PART V

1981

October 21, Wednesday

Coconut palms bend in the breeze along Cabo Branco beach, the turquoise water of the bay stretching to the horizon where puffs of cloud ride above. I am filled with gratitude at our fortune in finding a beachfront building with restaurant space on the ground floor and this apartment three stories above. We’re renting for now but I have designs on buying it once Jaxi is established and profitable.

“Mom, what’s that other apartment behind the kitchen?” Kai is exploring our new home.

“That space is for a housekeeper, so she has her own bedroom and bath.”

“Mom, we’re not going to have a housekeeper, are we?”

I give him a sheepish smile. “It’s the norm here in Brazil, querido. And I’ll need someone to help out because I’ll be busy with the business. And it would be considered odd if we didn’t employ someone when we have the means.”

He looks shocked. “Mom, that’s just weird! I remember when you cleaned other people’s houses in the States.”

I have to admit it’s ironic. “You’re right, of course. But when in Rome . . .”

He shifts his focus. “This place is huge, Mom. Four bedrooms. Which room is mine?”

“Let’s go look together and you decide. I’d like the bedroom with its own bath, then you choose your bedroom, then a guest room for when Carlos visits, and an office for me.”

“Sounds good. Now all we need is some furniture, but I’m glad to be home and not in a hotel.”