July 9, Friday

I moved to salad preparation Monday, so this is the end of my first week in the new position. It’s not just a matter of chopping vegetables, often it’s a composed salad with vegetables that are cooked so they are still a little crunchy, arranged in colorful swathes on the serving plate, with roses made from tomato peel and little flowers made out of carrots. I love all the details and getting everything exactly right. Chef Orlando is very picky and because he’s an artist he can fly off the handle if things aren’t the way he wants them. But he hasn’t gotten mad at me too often. Whenever he criticizes, I thank him for teaching me.

We throw out the ends of vegetables or ones that are misshapen. I asked Senhor Sousa if I could keep the pieces we would normally throw out, and after a moment of looking at me funny he said yes. I wash out a big empty can each morning and put the odd pieces of vegetables in it, and at the end of the day I have enough to make a big pot of soup.

When I get home everyone is in Sónia’s kitchen having an evening snack, with café for adults and hot cocoa for the kids, since it’s winter now and chilly. Carlos is holding Junior and gets up from his chair to hand him to me. Luiz pulls out a chair and I sit and give Junior mamar, gratefully sipping the café with hot milk that Sónia puts on the table in front of me and nibbling on cassava cake with my free hand.

“It’s so good to sit and rest after a busy week. Thank you, Sónia.”

Sónia grins and looks over at Luiz. “You better rest well tonight, because tomorrow Luiz is going to teach us how to drive our car!”

Luiz rolls his eyes and laughs. “My God, what have I done to deserve this?”

Chico piles in: “Yeah, you know what guys yell at women who don’t drive well: ‘You should be driving a stove!’”

I snort my disapproval. “Yeah, well, we’ll show them, won’t we, Sónia?”

“Oh yeah.” She gives Chico a withering look and puts the dishes in the sink while shushing the kids and sending them to get ready for bed.