with cod fritters.
"Well, I finally decided I'm going to apply for the master's program at that federal university I told you about. I’ve already started preparing my research project and..." she said, excitedly, until she froze, staring at the bar door behind me. Then, she started waving, calling someone. "Come, join us!"
I looked over my shoulder, curious and at the same time apprehensive that my friend was inviting people I didn’t know to our table. I always felt shyer and wasn’t drunk enough yet to socialize without caution.
"Hi, Lu!" someone said, passing by me and going to my friend, who had stood up, bouncing with excitement.
Luana hugged the guy, who was much shorter than her, wearing a floral shirt and beige cargo shorts. When, after giving him two kisses on his cheeks, the man turned to me, I immediately recognized him. The round face, tanned skin, dense beard, and warm dark eyes... It was Jonas, the man Lucah had shown me in the photo. I then turned in my chair, instinctively looking behind me, and noticed his boyfriend giving me a friendly smile, standing behind me.
"We don’t want to intrude," my brother-in-law said, shyly raising his hands as if surrendering.
"We do want to intrude," Jonas contradicted, already pulling up a chair and sitting down. "Nice to meet you, I’m Jonas!"
"Nice to meet you, Ana!" I smiled, accepting his handshake.
Lucah, shy, sat to my right, while his boyfriend sat across from him at the reddish wooden table. My heart gave a light flutter. Oh heavens, I had already betrayed Josiah’s trust so many times in the past few days, interacting with the only person he had made me promise not to contact...

If Jow had known more about his brother, had he seen this passionate side, committed to a long-lasting relationship, engaged in social causes, would it have softened his perceptions of his childhood? Would a shadow on the wall look like a big bad wolf to a child's eyes? Damn! I was doing the same thing as Marta, doubting my boyfriend's word... But I had to make a decision, and the right thing to do was to observe. I had to think for myself, see with my own eyes, because, up until that moment, Lucah had only shown me kindness and respect. "Oh, you're Josiah's girlfriend!" he said, looking surprised. "My goodness, that boy of yours is so nervous..." "He has a special way about him," he said, causing the group to laugh. "I think a lot of things would be softened if Josiah knew about your existence..." I said, pointing in his direction. "Oh, he thinks I'm Lucah's friend, and he even slammed the bedroom door in my face when he saw me around the house." — Wow... — I blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
" It's nothing, woman! — He caressed my shoulder, making me immediately feel like I already liked him. — Brothers, let's get along, right, but this pedophilia thing was what was sinister.
Lucah moved, and Luana immediately looked scared. I had never seen that expression on her face, but I imagined that, just like me, my friend had been scared when she saw the carefree way Jonas had said it out loud. But I needed to seize the moment, after all, there was an opening to approach the subject:
" About this pedophilia accusation... How did that happen?
" So... — Lucah said, clearing his throat — It's simple, one day I got home from work and Josiah started insulting me. I think he stayed behind the door the whole day, waiting for me to arrive to do that. He had my computer in his hand, and he said that I was a pervert, that there were pictures of young girls on my computer.
" And was there? — I asked, raising an eyebrow, leaning my elbows on the table, interested.
" Yes! There was a folder created that same day, and I have no idea where those photos came from. I love my brother, I would do anything for him, as I always have, but I don't understand where those came from. It wasn't me. They were photos of children! I'm not a pedophile.
" It could have been Cristian's doing to make you two fight... — Luana said, with a distant look. — That's always been my theory.
" It makes sense... — I murmured. — You said the folder was created that day?
" Yes, and I hadn't even slept at home. But nothing I say will change Jow's opinion of me. He insists that I played pranks on him throughout his childhood, accusing him of strangling him, of putting a dead rat in his bed, of destroying his things. I have no idea how he comes up with these stories, but I think the violent childhood with my father made him like this...
" Josiah doesn't fantasize about situations! — I defended, taking a shot of tequila. — But I think we can get you two together at some point, you can tell us about Jonas and your version of events.
" Well... I don't know! — Lucah murmured, drinking his water with ice and lemon, while his boyfriend downed two shots of tequila at once. — I wish that were possible, but I don't even have any hope of ever being able to get along with my brother.
I remained silent. If Lucah hadn't even slept at home and the folder with photos had been created that day, how could Josiah still think it could have been his brother? Something in the story didn't add up. Jow was sweet, caring and kind. Why would I accuse my brother-in-law of things that had no basis?
I was confused, but maybe it was the alcohol, maybe the empathy I felt for Lucah, but I decided that I would allow myself to get to know him, to trust my intuition, which whispered that there was no danger.
The next day, I woke up on the living room carpet, lying next to Jonas, who was sleeping with his mouth open, lying on his back, with saliva dripping from one corner of his mouth. Luana was lying unconscious on the living room sofa, lying with her face against the back of the sofa and snoring like a car engine.
Shit! A dull headache was running through me as I tried to remember how we got home. My last memory was Lucah telling me about his problems with Jow, and I can't remember anything else.
Sitting down on the carpet, I tied the tangled strands of my hair into a bun. I frowned at the light coming in through the windows, making my eyes hurt to adjust. I noticed that one of my feet was bare, not even wearing socks, while the other was wearing sneakers. I took off my shoes, then walked unsteadily, following the smell of coffee to the kitchen.