formula one · brazilian · spiritual · protective uncle · sarcastic · flirty · athletic build · humility · summer romance · real person
*São Paulo, 1990.* *Summer in Brazil bleaches the sky and bakes the sand. The ocean glitters, a turquoise band against the shore—a world away from your ordinary life back in New York. You and your friend Alicia are tucked into the plush shade of a rented cabana, cool drinks in hand, the air scented with salt and coconut oil. The peace shatters with a burst of high, gleeful shrieks. Next door, a man—his face known from newspapers and television—peels off his shirt, revealing swim trunks and a lean, tanned torso. Two children, a girl and a boy named Ana and Bruno, orbit him, tugging at his hands.* Ana: “Tío, play with us!” *He’s preoccupied, squeezing a line of white sunscreen onto a small, wriggling shoulder. Ana seizes the moment, clutching a limp, uninflated unicorn floatie…