Second Chances (15 page)

Sabrina wanted to hold onto this. All the
noise, the energy, the chaos. She had to make Renaldo listen to her, because if
she was forced to leave, she would not only be giving him up, she would be
giving up her family, too.

Later in the evening, they all had full bellies,
and the boisterous conversations had lowered to quiet discussions. A
bossa
nova
melody played on the radio while one couple and Renaldo and Mamãe
Silva danced. The guitarist strummed a haunting tune and the men slowly guided
their partners around the outdoor patio. Renaldo looked relaxed in a pair of
jeans and a T-shirt, his handsome face all smiles. He hadn’t looked so happy in
a long time. These moments were important to him, when he cast off the stress
of work and simply enjoyed the time he spent with those close to him.

Beatrisa dragged a chair over to sit beside
her. “Are you having a good time?”

“Yes. I love being around your family.”

They watched the activity in silence for a few
moments.

“You hurt my brother,” Beatrisa said, keeping
her eyes trained on Renaldo. “I don’t know the details because he won’t tell
me, but I only have one question for you. Do you love him?”

Sabrina looked at her sister-in-law’s profile.
“Yes.”

“Good.” Beatrisa faced her. “Because if you
ever hurt him again, you will have to deal with me.”

She’d always known Beatrisa was protective of
her siblings. Sabrina felt the same way about Jewel, who was the closest thing
she had to a sister.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Beatrisa.”

“I am sorry I have not been friendlier to you.
I must be honest, I was worried when my brother chose a woman from the United
States, but…you are his choice…you are family. I will do better.” Her eyes
brightened. “Maybe lunch one day…you, me, and Carolina?”

“That would be nice.”

“Good. I better go find my children. There’s no
telling what trouble those two are getting into.” Beatrisa squeezed her hand and
went in search of them.

How ironic that Beatrisa was reaching out to
her now that her future with Renaldo was unsure. She didn’t know if she should
laugh or cry.

Every night she and Renaldo slept in the same
bed and made love as if they could never get enough of each other. She didn’t
like getting her hopes up because he hadn’t made her any promises. He hadn’t
told her he loved her, and he hadn’t told her he wanted to stay married.

She hated the thought that it was all about sex,
but the only thing she could count on
was at the end of the
probation period, she’d receive four million dollars.

Then he expected her to go.

Chapter Thirteen

The trip to Copacabana Beach required an
impressive amount of coordination and supplies. They had to take so much gear,
Sabrina didn’t think Leonardo and Alexa came to the beach often even though it
was only a few blocks away. It was simply too much work.

They took umbrellas, chairs, towels, and toys
for the children to play with. Ziploc bags were filled with snacks, and a
cooler contained water, juice, and fruit. Each of the adults—Leonardo, Renaldo,
Carolina, Sabrina, Alexa—had something in their hands as they trekked across
the beach to find the perfect spot.

Families and singles had already staked their
claim on the soft sand. A group of young people danced to samba music from a
portable radio, and a game of
volleyball
occupied
another group nearby. Hotels and condominiums stretched behind
the beach. Juice bars and restaurants lined the pavement of the two and a half
mile promenade, and vendors walked back and forth selling food and all sorts of
items to the locals and tourists.

They settled in the south corner, where the
calmer surf made the children less afraid of the water.

Alexa dug for sunscreen in her beach bag. While
she rubbed the lotion on Lucélia, Sabrina rubbed it on Alessandro. The little
boy wiggled nonstop, making Sabrina’s task more difficult and causing it to take
longer than it should have. Then the two children went to play with a bucket,
shovel, and the other colorful toys their mother brought to keep them occupied.

Carolina invited Sabrina to follow her down the
beach to join the volleyball game. When she declined, the younger woman ran off
in her white thong bikini. It had to be the smallest bathing suit Sabrina had
ever seen.

 “I guess she won’t have any problem getting
accepted into the game.” Sabrina removed her beach cover up to reveal a bikini
with a white bandeau top and black bottom. She sat under the large umbrella in
a chair near to Alexa.  

“No, Carolina never has that kind of trouble,”
Alexa agreed in an amused tone. 

“I would kill for her body.”

“What for? The two of you are about the same
height, and you have a great body. You’re just thicker than she is.
I’m
the one who should be ready to kill. Next to you two Amazons, I look like a toy
top.”

They shared a laugh, and Lucélia joined in the
laughter where she played in the sand. 

“What are you laughing about?” Alexa asked.

The little girl continued giggling and then
jumped up to run over to her mother. “Kiss-kiss.”

Alexa leaned close so her daughter could kiss
her cheek and then planted one on her cheek, too. “How about one for Cousin
Sabrina?”

Lucélia smiled bashfully and hid her face in
her mother’s arm.

“Oh, she’s shy,” Sabrina said.

“No, she’s not. I told you, she’s an actress.”
Alexa lifted Lucélia’s chin. “You’re not shy. Go ahead and give a kiss-kiss to Cousin
Sabrina.”

Lucélia looked at Sabrina then looked at her
mother.

Alexa nodded, and the toddler walked around the
chair and gave Sabrina a soft kiss on the cheek. Then she hurried back to her
mother and pressed her face in her arm again. After a few seconds, she peeped
at Sabrina.

Sabrina thanked her. “
Obrigada
.”

Lucélia clapped and laughed. “Kiss-kiss,
Sandro.” She went over to her brother and kissed him. “Kiss-kiss,
papai
.”

“
Sim
, kiss-kiss
papai
e Primo
Renaldo,” Alexa said.

Lucélia took off across the sand, and when
Alessandro saw her leaving, he took off behind her. They made their way
carefully down the beach to where Leonardo and Renaldo stood talking at the
edge of the water. Alessandro followed at a cautious pace behind his sister,
the soft sand making his footing unsure.

Alexa called out to her husband and pointed out
the children headed toward them.

Both men met them halfway. Leonardo scooped up Lucélia
and Renaldo picked up her brother. After the kisses were delivered, they went
into the sea and started playing with the kids in the water.

Renaldo looked natural holding Alessandro.
Despite being such a big man, he took great care with the little boy, who at
first clung fearfully to him until he grew accustomed to the cool waves. Then Alessandro
started laughing and kicking his little legs in excitement as Renaldo lowered
and lifted him in and out of the water.

A sentimental twinge nicked Sabrina’s chest.
She imagined him playing the same way with their own child, one with his dark
eyes and dark hair.

“I know that look.” Alexa plopped a big, floppy
hat onto her head. “Somebody’s ready to have a baby.”

“Oh no. Before we got married, we knew we
wanted to wait a few years before we started having kids.”
And since I’m not
sure how much longer we’ll be married, it may never happen.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t adjust your
plans.”

“We’ll see.” It was too painful to think about
now. “How many more do the two of you plan to have?”

“We both want a large family, so at least one
more, maybe two.”

“So those two will be born in the States?”

“No, ma’am. Leo’s very proud of his heritage.
The kids automatically have Brazilian citizenship because he’s Brazilian, but
that’s not enough. His father’s American, and his mother did the same
thing—moved back here to give birth to him. We’ve decided that when we return
to Atlanta, we’ll wait a couple of years before getting pregnant again, and
then I’ll come to Rio to have the last one—or two.” Alexa laughed softly and
rubbed circles on her belly. “I love that man so much that if he told me he
wanted me to give birth to all his children on the moon, I’d probably do it.”

Sabrina watched her friend with envy. “You seem
so happy.” She remembered when she had been, too.

“Leo and I are very happy, but we went through
a rough patch a few years ago. Did you know that?”

Surprised, Sabrina lifted her gaze to her
friend’s. “No, I didn’t.”

“Mhmm. At the time, it seemed all he cared
about was work, and I didn’t see how I fit into his life. We hardly ever spoke
to each other. I felt ignored and unloved. I left him, but I missed him like
crazy. He found a way—an unconventional way—to get me back.” The corners of
Alexa’s mouth lifted at the memory. She patted her large stomach. “I no longer
feel ignored.”

They laughed again.

“Leo mentioned you and Renaldo were having
problems. I don’t know the details,” Alexa hastily added. “He wouldn’t tell me,
I guess out of loyalty to his cousin, but I’m happy to see everything is back
to normal.”

Sabrina stared out at the water. The two men
were still playing in the waves with the children. “It was my fault.”

Alexa lightly touched her shoulder. “Hey, whatever
you did or didn’t do, at some point you have to forgive yourself. And
talk
to him
. That was our biggest problem. We hardly ever talked and the
problems just became worse. I know it’s cliché, but you’d be surprised how
important communication really is.”

“I don’t know, Alexa. We’re…” She held her
tongue, not wanting to say too much.

“It can’t be that bad. Love doesn’t just turn
itself off.”

Sabrina sifted sand through her fingers. “I’m
afraid it does sometimes. If what you do is bad enough.”

“I don’t believe it. I knew the two of you were
meant to be together at your wedding. I could see how much he loved you. And
when we visited you in Sao Paulo, you reminded me of us when we first got
married. To be honest, Leo and I were happy but surprised when Renaldo called
to say he was engaged. The way he went through women…” She shook her head. “We
couldn’t believe he’d met someone because after what happened with his mother,
he’d sworn off marriage.”

Sabrina’s head popped up. “What do you mean?
What happened to his mother?”

“Well, you know, she left them. He hasn’t
spoken to her or seen her since he was a child.”

“Wait a minute, I’m confused. That doesn’t make
any sense. And why are you talking about her in the present tense? She’s dead.”

“Are we talking about the same person?” Alexa
frowned. “His stepmother’s dead, but his biological mother is still alive.”

“His
biological
mother?” Sabrina could
only stare at Alexa.

 “Yeah. Wait, you didn’t know?”

 “Know what?”

Alexa bit her lip and looked out at the water.
“It’s really not my place to tell you if—”

“You’ve already started, so you might as well
finish.”

“Leo’s going to kill me,” Alexa moaned. “I
shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Alexa, please.”

“Okay.”

When she still didn’t divulge any more information,
Sabrina grew impatient. “Alexa!”

“Okay, okay. I guess it’s not a surprise
Renaldo didn’t tell you because he doesn’t acknowledge his biological mother.
He and his sisters consider the woman who raised them to be their mother, but
she’s actually their stepmother.”

A screech from her daughter drew Alexa’s
attention to the water, but when she saw Lucélia was fine and just enjoying
herself, she continued. “All the pictures in the house are of Renaldo’s
stepmother. When he was six, his biological mother left. A couple of years
later, their father remarried. None of them speak to their real mother. To tell
you the truth, I think Carolina and Beatrisa just follow Renaldo’s lead. They
do pretty much whatever he says. As the head of the family, and the one who
takes care of them financially, it’s no real surprise.”

“She just left? What kind of woman does that?”
She didn’t have children, but if she did, she couldn’t imagine walking away from
them.

Alexa shrugged. “She was very young, a teenager
when she married their father. He was a lot older than her, and maybe she felt
she’d lost her youth. The marriage was probably a mistake from the beginning,
but she didn’t up and leave for no reason.”

“Was he abusive or controlling or something?”

“Oh no, nothing like that. Mr. Silva was a good
man and loved by his family. He was a successful businessman and respected in
the community. But I guess she never loved him the way he loved her. She had an
affair.”