THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Fifty

THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Fifty

Mario was at the Caçapava bus station. He had some professional matters to resolve in the region and took the opportunity to visit his parents. He also visited other relatives... cousins and uncles. Now he was ready to return home. Three days in the city made the longing for home become incredibly strong... he couldn't wait to see his little girls again... and the longing for Janete was even stronger... he wanted to hear her voice complaining that the world was lost, that nothing in life could be helped... yes, he simply loved his wife, even if she always retorted that she didn't believe in his words...

Finally the bus pulled up to the platform...inwardly he began to laugh...inside, mentally, but he was laughing...why the laughter? The name of the company... Brown Bird... red car, with a big stylized bird in black and two shades of gray... well, it had been worse... for a while it was white and red, and though it had the name, nothing about the car resembled a bird, brown or otherwise. He began to remember when he was a child and would go with his parents to Aparecida in the cars of Pássaro Marron... at that time the standard color of the fleet really was brown... it was a simple stylized painting, with brown and beige, with the red cursive letters. Yes, the cars really were beautiful... it's true that the unibody Mercedes models made any paintwork look pretty, because the cars themselves were very beautiful... he liked one in particular... it was the 352 model, and the cars were named after The Mighty... he thought these were the most beautiful cars in the company... well, like I said, the car pulled up to the platform, handed his ticket to the driver and took his seat. It happened to be in the window... on the side of the highway. You could appreciate the various models of buses and the companies' paintings, as well as the landscape... I forgot to say that Mario simply loved buses... in his youth he almost joined public transport, but after a few months' experience in a buses made him understand that liking something and working with it is not the same thing... he preferred to continue being passionate about buses but chose to follow another profession... agricultural machinery salesman, a branch in which he remains until the present day. ..

After a couple of hours or so, he finally arrived at the Tietê Bus Terminal. He tried to catch the Metro soon after and just over an hour later, he finally arrived at his house. When I entered the dining room and saw the four women in the utmost silence, he immediately deduced... either Helena or Cecília said something that poked Janete's tongue, she said what she shouldn't have and ended up creating the atmosphere that he now witnessed. ..

- But what is this silence, people? It even looks like a funeral...

- They all turned to the voice that filled the room. Cecília got up from her place as if driven by a spring...

- Daddy...

And she hugged him tight, squeezing him so tight that he almost lost his breath...

- Easy, easy... I'm here... but if you don't mind, I intend to have dinner... then you knead me, okay?

Cecília laughed... she went to get a plate for her father, who meanwhile sat down at one of the corners of the table... he ended up standing next to Cecília's place...

- So, girls? Have they behaved well during my absence?

- I didn't even know you had gone on a trip...

- It was sudden, Helena. A client from Taubaté needed assistance and so I had to go there... I took the opportunity to see my parents and some relatives who live in the region...

- And how are they?

- Your grandparents? Firmer than the four of us put together, thank God...

- That is great...

- I agree... old Batistinha, for example... already approaching ninety and still smoking like a locomotive, drinking cachaça like a possum... but he's still firm and strong just like a guatambú...

- Are you still drinking without control?

- Hey... have you ever seen a drunk who can control himself? After the first dose comes the second, third... when the guy goes to see, he has already used up all the stock in the alembic...

- Does he still produce cachaça on the farm?

- And why do you think he keeps that cane field? to decorate the saw?

- It means that you will inherit an alembic in the future...

- Who, me? No, no... Ruth continues to live on the farm with her husband and children. Nothing fairer that, when her grandparents leave, she continues to manage the place with her family...

- Really?

- Of course, Janet. I've told you a thousand times that that place belongs to my brothers... I don't want anything from there...

- They never did anything for you...

- Neither I for them... but while I was running the world after my future, they continued there beside my parents, breaking the broadside to make that land produce. It would not be fair of me to take what is rightfully theirs...

- You look like Cecília, dad...

- Why?

Wow... she doesn't want to get her house back either, because she thinks Ricardo needs her more than Cecília herself...

- But that's right, Helena... we can't be selfish... if we don't need something, we must give it to those who need it more than us...

- Small talk! That place is worth a lot of money, as is Cecília's house...

- Not everything in life comes down to money, Mom... I agree with Dad... Uncle Pascoal and Aunt Ruth never left that land... They got married, raised their children on that piece of land. I hope it takes a long time for that to happen, but when the time comes, it's only fair that the two families continue in charge of the farm, which isn't even that big...

- In addition, in a possible division of the place, we would end up having to sell the property. There are many vultures that already prowl the carrion, but if it's up to me, the farm continues with the family...

Everyone was silent for a few moments... then Mario speaks again.

- And around here, any news in these four days that I was absent?

- Nothing, Daddy... the usual. As you say, "nothing new on the front"...

- And you, Estela? Do not say anything?

- It's just that I don't have much to say, daddy...

- Uh, so talk a little... but say something. After all, Cecília, Helena and even your mother have already spoken... you're the only one who hasn't said a word since I arrived...

- Well, yesterday I went to visit Jairo's parents...

- And how are they?

-Mr Geremias is not doing very well, no... I think he was still not well when he went back to work...

- I understand....

- Marcela got a position as a "Little Apprentice" in an office, but what she receives as an intern is little...

- Are they in need?

- They say no... but you can see that things are very difficult for them...

- Then I'll pay them a visit...

- And...

- They're your daughter's grandparents and aunt... they're part of our family... if they need help, we have to lend a hand. Isn't that right, Janet?

- Yes you are right...

  And they finished their meal in silence. Janete and Estela collected the crockery and cutlery for dinner and went to the kitchen, Helena continued to play with little Selene and Cecília started talking to her father, talking about her rekindled fears. Mario listened to everything in silence, with an air of concentration. In the end, he gave his daughter some advice on how she should act to ensure her safety... a little later, everyone retired to sleep. Yes, Cecília and Helena landed at their parents' house that night...