18.
It took only two weeks before Rachel had to fly to Portugal. She was supposed to wait for a few more days, but she just couldn’t bare it anymore.
Dee went to pick her up at the airport and she showed up unannounced at Alexandre’s house where David and the girls were having lunch.
Hiding behind Dee Rachel got into the room.
“Hi everybody!”
“Rachel?” – David asked surprised.
“Rachel!!” – Lea screamed running towards her and hugging her legs.
She picked her up smiling.
“Missed you” – Lea said with a sad looking face.
“Me too, sweetie, me too” – Rachel said – “but I’m here now and we’re going to have lots of fun” – she told her tickling her stomach.
“Stop, stop” – Lea laughed.
“What about me? Will I get some attention too?” – David inquired approaching them.
“Oh, are you jealous, babe?” – Rachel asked affectionately.
They kissed, a long passionate kiss. How she had missed those delicious lips of him. He took her in his arms hugging her close to his chest.
“I so glad you came” – he told her – “we were dying here without you.”
“At least you have her” – Rachel said looking at Lea – “the house just feels so empty without you.”
For the next months that’s how it would work. Rachel would fly back and forth every chance she would get. It was still hard not being together as often as they wished but they were learning how to enjoy the most of each visit.
Every once in a while Rachel would manage to spend longer breaks in Portugal. On those occasions she would do some volunteer work at ValSocial. She was warmly welcomed by everyone and enjoyed the work with the kids. In one of those visits Rachel met Kevin a four year-old boy with South African origins that would later play a large role in her life.
David was now the official psychologist for ValSocial and both he and Lea were still living with Dee and Inês at their home. He refused to take any money from Rachel and was saving to buy a little house in the neighborhood.
When the day finally arrived David could barely believe it. The house was very old, it would need a lot of work before they could actually move in, but it was his. He had wondered in the past if this day would ever come, and he was proud to be able to provide a home for his little girl.
David intended to restore the house before showing it to Rachel. Even though she had said she didn’t care about staying there he knew she was used to a different lifestyle and wanted to give her the best he could even if it wasn’t that much. Rachel however was so excited with the news that she didn’t want to wait and flew to Portugal.
David picked her up.
“I’m so happy for you, babe” – Rachel said on their way home – “I know how hard you worked for this.”
David smiled. Now that they were getting closer he was getting nervous. He knew it was a big achievement for him, but Rachel was a celebrity who by the age of 20 already had her multi-million condo in central London.
“It’s not a big deal” – he told her, they were getting closer and he wanted her to be prepared.
“What are you talking about? You’ve spent months talking about it.”
“I know, but…” - he paused – “it’s an old home, very degraded, like, real old and…”
“Stop” – Rachel interrupted him getting where the conversation was going – “Don’t do this.”
“Do what?” – he asked.
“You’re always cutting yourself short” – Rachel told him –
“think about where you started, can’t you see how far you’ve come?”
“I know that and I am proud of it. I just don’t want you to have big expectations, because even though it’s a big deal for me the truth is that it’s only a big old house” – he took a deep breath – “we’re here” – he said parking the car.
The house was bigger than Rachel had imagined. The paint on the walls was mostly peeled, the windows were nearly all broken and the front door was falling apart. The roof had holes and the yard around it was a mess. In spite all that Rachel thought the place had potential.
“It’s cute” – she said.
“You don’t have to lie” – David replied appreciated.
“I’m not” – she insisted sincerely.
“Sweetheart, it’s falling apart.”
“We can fix it” – she told him excited.
“We?” – he laughed.
“Don’t be mean” – she complained – “if you teach me I can help. I had fun helping you at my house.”
“It was fun indeed” – he agreed tickling her.
“Can we get in?”
“Let’s go.”
The inside wasn’t too bad. The whole place had to be repainted and the kitchen and bathrooms had to be remodeled, but apart from that it just needed to be cleaned and nicely furnished. The house had four bedrooms, a large living room, and a small office. Rachel loved the backyard, she could already see all the nice plants and flowers they would have there.
“So, what do you think?” – David asked her after the tour.
“It’s huge!” – she exclaimed – “I never thought it would be this big.”
“I know, but the price was really good. I obviously will have to spend some money fixing it too but still I think it was a good choice.”
“No doubt, babe” – Rachel agreed.
“So, what do you think?” – he insisted.
“I love it” – Rachel told him.
He sight in disbelief.
“I really do! I think it’s cute and it’s big enough for us to start our family…” - she hesitantly said.
“You’re serious? You really like it?”
“I am, silly” – Rachel reassured him.
“I mean, I’ll fix it. I’ll make it great but it’s never going to be like your condo or anything like that and…”
“I’m not looking for another house like that, I’m looking for a home” – Rachel said – “I just want a place where the three of us can be together. This place has a lot of potential, it really does.”
Sometimes it was hard to believe Rachel was such a huge star. She was so humble, so down to earth.
“I want to pitch in” – Rachel started fearing it would start a fight.
“Rachel…” - he tried to interrupt her but she didn’t let him.
“Babe, please, if this is going to be our place it only makes sense that I help too. We have to figure this out, we have to discuss it or money will always be an issue” - Rachel stated – “What you’re doing for your life and Lea’s is a big deal, and me helping is not going to take any value away from it.”
“I know…” - he agreed – “I don’t want to act like those men who are intimidate because their wives make more money than them, but I also don’t want to take advantage of you” – David explained.
“You’re not!”
“Plus, I’m afraid that if for some reason things don’t work out between us we’d have a hard time adjusting to a normal lifestyle” – David told her finally sharing his fears.
“I get that” – Rachel acknowledged – “but we don’t have to go crazy, we can meet half way. Just like you want to take care of us, since I have the money I’d like to be able to provide you with the best too, you know?”
“Of course.” – David concurred – “It’s going to be weird in the beginning I’m not going to lie. So we’re going to have to take it slow, and you’re going to have to bear with me.”
“Always” – she said.