Eduardo said goodbye to Amanda, still smiling, and went inside.
Finding his father in the living room was almost a rare event.
"Did they fire you from your job, Alex?" I asked with an amused look.
He was watching a game and burst out laughing.
"Yes, yes, son. How did you find out?"
I froze for a second.
Damn... has that day finally come?
But then I noticed the amused gleam in his eyes.
"You're kidding, right?"
He winked.
I sat down next to him on the sofa.
"So... are you coming to my trial tomorrow?"
He frowned.
"Trial?"
I sighed inwardly.
"The football trial."
"Oh! Yes, of course! Of course I'll come, son."
But I could tell he didn't even know what we were talking about.
That made me sad for a moment.
But then I remembered: now I had someone rooting for me too.
I finished watching the game with him, then took a shower and prepared something simple for dinner. I lay down with anticipation. I thought I would have some intense dream involving Amanda... but my anxiety about the test was greater.
I passed out.
I woke up to the alarm clock ringing.
I turned it off and picked up my mobile phone.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
I smiled.
"Good morning, little pepper," I replied, amused.
She replied quickly:
"My new nickname? I like it 😘 Do you want a lift to the test?"
"No, I'm going with Alex."
She replied:
"I wonder if they fired him from his job?"
I laughed to myself.
"I said the same thing. He said yes, but I think he was just messing with me."
"I don't doubt it, Dudu."
My heart started racing.
Dudu.
It was the first time she had called me that.
I saw the affection hidden in it... but I smelled the coffee coming from the kitchen and came back to reality.
"I'm going to have some coffee. I'll tell you everything later."
I made the coffee, we ate in comfortable silence, and then I asked:
"Will you take me there?"
"Of course."
I went to get my things, grabbed my backpack, and we left.
In the hallway of the building, as we got out of the lift, we ran into a man I had never seen up close, but recognised from photos.
Chubby, round face, light blue eyes. Blond hair a little too long, reaching his shoulders, which gave him a less rigid air than I had imagined.
My father stepped forward and extended his hand firmly.
"Hello, Marcus."
"Hello, Alex. It's been a long time."