Remembering where we are, I settle further into his embrace and say, “To be continued, right?”
He presses his lips against my forehead. “To be continued forever.”
The sound of someone sniffling pulls us apart. I turn to see my mother, Tia Viviane, and Tia Izabel by the steel door. Tia Izabel dabs her eyes with a handkerchief. My mother, who’s wearing a triumphant smile, puts her hand out in front of Tia Viviane. My aunt grumbles while she fishes inside her purse, then she slaps a twenty-dollar bill in my mother’s hand.
My mouth falls open. “Mãe, you were betting on me?”
She shakes her head. “No, never, filha. I was betting on Max.”
He leans over and whispers, “Your mother’s a smart woman.”