Next Sunday we would celebrate the first birthday of our quadruplets, our fantastic four. They were growing up well and healthy. It was like seeing Alessandro and me combined. Augusto and Maitê had my black hair and their father's violet-blue eyes. Santiago and Aurora had their father's brown hair and my green eyes. They were like Pedro, healthy and very happy children. Pedro was protective of his brothers and especially kind to the girls.

We decided to have a small celebration at my parents' farm, as the traditional annual masked ball in Campanário was taking place on Saturday, and we were going.

I was packing. Alessandro came out of the closet holding a black box and pulled me to sit next to him on the bed.

"What is this?" I asked curiously.

"This is a souvenir from our first night," Alessandro said, his eyes shining.

When Alessandro opened the box, he pulled out the mask he'd worn at the dance when we first met, a white handkerchief, and my ripped panties. I started laughing.

"I to