Page 72 of Love Again

Tiago

"Why don'tyou take some time off and come to New York? I'd love to show you around."

"I can't," I said for the hundredth time, but Isaac wasn't letting up. "Since the fundraiser, things have been crazy around here. There's an art gallery interested in showcasing art made by the kids. I agreed to meet the gallery manager this week. So I can't just pack my bags and go."

"Maybe we can fly out there and you can take some time off? We could do a road trip and show Max the north of Portugal. How about the waterfalls in Gerês? And I'd love to meet Afonso."

My heart skipped a beat and I coughed involuntarily to get it to go back to its regular beat.

"Er, sure, if you're up for it."

"Okay, I'll speak to Max, and I'll let you know."

There was a silence, and I wondered if Isaac was trying to find yet another reason for me to take time off work. Before he did that, I decided to talk about the reason I'd called him.

"Isaac, you know how you've been pestering me to take over the center properly?"

"Yes?"

"I'm ready for it now. Afonso is here and he's safe, so I feel like I can give the center my all."

"Tiago."

"I have some ideas for improvements, and I even have a few people in mind to help me around here."

"Tiago."

"Of course, I'd love you to still be involved, even if we only discuss ideas and work more on the student exchange stuff together. Just because you're there doesn't mean you have to let go completely. This is your baby as much as mine."

"TIAGO!" He shouted so loud I jumped in my chair.

"What?"

"For goodness’ sake, man, take a breather and listen for a second."

"Okay…"

I heard his sigh as though he was right next to me.

"I know what you're doing. Do you think that by being busier at work you'll suddenly forget Vítor or stop having feelings for him?"

"No, that's not—"

"Tiago, how did that pan out for me?"

It hadn't. I'd been there for Isaac after he came back from New York talking about this guy he'd met there, Max. And then again when something went down between them in the summer. Isaac had buried himself in work, and we'd spent most of the summer doing various jobs around the center and coming up with initiatives to raise the profile of the center and boost the money we needed to support the LGBTQ kids that came to us. It hadn't been until Max had returned to Lisbon a second time that they'd gotten together.

"What would you want me to do? Unlike your story, mine isn't going to have a happy ending."

"Even so, get out there and enjoy yourself. You've already lost so much of yourself in the search for your brother, if I asked you what your favorite color was, you wouldn't know what to answer."

"It's blue."

"Tiago"—he sighed—"just… look after yourself for once, okay?"

"I miss you here."

"I miss the center, too."