Page 72 of The Little Porto Book Club

The game of chess always manages to calm me but today it doesn’t have the same magic.

‘What is it?’ Chess Man asks, leaning back.

‘That obvious?’

‘You’re making mistakes, you very rarely do.’

I explain the whole sorry Tiago saga.

‘I see. I can understand why you feel that way. There are all sorts of lies, lies by omission, lies by intention, and on it goes. But what you have to ask yourself is did he mean any harm by it?’

‘But how do you know small lies won’t turn into big lies? That it doesn’t become a pattern? They get away with a few white lies here and there, so their confidence builds and next minute he’s got a second family.’

‘I sense a story there.’

‘Yes. A long, sad story that isn’t worth telling.’

‘Do you love this Tiago?’

Do I? Isn’t it too soon for declarations such as these? ‘I love the idea of him. Of what we could be. Of how I bloom with confidence when he’s around. How he makes me feel like I’m perfect just the way I am.’

‘Then that sounds like someone worth fighting for. Love is hard to find, even harder to keep. He made a mistake by lying that very first day, not knowing that it’s a trigger for you. I’m of the belief that everyone deserves a second chance.’

Chapter Forty-Nine

Back home, Mum senses my sadness with her stealth ninja mothering skills, that or more likely Zeliá’s already been on the phone telling her there is trouble in paradise.

‘Querida, what on earth’s happened?’ She pulls me into a hug as soon as I walk through the door. When she finally releases me, I hang my bag on the hook and we move into the living room to sit on the sofa.

The story slips out robotically, as if it’s happened to someone else. Already, I sense Mum is going to tell me that it doesn’t matter, that he didn’t mean it.

‘Wow, I see. OK, that is a lot to digest. Does Tiago know about your father and why a lie, even one such as that, might upset you?’

I pluck at the tassel on a cushion. ‘Yes, I told him about Dad, but he didn’t know it at the time, obviously, but that still doesn’t change things. He lied.’

‘OK, yes, he did lie but in the scheme of things—’

I exhale a heavy breath. ‘No buts. I’ve ended it with him.’

‘Querida, no, really?’ Her face falls. ‘I’m sad to hear it. This would explain why my phone has been blowing up. I bet Zeliá is feeling bad right now. Are you sure you can’t work through this, together?’

I shake my head vehemently. ‘No. And now I won’t be able to attend book club either. I won’t find out if Lucinda killed someone.’

Mum startles. ‘Please tell me that Lucinda is a character in a book?’

This is what happens when you’re overwrought. Truths slip out. And as I go to lie, I catch myself, am I being a little harsh on Tiago, since here I am about to twist the truth? Or is it OK when you’re protecting the sensibilities of your helicopter mother?

‘Yes. A character in a whodunnit. Ah, so back to Tiago …’

There’s an urgent rap at the door. ‘Oh God, please tell me Alfonso is going to have clothes on.’ Just what I don’t need, a broken heart and a half-naked man parading around the living room.

She scoffs and gives my knee a pat.

Mum goes to the door and there’s a hail of Portuguese words as Zeliá flies in, her face twisted in agony.

‘Darling, I’m so sorry! I am to blame for this huge, huge mess! Tiago is so upset. Devastated. And it’s all my fault. I didn’t know it was a secret, the book thing! I only shared because I thought it was sweet and probably something that he admitted to you later to make you laugh. You can forgive him, right?’ She falls beside me on the lounge, and leans so close I can see redness in her eyes. This is all such a mess.

How am I going to get out of this. ‘Zeliá, it’s OK, it’s not your fault. The truth would have come out eventually, as it has a way of doing. It’s just … I can’t stand men who lie. I really, really can’t.’