Patrick
That's what we had come here for; to find Antonia. We found her and Pete and Joe were over the moon but she didn't care to acknowledge the other two people who had travelled thousands of miles to find her.
Or so I thought.
There was a knock on the door and my mind immediately jumped to cleaning staff wanting to come and do the room up before I checked out. I used the little Portuguese I did know to ask whoever it was to come back later. " Desculpe, mas eu sou embalagem ocupado. Pode, por favor , volte mais tarde ?"
"Very good Patrick. When did you start improving your Portuguese?"
I knew that voice and smell anywhere. I spun around and whipped open the door I had already started closing. I had chased her scent, getting myself into all sorts of trouble to have her attention until, she died. Then I started chasing a ghost; Pete's girlfriend. She would always mean something to me. Just not everything. I realised that I had been standing with a gaping mouth and a shocked expression. "Antonia, you're alive!"
She gave me a reserved smile and held her arms out for a hug. I wrapped her in a tight hug and breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't ever do that to us again. I'd rather have you alive and with Pete than dead any day of the week."
There was a glimmer of guilt in her eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you by leaving or Pete by staying. I wasn't thinking about anything but not wanting to hurt you guys. I think pain is like a bandaid; you can rip it off and feel all the pain at once - like death, or you draw it out."
And somehow I understood what she meant. "So, are you coming home with us?"
She looked at a spot behind me and kept her eyes fixated there. "No, not quite yet. I would like to have a bit of a break before I do. I've asked Pete if he wants to stay but everyone is more than welcome to head back to their responsibilities."
Just then, there was a flash of beard and Toni was thrown over Andy's shoulder. "Toni! Thank God!"
Joe and Pete walked in, and for the first time in a very long time, I saw Pete genuinely laughing at something and a little stress-free.
