I feel an important shift in the room, like some of the painful knots in the fabric of our families’ shared history are finally loosening. I look at Pedro, and when his eyes widen in response, I can tell he sensed it, too. I see the way our mothers look at us, the way they find common ground in their desire to keep both of us safe, and it fills my heart with hope for our future.

“You can count on me, Alice! But I’m not sure how we can stop Deals Deals from coming after them when we refuse to sell and let the kids run the bakeries. The Gastronomic Society said all that in front of the cameras about supporting our fight against the supermarket, but at the end of the day, those are just words. That’s not enough to make a real difference, and I honestly don’t think Deals Deals will care about this school’s opinion.” Dona Eulalia looks at Pedro and me. “I’m so sorry, kids. I don’t know what else there is to do.”

Just then the door opens and the judge who announced the result enters the room. Chefs Augusto and Lorêncio are right behind. Pedro goes even redder when he sees his idols, quickly wiping his eyes with his sleeves. The chefs hold the door open for a fourth person: a woman who walks in on crutches, with a bandage under her chin and her leg in a cast.

Amandinha’s mother! And she’s wearing a GS jacket!

Pedro and I look at each other, stunned. Chef Augusto pulls a chair out for her to sit down, but she refuses it to come give us a hug.

“When I saw you on stage, I couldn’t believe it! This is incredible!” she says. “I wanted to thank you for saving my family during that flood. You’d already left the hospital when I tried to look for you.”

“It was nothing, senhora,” Pedro says, a little nervous. “We tried to look for you at the hospital, too, but the nurses didn’t let us. Are you really alright? I was so worried you got a concussion. And Amandinha and her cousin, too? They looked so scared.”

“I’m fine! No concussion! My family is fine thanks to both of you!” She beams at us.

Dona Eulalia comes to stand next to Pedro. “Who are you?” she asks Amandinha’s mother.

“I’m Chef Rosa Luz. I teach here at the Gastronomic Society. These kids saved my family when our car broke down during the flood in Avenida Coqueirais!”

Amandinha said her mother got a job, but I had no idea she had become an instructor at the Gastronomic Society!