Building My Life

Chapter 16 Clash

Teodoro quickly realizes that Jeremiah is the man who took a shower with the door open, letting a young lady see him as he came into the world. If she didn't like seeing the black, muscular boy under the shower, it was because she was a family girl. Now he needed to prevent a fight from happening in the lobby.

“OK, guys, let's calm down.” Teodoro puts himself in the middle of the two, “Jeremiah, the young man here called Josias was already making me aware of the situation. I happen to agree with his idea, asking you to keep the door closed. When the door is open, it covers the sign that I put on the wall, and other women may inadvertently enter.”

“I have lived here for years and this is the first time it has happened.” Jeremias apologizes, not appearing to be sorry, “I can even accept; what I don't agree with is this little guy wanting to teach a moral lesson and speak in decency as if he were the owner of this place. He never exchanged a word with me and has already scolded me as if he was my father!”

Teodoro smiles, it is Josias's way of behaving in situations like this, of speaking with authority and firmness. “The boy had no intention.”

Teodoro looks at Josias as if he is looking for confirmation. Josias suddenly adds, “Yeah, that's right... I was just upset because it could be my mother or my sister.”

Jeremiah smirks. “You will see she even liked what she saw, it was just the surprise she had.”

Josias frowns, indignant at the other's lack of shame. “Don't treat the girl as if she were just any woman! She was so upset that she dropped the shampoo bottle, she was nervous.”

Jeremiah burst out laughing. “Oh, in addition to being bossy, are you now a defender of the weak and oppressed? That girl shouldn't even be remembering your existence and your care for her anymore. Ah, you know what? I will work; something the guy here requires.”

Jeremiah leaves the key with Teodoro and leaves, shaking his head and looking at Josias with a glance. Josias takes a deep breath and tries to calm down.

“Take it easy, my boy.” Teodoro tries to reassure him. “He's bigger than you.”

“I'm going to have to carry a lot of tiles to be able to face him. But, what an ordinary little fellow, scoundrel! I wanted to know if she was his wife accidentally meeting another naked guy if he would find it funny.”

“Forget it, Josias.” Teodoro looks at the clock on the wall, “It’s half-past seven. What time do you need to be at the construction site?”

“At eight,” Josias reacts by remembering this detail. He needed to know what time it is. “I'm going to brush my teeth, I was even forgetting that.”

“Then you go to the kitchen that the coffee is fresh,” Teodoro speaks while Josias is already heading for the bathroom. He picks up the broom and sweeps again.

After drinking coffee, Josias goes to the house under construction. Josias realizes that it was the first time that he was seeing a house being built in Happiness Slum where there will be a space to serve as a front yard. Uélton sees him and receives him.

“Look, it's the hoe's expert!” He greets him. “I am Uélton.”

“Josias Rocha.” Once again, Josias introduces himself as if he were a businessman in a suit. Uélton likes the aura that Josias exudes.

“Satisfaction, man, it's good that we're going to have another help.”

“Listen, this house is being the first one that I see that is not so close to the sidewalk,” Josias speaks as if this house deserves a civil construction award.

Uélton nods and then says, “It's true. Seu Romualdo reported that the resident insisted. He wants a little more privacy.”

Josias realizes that Uélton himself does not quite understand what the developer meant. So, he tries to explain, “And he’s right. The main street is usually quite noisy; so he needs some distance if he wants to get a good night's sleep. And as for privacy, this is quite true. When I came here for the first time...” And Josias tells Uélton about the incidents he had when he entered Happiness Slum.

Uélton laughs. “Wow, a woman in a nightgown I can bear; but, a naked man, and with the open window? What is the house number for me to get away from?”

“Whatever, it is clear that if the man had just come out of the shower, he would not be in a suit; the fact is the lack of notion of the residents here, of building their houses so close in the sidewalk and behaving as if no one was seeing.”

Uélton reduces his laughter. “It is worse than my home, too. At least our rooms were built in the back, but the living room and kitchen are at the front. Once my mother made roasted chicken and called some of my relatives for lunch on a Sunday. As the window is open, anyone who passed on the sidewalk spied our lunch a little, somewhat embarrassing.”

“Therefore, whoever is going to live in this house was very smart in asking for space for a yard or garage. And when I have my home, it will be like that too.”

Uélton looks at Josias with curiosity. ‘When I have my home’, he spoke as if it was something to be accomplished next year!