This Is Our Place by Vitor Martins

Author:Vitor Martins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Monday, January 25, 2010. 8:23 a.m.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: I have a plan

Hey, Sofia! How are things over there? A lot has happened here (no kiss) (almost!), but I will update you later. Right now, I need your help.

Do you think you can buy a projector on my dad’s credit card and have it delivered here in Lagoa Pequena?

I’ll explain everything later.

From your friend who needs you more than anything in this moment,

GB

MAY 1, 2020

It’s been more than a week since Beto and Lara committed to get to know each other. Eight straight days in which they tried hard to do something different every day. Long enough that Beto doesn’t have a clue what else to do. Besides the cursed cookies that left the kitchen smelling of smoke for three days, they’ve already tried to put together a five-thousand-piece puzzle, tie-dye a T-shirt, turn the T-shirt into a pillowcase because it was too ugly to wear, play a board game that Beto got for his eleventh birthday but had never taken out of his closet, make flan, cook beans, listen to a new podcast, record a podcast together, and make friendship bracelets with colorful elastic string.

Half of the things worked out, the other half not so much. Helena forbade them to cook anything without her supervision, and today, Labor Day, the three residents are plopped in the living room, each one thinking of what the perfect holiday would look like if the world weren’t going through all this.

For Beto, a solo trip to a new place, with landscapes to photograph and a soft hotel bed waiting for him at the end of the day.

For Lara, an evening out dancing with friends until her hair dripped with sweat, waking up the next morning unable to remember a single thing, and eating yesterday’s pizza for breakfast.

For Helena, an afternoon at a spa, no children and no worries. Nothing but aromatic candles and a masseur attractive enough to have walked out of a romantic movie about finding love after forty.

For the first time since Lara arrived, the family of three is together, has no plans, and is free to enjoy one another’s company. The TV is off because, at this point, no one feels like dealing with the news. The family made an unspoken agreement that the holiday also means taking a break from daily reminders that the outside world is still awful. The calm silence doesn’t last long before it starts to get uncomfortable. Someone needs to say something, and the three of them speak at the same time.

“I’ve been feeling kind of ugly,” Lara says.

“Honey, when are you going to dye my hair?” Helena questions.

“What are we having for lunch?” Beto asks.

“We could dye it today,” Lara suggests.

“Let’s order takeout because I don’t want to cook,” Helena declares.

“I feel ugly every day,” Beto comments.

In a flurry of questions, answers, and people speaking over one another, the family makes a decision. Helena calls a restaurant and orders three dishes. Lara puts on her

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