Rui Abriu o seu Café

Rui tinha trinta e dois anos quando abriu o seu primeiro café em Mouraria. Durante meses preparou o espaço — limpou, pintou e arrumou. Os vizinhos perguntavam todos os dias quando abria. "Abro na sexta-feira", dizia ele sempre.

Rui was thirty-two years old when he opened his first café in Mouraria. For months he prepared the space — he cleaned, painted and tidied. The neighbours asked every day when he was opening. "I'm opening on Friday," he always said.

Na quinta-feira à noite, o irmão ajudou-o com os últimos preparativos. "Quem abre a porta amanhã?" "Abro eu", disse Rui. "Quero ser eu a abrir." Às onze da noite, tudo estava pronto. As janelas abriam para a rua e a luz entrava bem. "Está bonito", disse ele.

On Thursday night, his brother helped him with the final preparations. "Who's opening the door tomorrow?" "I'm opening it," said Rui. "I want to be the one to open it." At eleven at night, everything was ready. The windows opened onto the street and the light came in well. "It looks lovely," he said.

Na sexta-feira de manhã, Rui chegou cedo, abriu as janelas, ligou a máquina de café e abriu a porta. A primeira cliente foi a vizinha do lado. "Finalmente abriste!" "Pois", disse Rui com um sorriso. "Em breve foi hoje." Naquele dia, abriu às nove e fechou às sete. O café nunca mais fechou por falta de clientes.

On Friday morning, Rui arrived early, opened the windows, turned on the coffee machine and opened the door. The first customer was the next-door neighbour. "You finally opened!" "Indeed," said Rui with a smile. "Coming soon was today." That day he opened at nine and closed at seven. The café never again closed for lack of customers.