Katherine

Katherine Moorfield. She was pregnant now. Her belly, swollen – 36 weeks. Due in a few.

She wore cute cherry lipstick and had a short bob haircut. Gained a little weight – and looked a bit less like Alice, and more like Betty Boop.

Nadia hugged her as they met for brunch at a café. The Eiffel Tower backdrop. Katherine felt like family.

Nadia pulled out a green chair for Katherine. They sat at a table made of mosaics.

Nadia wore a loose cotton blouse – cleavage showing. High waisted aquamarine denim – frayed at the hem. Tan sandals with the left strap breaking. The smell of cigarettes half-masked by cheap perfume. Katherine noticed.

Nadia lit up a cigarette, and Katherine winced.

“Oh sorry… My bad – wasn’t thinking,” Nadia put it out. The baby and all.

“It’s okay. So how are you doing Nadia?” Katherine smiled.

“I’m good,” she said, “The circus is coming to town – I got tickets… Going with a friend.”

“Oh good! You are having fun,” Katherine smiled.

“How is Steven?” Nadia asked.

Steven was Katherine’s husband. They met in Paris shortly after the fall of Moorfield. Steven was a kind bearded man with the spirit of a capybara. British. A good lad.

“Steven’s been busy with his latest housing build – they are making tiny homes for travelling artists in Paris…” Katherine said.

“That’s so sweet,” Nadia said. She bit into her pastry, and sipped her coffee.

Didn’t feel like a stripper when she was with Katherine. So fancy. So proper. It made sense that she had a British husband. And now: a baby on the way.

Something she could never have had with Greg. He had to go an fuck everything up. Asshole. Nadia’s confusion about Greg had led to bitterness. She was glad he was gone. Dead? Maybe not that far…

“Are you still working for that sleezebag Johnny Bellamy at Carte Rouge?” Katherine asked.

“He is not a sleezebag… Just misunderstood… And yes Carte Rouge is work,” Nadia said.

“Come work for me Nadia… Please…” Katherine said. Katherine had a modelling and fashion label in Paris, “There is a red silk dress with your name on it.”

“I’m okay… I’m surviving…” Nadia shook her head.

“You can’t find Alice on the pole… You know that? Do you?” Katherine said.

“I – I…” Nadia was caught off guard. Alice on the pole?

“Please… I don’t want you to live in the 19th… So greasy and filled with homelessness,” Katherine said.

Nadia calmed her heart. She rested her hand on Katherine's.

“Thank you… But I have my path. I plan to walk it…” Nadia said.