Dinner went on simply, like all the others. Steaming stroganoff, fluffy rice, the smell of onion and garlic mixing with the low sound of the TV in the living room.
Rafael ate quietly, as always.The landlord talked a bit about the neighbor who played guitar far too late into the night.I laughed.Rafael only raised an eyebrow — which already meant he found the neighbor unbearable.
It wasn't a special dinner, but it was a whole one.
When we finished, the landlord began to get up to collect the dishes. I touched Rafael's arm lightly before he could get up as well.
— Why don't you help him with the dishes? — I said softly, almost gentle. — I'll wait.
Rafael looked at me from the corner of his eye. It wasn't annoyance.
— Okay — he replied, simple as that.
The landlord smiled, satisfied in that way only people who have lived a long time know how to smile.
— Ah, now that's useful youth. — he joked, handing a plate into Rafael's hands.
I stayed in the living room, watching the two from afar.
Rafael washing slowly, the landlord drying with the dish towel. Their movements looked like a routine of years.
When they finished, Rafael came back to my side.
— Shall we? — he said.
I nodded.
He grabbed my crutches before I even asked.The landlord came closer, touching my shoulder with a soft, affectionate gesture.
— It was good having you here today, Helena. — he said.
I smiled.
— I liked it too. Thank you for everything.
— Always — he replied.
We began climbing the stairs slowly. The sound was soft, the tap of the crutches on the steps. Rafael walked glued to my side, his arm firm around my waist, his warmth right there, his breath steady — close enough that I could feel when it changed. My fingers touched the railing, but it was his body that gave me balance. The staircase felt narrower. The air heavier, as if the world had shrunk until only the two of us existed in that space.
— Thank you for… being here. — I said, not knowing where to place my voice.
Rafael didn't stop, didn't turn, didn't look at me. He just let the words sink into him.
— I'll always be here. — he answered, in a thread of sound that seemed to come straight from his chest.
It pierced right through me.
We kept going like that until the last step. When we reached my door, I realized my heart was beating far too loud for the amount of silence around us.
He opened it…The smell of my own space, small but mine.
I walked in slowly, turning back to him.
— Good night — I said.
Rafael didn't answer right away.He took a step back, as if he were already about to leave.
— Are you sure you don't need help lying down? — he asked, not looking directly at me, but his voice low, steady. — Yesterday you did.
I smiled, faint.
— I'm better today. — I replied. — My knee barely hurts now. And I can handle myself fine with the crutches, I swear.
He raised an eyebrow — skeptical, as always.
— Uh-huh. — he muttered. — I'll pretend I believe that.
A laugh slipped out of me before I could hold it.
— Good night, Rafael.
I needed time to process everything the landlord had told me. I needed a plan to get closer to Rafael for real.
— Good night. — he finally said.
The door closed softly.