Wallace leaves Pamela's house satisfied to have made an appointment with her. If he didn't work with Melissa, who knows, he might not work with her? Melissa just can't complain afterward.
As soon as he turns onto Main Street, Melissa is walking in the opposite direction, heading to her house with plastic bags from the local bakery. She is surprised to find Wallace.
"Wallace? Have you ever been discharged from the hospital?" She asks with concern.
"Easy, Melissa, it was just a hammer." He smiles, approaching her.
When the two get close, she replies seriously, "A hammer that could cost your life, boy. The brain region was not made of ivory or diamond to receive blows."
"Anyway, I managed to recover, thank God for that." He smiles, "And you, how have you been?"
"Well, thank God. I am very happy with the news that happened. Silva Construction Company has just been announced on the city radio."
Wallace struggles to keep his smile. He doesn
At night, Wallace appears in the lobby of Teodoro's building. He is doing the crossword puzzle leaning on the counter, while the radio plays "The Best You Can Do" by Christopher Cross. Wallace starts to laugh when comparing the music with the place and Teodoro looks up to see it."Good night, young man. What's so funny?" Teodoro asks, thinking that Wallace has gone mad."The music doesn't go very well with this place. Arthur would never live here." Wallace replies, controlling his laughter, "Excuse me, sir. I came to see my younger brother.""Josias warned me that maybe you would come, so I wouldn't think that you would come just to hit him." Teodoro speaks cautiously, "Third floor, room number seven. But, please, young Freire, be patient and civilized.""You can rest assured, I came to make peace and not declare war anymore," Wallace reassures the owner of the building with a smile and goes upstairs.In fact, what is the use of warring if Wallace
The next day, Tiago is entering the bank branch to have a conversation with the manager responsible for his current account.Normally Tiago would be received with great reverence by the manager, but today he noticed that his desk was empty. One of the employees, a young man with a way of being an intern, approached him with apprehension on his face."Sir... Mr. Cerqueira did not come to work. There was a family emergency."Tiago turns to him in surprise. "Really? We had an appointment for today. I don't have all the time in the world, my boy.""I understand, I understand," the boy was very astonished at who should just pass on a message. Tiago realized that the boy knew what the emergency was about and smiled slightly from the corner of his mouth."Do you happen to know what happened?" He asks in a low tone.The boy looks both ways and responds in the same low tone after making sure that no one is going to listen. "He commented to a colleagu
Due to the irony of the situation, the radio's schedule returns playing Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation". Dora and Melissa are still in shock, and then they take a deep breath and start to show themselves astonished."Mom!" Melissa is about to cry. She can only think of one thing: if she were dating Fabrício, she could suffer the same fate."Daughter, take it easy. Now, more than ever, I want you to go to work to meet Josias and reveal everything." Dora places both hands on Melissa's shoulders."Mom, I could have been raped by him! Do you understand the situation? Did you see the danger I was getting into? The danger that I—"A light bulb went on in Melissa's mind, she opened her eyes wide. Pamela!"What is it, daughter?""Pamela, the damn ex-friend, she wanted me to date a sex maniac all the time!" Pamela screams at the top of her lungs."No, Melissa, wait a minute!" Dora tries to digest the bomb, "You can't prove that Pamel
Josias finds himself in a complicated situation. He hates Pamela so much that he could automatically accuse her of being Fabrício's accomplice. But, he realizes how this subject is negatively affecting Melissa's psychological.The risk that Melissa suffered when approaching Fabrício also passes through his mind, which makes him more disgusted. In order not to cause Melissa any more heartache, he decides to disguise his feelings.Then he replies, "No, Melissa, I don't think Pamela knew that dark side of Fabrício. After all, he was invited to that barbecue; it must have been for Mr. Chaves.""It was Carmen, the older sister, who invited everyone." Melissa recalls, "Pamela didn't know Fabrício at that time. Well, then it makes sense." Melissa smiles weakly.She then faces the phone. "Are you already getting calls?""Not yet," Josias replies smiling slightly, pleased to change the subject, "I am now going to the city paper t
Pamela is leaving the kitchen for the television, licking her lips and patting her belly, indicating that she has eaten a delicious lunch. She sits on the couch and turns on the television with the remote.On the midday news, the headline made Pamela want to throw up all the pasta she had eaten. The anchor announces with some astonishment, "So far twelve women have recognized Fabrício Cerqueira as the author of the crimes of sexual harassment and rape. All of them with a common story: Fabrício used to invite them or drag them by force to his house, when the parents were not there, which used to always be."Pamela almost sinks the button on the remote when she turns off the TV. Then she remains paralyzed with terror for a few seconds. She was neither the first nor the second to suffer violence at the hands of the bastard. When he took her to his house, he already knew what he was doing. That is, all of that had been premeditated. And Melissa would have the
Elisa visits Silva Construction's office and is sitting face-to-face with Melissa. Melissa is answering the phone, trying to be an efficient secretary."Silva Construction, how can I help you?" Melissa picks up a pen and paper and starts to write the message, "He isn't there, could you leave a message?" She finishes writing down, "OK, as soon as he gets back I'll say you called. Bye!" She hangs up.Elisa smiles with satisfaction. "My dear, you answer the phone like no one else.""I am shaking with nervousness," Melissa speaks, smiling but with shaking hands.Elisa takes Melissa's shaking hand. "You get the hang of it, and get used to it quickly."Melissa purses her lips, she doesn't know if it's okay to tell Elisa what's really bothering her. Elisa notices the silence."Or, is it something else that is taking away your peace?"Melissa quickly arranges a story, "It's just that today I'm going to meet Josias. We will have our first date
It was not a romantic movie conducive to lovers, but the 007 of 1981 pleased Melissa and Josias as much as Pamela and Wallace. Like all lovers, they sat together and leaning on each other, shared the same bowl of popcorn, the boy snuggled up to the girl when an impressive scene was shown, and lots of kisses from the first couple. Pamela and Wallace still didn't dare.When the film ended, the second couple took off in a hurry not to meet the first again. They managed to board the van when they reached Main Square."Will more people go to Happiness Slum? This is the last time." The driver informs.Malevolently, Pamela shrugs and replies, "Go ahead, driver, no one else is coming."Thus, the driver enters the van and leaves. Soon after, Melissa and Josias appear in the square."Oh, what the hell! The van was still here!" Josias regrets."We can take the bus to Rainbow Garden and disembark at the entrance to the favela," Melissa suggests.
Days passed, and Fabrício ended up being sentenced to prison. The news not only echoed throughout Lagoon City but also throughout Espírito Santo. Fabrício was treated as a dangerous maniac who deserved to stay behind bars until he rots.In the meantime, Pamela and Carmen avoided contact with Melissa as much as possible. Melissa was eager to take on those two crooks, but her job as a secretary now took up part of her day. Dora and Simeon encouraged her to concentrate on work and forget about intrigue.To improve Melissa's mood, Elisa visits her on a Monday, bringing a long-sleeved white blouse and a knee-length navy blue skirt for her to wear as a uniform. Melissa widens her eyes and delights in the dress. She feels the fabric with her fingers, just as Elisa had done with her old clothes."Elisa, it is evident that this outfit was not bought at a thrift store." Melissa praises."What a thrift store, dear, in our family we use the best