Josias is surprised by Ignacio reminding him of Everaldo.“That’s right, we’re already wrapping up 2005!” Alan applauds, “Dad, check if Everaldo hasn’t sent you a text message!”Suddenly, as if on cue, Josias’s cell phone rings.“Ah, it’s not possible!” Erasmo speaks with contempt.However, Sofia and Olivia are inclined to believe Everaldo’s supernatural story with this undeniable evidence.Josias grins, “Number unknown.” He answers, “Hello, Everaldo!”On the other side, Everaldo is surprised, “Josias? How did you know it was me? I changed my number.”“Oh yes!” Josias laughs, “Just like every year. And I guess you’re also living in another city, am I right?”“Ehr... I moved to Linhares.” Everaldo is embarrassed.“Ha, ha, ha! Gotcha!” Josias has fun.“See, Josias?” Everaldo relaxes, “I’m not an angelic being as you think. You also knew how to guess that I was calling you. Shall I ask you if you also have celestial powers?”“Don’t joke.” Josias retorts, “It’s you who always pronounces b
2006“Five, four, three, two, one... HAPPY NEW YEAR!”Fireworks began to explode on the night horizon.Countless citizens of Lagoon City showed up at Sunset Village to celebrate the New Year.Josias and Melissa inaugurated the yacht toasting with glasses of champagne.“That’s cool, honey.” Josias comments, “I never imagined I could enjoy life like this. And Everaldo said that there are still more things for me to achieve! What will it be?”“Well, I don’t need anything else.” Melissa comments with a smile, “I have a husband that I love, I have children that I care about, my parents are still alive, and it looks like I’ll have grandchildren next year.”“Yes, our family is growing.” Josias states pleasantly, sipping champagne, “And as for material goods, we’re well served.”“I agree. Mansion, yacht, luxury cars, a company that never stops growing... employees who are our faithful and loyal friends, and a fancy restaurant.”“Well then, let’s celebrate what we already have and thank God fo
In the Teodoro Building, a party was taking place among the Reis family.Rosemary enters the building after a few years away from her home. She is surprised that she has to ring the intercom.“My God, I didn’t know the situation was so serious.”When she entered the lobby, she felt strange with the radio turned off. Where’s the tradition?“Dad? Tess? Pete? Anybody home?”She decides to go straight to the apartment. When she opens the door...“SURPRISE!”Rosemary is so scared that she drops her bags. Everyone gets up from behind the sofa applauding and cheering at her return.Beto is the first to hug her, “Welcome back, daughter! How wonderful to have you here!”“Likewise, Daddy! I missed you so much!”Teresa is the next to hug her, “I hope you don’t leave anymore, Rose.”“I feel like my home is here, with my family and true friends.”Pedro is the next to appear. Rosemary is amazed.“PETE! You’re becoming a big man like our daddy! Do you want to be a bodybuilder?”The hug Pedro gives R
In the Teodoro Building, the party was moved from Beto’s apartment to the lobby. Passing tenants discover Rosemary back and greet her.It didn’t take long for Beto to turn the radio back on, and the song “Don’t Cha”, by The Pussycat Dolls, made the people dance and wiggle.Flávia brought a chicken pie to complement the cake while Teresa provided soft drinks for the children.In a corner of the lobby, Rosemary and Caroline were catching up.“Carol, in your letters, you expressed concern regarding your brother and Sofia. How was this story resolved until last year?”Caroline sighs, “Rose, those two are still getting married this year.”“And what do you think about that?” Rosemary asks her.“I think this is absurd! Nothing will take my mind off the fact that the Vasquez family just wants our money. They may be able to manage their company for now, but if one day they have a financial setback, you can be sure that Alan will be the fool to pay for their debts.”“It would be the most natura
At Rodrigo’s apartment, he and Nadia talk about what they can expect in the future.Nadia looks around, “The room you slept in could be your son’s room. He is the closest to ours.”“Yes, and we can install that baby monitor.” Rodrigo plans, “This way, we’ll hear his crying at dawn.”Nadia grimaces, “Urgh... This is the worst part. Waking up at dawn, being sleep deprived, giving bottles at three in the morning.”Rodrigo smiles naughtily, “We stayed up at three in the morning moaning and roaring with pleasure, making this baby. If we lost nights of sleep for pleasure, we can now lose nights of sleep for duty.”Nadia felt slapped by the Truth. “Ehr... You’re right, darling.”“Don’t worry, dear. I’ll share the tasks. I had a conversation with your father and I’ll probably have another with mine.” Rodrigo laughs.The doorbell rings. Nadia goes to answer, it’s Francisco.“Hello, Nadia. I came here to congratulate you. Isabel and Neilton are equally excited.”“Oh, Frank...” Nadia and Francis
In the next issue of Maggiezine, Rodrigo and Nadia graced the cover with the words in bold letters: ‘Another member of the Lafayette-Mountain family on the way!’Maggie was thrilled with the response to her magazine. Online access grew every moment. And her son Henrique showed a school trophy with pride.“Mom, where am I going to hang this trophy?” Henry asks.“We’ll leave it at home, on the bookshelf in the living room, for everyone to see.” Maggie smiled proudly.Adelaide enters her niece’s office, “Maggie... oh, Henrique was awarded.”“Hi, Aunt Addie!” Henrique boasts, “I won the school essay competition!”Adelaide stares at Maggie, “Hmm... That means the talent for writing runs in the family, huh? Do you intend to take over your father’s company?”“For sure. But my cousins Carol and Mary will take care of Maggiezine, yuck.” Henrique shakes himself. He doesn’t want to get involved with ‘women’s magazines’.Maggie and Adelaide burst into laughter. Henrique leaves to show the trophy
At Marçal Publishing, Bernardo kisses his champion son’s forehead. The trophy is on his desk, clearly visible for everyone to see.“My son, writing champion. I predict a bright future for you, Henrique.”“Thanks, Dad.” Henrique is excited. It seems like he is still assimilating the victory, “I’m glad you liked it.”“Of course. You’ll one day replace your old father and run this company, correct?” Bernardo gestures around his office.“You can bet on that!” Henrique hugs his father.Maggie enters the office and smiles at the familiar scene. “How beautiful to see father and son like this...”Henrique breaks the hug, “Mommy, did you come to tell Dad about Aunt Addie?”“What about ‘Aunt Addie’?” Bernardo asks curiously.Maggie takes the trophy, “Son, she’s waiting for you to leave with her. Remember, put the trophy on the shelf in the living room.”“OK. Bye, Dad!” Henrique kisses Bernardo’s cheek and leaves.Bernardo grins, “My puppy. And to think that your mother said he was Jack Motta’s
At Café Montanha, it seems that Isabel has some proposal to make to Adelaide and Amoreira.“What are you talking about, Mrs. Mountain?” Adelaide asks interested.“Mrs. Cardozo, would you allow me to make a storyline for my soap opera based on what you went through?”Adelaide and Amoreira’s eyes widen.“Why do you want to do this?” Adelaide is intrigued.“Because your life story has everything a good soap opera needs: drama, adventure, strong emotions! And most importantly: a happy ending.”“My husband was killed by a car and my sister fell from the balcony of a penthouse!”“For that reason: the villains were punished and the protagonist was rewarded with true love.” Isabel points to Amoreira.Amoreira is embarrassed, “Mrs. Mountain, I don’t know if we want our lives exposed on TV.”Isabel pulls up a chair and sits next to the couple, excited as a cosmetics saleswoman, “Hey, I’m not thinking about using your real names or casting actors who look like you! I’m just thinking about writin
Josias visits the Rocha Hotel since he didn’t have a day off for the staff. In the management room, Eugenio gathered David, Benjamin, and Sybil. “Why is that mere cook present at this meeting?” David asked disparagingly. “Because that’s how our boss ordered it,” Eugenio replied dryly. “I didn’t say anything and didn’t call this meeting, so if you’ll excuse me...” Benjamin and Sybil were horrified to see David leaving the meeting just like that. However, when he opened the door, David came face to face with his father. “David, where do you think you’re going?” “DAD!” David exclaimed, extremely surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming!” “Didn’t Eugenio tell you I was coming?” Josias asked with a scowl. David understood who the ‘boss’ was. Benjamin and Sybil felt vindicated. Josias sat down at the desk, taking Eugenio’s seat, while the manager remained humbly standing. “Very well,” Josias began the meeting in a formal tone, “I’m here just to make things crystal clear. First
Melissa and Mary visit the Mountain Café.“A guava juice for me, Mr. Mountain!” Mary requested, smiling sweetly.“Of course, my princess!” Rodrigo replied, thinking Mary was very adorable. “Neil will make a delicious cup for you.”“Thank you. But the princess is Carol,” Mary responded, striking a serious pose.Melissa and Rodrigo laughed heartily. Mary is something else...“Rod, how has it been managing the café in your father’s absence?” Melissa asked seriously.Rodrigo served a baked chicken pastry with ketchup to Mary. “I'm getting by, Melissa. Josias was here earlier, more concerned about my loss than his own, as always. Isn’t he supposed to be resting?”Melissa nodded. “My husband is like that: he only relaxes when all of us are relaxed.”“An impossible mission because of certain people.”Neilton approached with the glass. “Who ordered a guava juice?”“I DID!” Mary grabbed the glass and went to a table.Melissa leaned forward, “Neil, Rod, how are Daryl and Diane? Behaving?”“Cont
At João Paulo’s house, he and Josias were about to have a significant conversation.“Walter, do you want to go with your mom to the kitchen?” João Paulo asked, looking at Helen. “I think she made some walnut cake.”“It was carrot cake,” Sandra replied, already getting up from the couch.“You got it.” Helen appeared and picked up Walter in her arms. “Let’s let Dad and Uncle Josias talk.”“Bye, Uncle!” Walter waved goodbye to Josias.“Bye-bye, I want a piece later!” Josias chuckled.Once alone with João Paulo, Josias became serious. “Don’t let anything or anyone ruin this family scenario, little brother.”“I’m fine. No one wants to ruin anything,” João Paulo replied casually.“Well, I hope David hasn’t caused you any trouble.”“He probably doesn’t even know I exist, man.” João Paulo shrugged.“But I stopped by Café Montanha and found out that the Vasquez family has replaced the Mountain family as the ‘annoying people.’”João Paulo sighed in disappointment. “Yeah. They—”The doorbell ran
Josias visits Café Montanha for a coffee and finds Rodrigo there. “Rod, how have you been?” Rodrigo is taken aback. “How am I? You’re the one who suffered a horrific loss recently!” “But you also lost your father. We’re in the same situation,” Josias explained as he sat down on a stool. “I’m okay, Josias. Life has a way of cheering me up. For example, I’m back at the diner after Thierry decided to take his place at the supermarket.” Rodrigo smiled. “What about the photography studio?” Josias smiled back. “It’s still going to operate, and Thierry will make periodic visits. But he’s going to appoint one of the staff to manage the studio.” Rodrigo served a pizza pastry to Josias. “Thank you. Well, I hope everything is alright between you two. I need to visit Rosemary and meet Jean Luc — is that the name of the baby?” “Yes, the name of the supermarket heir. Meanwhile, Frank will be here or somewhere else.” Josias interjected, “If Frank wants to work at Rocha Constructions, count
At the Rocha Mansion, Josias receives a visit from Benjamin. “How have you been, Ben? Any news about your parents?” The two embrace. “Actually, that’s what I want to talk about.” Benjamin scratches the back of his neck. The embrace breaks. “Let’s go to my office.” The two gentlemen enter Josias’s imposing office. “Any problems with Adolfo?” Josias asks, becoming serious. “Not yet, but I hope not to have any,” Benjamin replies with some sadness. “You know, Josias, what happened with your father made me think about my family, about how important it is for all of us to be together in the final moments.” “That’s true. João Paulo can tell you that better than I can.” “I think you can say it too. Vernon was the father you never had.” Benjamin clears his throat. “So, I’ve been looking into some hotels and realized there’s a demand at the Rocha Hotel in Victoria.” Josias looks at Benjamin, understanding where he’s going with this. “You want to go to Victoria to be close to your pare
Someone rings the doorbell at João Paulo’s house. The homeowner goes to answer after taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. But when he opened the door, João Paulo felt like slamming it in the visitor’s face. “Don’t be rude!” Erasmo exclaimed. “What do you want, you old bore?” João Paulo shot back. Erasmo barged into João Paulo’s foyer. “The mourning is over. Let’s pick up where we left off.” “Are you crazy? Who decides how long mourning lasts? We just got back from the trip!” “Not exactly, it’s been a day. Life goes on, my friend!” Erasmo replied mockingly. João Paulo remained serious. “But I don’t want to continue living this way, where fights and intrigues are the order of the day. Mr. Vasquez, you have a business to run, and I have a family to raise.” “But you found time to slap my son-in-law when he was here defending his family, didn’t you?” “Alan was extremely rude, but that was some time ago.” João Paulo frowned. “I don’t feel the same anger as before.” “So a
At the Vasquez Mansion, Alan could hardly believe that the people were thinking about more intrigues and disputes. “Guys, don’t you understand that I even forgot the reason I slapped Uncle João Paulo?” “Ridiculous!” Erasmo gestured. “You just maintained respect because it was a difficult occasion. But now, the mourning is OVER!” “Do you think João Paulo will rest, dear?” Sofia asked, sitting next to him. Alan shook his head. “If Uncle João Paulo doesn’t want to rest, then he is truly despicable. But my dad is back in town. He wouldn’t dare to do that.” The news should have been uplifting, but the members of the Vasquez family merely exchanged silent glances. With Josias present, it’s quite likely that he will put a stop to their fighting. Alan turned to Olivia. “In the meantime, we should celebrate the recovery of my dear mother-in-law!” Olivia and Sofia smiled awkwardly because of the secret they were keeping. “That’s right, let’s celebrate life!” Erasmo wrapped his arm arou
Josias Rocha and his family returned to Lagoon City. Those who were waiting for them stayed in the mansion and greeted them cheerfully in the foyer. “WELCOME BACK!” Melissa, crying, embraced her parents, William, and the twins fervently. Josias greeted them with a light smile. “Where’s João Paulo?” William asked. “He went straight to his house. His kids needed to rest from the trip.” Melissa wiped her tears with her fingers. “Alan went straight to his mansion. Especially now that his mother-in-law has woken up from the coma.” “That was a scare; I thought we’d have two funerals,” Simeon commented. Everyone headed to the living room. “Is Paris very beautiful, Mom?” Mary asked. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s stunning. We’ll go shopping together another time, okay?” “Do you have pictures?” Ignacio asked anxiously. “Yes, son, we took some pictures.” Melissa sat on the couch, pulling out a package from her bag. Josias sat in the armchair, taking a deep breath. William approached him.
At Café Montanha, Daryl walks in for a coffee and finds Rodrigo at the counter while Neilton serves the others. “Hey, are we back to the old tradition?” “Don’t be a clown, man.” Rodrigo laughs. “Yes, Thierry is at the supermarket, as we agreed.” “Hi, Neil. Can you make me a cappuccino while I enjoy a natural sandwich?” Daryl places his order. “Sure thing, Mr. Mountain.” Neilton heads to the back. Daryl sits on the stool. “So, how do you feel after getting back to your element?” “I don’t regret at all helping my dear wife at the supermarket, Daryl,” Rodrigo admitted while preparing the natural sandwich. “I’m not talking about regrets.” Daryl joked. “But it’s undeniable that after Uncle Francisco’s passing, you prefer to stay here, carrying on the legacy he left.” “Just like Crystal Blue.” Rodrigo smiled. “Hey, I’m aware that you’re looking to open another restaurant in Sunset Village. Do you think you can manage it? How’s the prospecting going?” Daryl picks up the sandwich but