Over José Dias’ face there passed something like the flash of an idea—an idea that made him extraordinarily happy. He went silent for a few moments; my eyes were fixed on him, and his had turned towards the entrance to the bay. When I pressed the point:
“It is late,” he said, “but to prove there’s no lack of willing on my part, I’ll go and speak to your mother. I don’t promise you I’ll succeed, but I will try; I’ll put my heart and soul into it. You really don’t want to be a priest? Law is a wonderful thing, dear boy … You could go to São Paulo, Pernambuco, or even farther afield. There are good universities out there in the great world. Go into law, if you’ve the calling. I’ll speak to Dona Glória, but don’t just count on me; speak to your Uncle too.”
“I shall.”
“And make your prayers to God—God and the Holy Virgin,” he concluded, pointing up to the sky.
The sky was somewhat overcast. Near the beach, large black birds were circling in the air, flapping their wings or hovering, then coming down to dip their feet in the water, only to soar up and swoop down again. But neither the shadows in the sky nor the birds’ fantastic dances took my mind away from my companion. After I had said yes, I corrected myself:
“God will do what you want Him to.”
“Don’t blaspheme. God is the Lord of all; He is, in Himself, the earth and the heavens, the past, present and future. Pray to Him for happiness, and I will do the same … Since you can’t be a priest, and prefer the law … Law is a wonderful thing, and that is not to belittle theology, which is better than all the others, just as the priest’s life is the holiest … Why not study law abroad? It would be better to go straight to some university, and at the same time as you study, you could travel. We can go together; we’ll see foreign countries, we’ll hear English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, even Swedish. Dona Glória probably won’t be able to go with you; even if she can and does go, she’ll not want to deal with business matters, papers, registration forms, arranging lodgings, going here and there with you … Oh, the law is most wonderful!”
“That’s agreed then: you’ll ask Mamma not to send me to the seminary?”
“I will certainly ask, but to ask is not to receive. My dearest boy, if wishes were commands, we’ve made it, we’re on board. You can’t imagine what Europe is like: oh, Europe …”
He raised a leg and pirouetted. One of his ambitions was to go back to Europe, and he often spoke of it, without tempting my mother or Uncle Cosme, however much he commended the climate and the sights … He had not considered the possibility of going with me, and staying there for the eternity of my studies.
“We’re on board, Bentinho, we’re on board!”