Brazilian Summer

Chapter 12

Rachel was relishing the rays of warm sunshine on her skin and the soft floating of the boat on the water. It was the most calming sound to listen to the waves hitting the beach and the concert the birds at shore were putting on for her. It was going to get hot soon and she knew she'd have to touch up on her sunscreen and eventually retreat to the shade but for now she was in heaven. 

She cracked one eye open underneath her sunglasses and peered over at Rafa. Her friend has oiled up both of them before they had started their tanning session. She was now taking a sip of the drink they had ordered when they had boarded the day-long beach cruise.

Rafa was giving Rachel a smile over the rim of her glass. 'See, I told you a weekend trip was just what we needed!'

It was hard for Rachel to disagree. Rafa had convinced her to come spend the weekend on a girls trip - just the two of them - in Paraty, a small town in the south of the state of Rio de Janeiro that was mostly famous for its stunning beaches. And so far it actually had been pretty close to perfect. The two girls had booked an accommodation for three nights, hopped on a bus and a few hours later were welcomed at the charming little bed and breakfast by the elderly lady who owned it. After dinner Rafa had tried to convince Rachel to take a day trip on one of the boats that circled between a few of the local beaches. At first, she'd been reluctant fearing to be stuck on a boat with families with small children and large groups of tourist. But eventually, Rachel had given in and now she'd have to admit that Rafa's plan had been pretty perfect.

The boat wasn't too big, there was space for about 30 people but only ten other people had gotten on with them in the morning - most of them couples that seemed to be wanting some romantic time together. There were lounge chairs on deck and a small bar and soft guitar music was playing in the background as they had set off to explore the first beach. The boat had anchored a little way out on the sea and you could choose between swimming to the shore or catching a smaller boat for the crew member to row you there. Of course Rachel had jumped right into the blue, too excited to even ask about the water temperature which was a little colder than she probably would have guessed. It was still worth it though because as she got to the beach and let herself fall into the fine white sand the sun warmed her up again in no time and she felt delightfully refreshed.

Now they were on their way to the second stop and if the upcoming ones were anywhere as beautiful as the first one, Rachel was certain that it was the best 20 pounds she had ever spent. Closing her eyes she leaned back in her lounge chair again, trying to give herself over to the soft sound of the waves. She was desperate to relax a bit and maybe even nod off for a nap. 

But as hard as she tried to enjoy and switch off her mind kept drifting back to Felipe and the fight they had had on the sidewalk that day. Two weeks had passed already and she hadn't heard from him since. After their encounter an almost overwhelming series of emotions had been kicked off for Rachel. Seeing Felipe so clearly upset by something she had done left her with a painful regret that she couldn't dislodge from the slit it had caved into her chest. Looking back now it was really hard for her to explain why she just hadn't been honest with him in the first place but now it was too late to go back.

At first, she'd been somewhat hopeful for him to come around and that they'd be able to work things out. Rachel was conscious that she didn't have that much time left in Brazil and even though it seemed clear that he wasn't interested in taking things further with her, she was hoping that they could at least clear the air and part ways on good terms. In fact, the thought of not having him in her life anymore at all was much more painful from what Rachel had initially thought it would be.

And with every day that passed that she didn't hear anything from Felipe her hopes became smaller and smaller. Over the last few days she'd actually felt pretty deflated and defeated. Maybe she wasn't going to get a chance to make things right after all.