Wanted

A few days passed… Anxiety suffocating… Nadia didn’t want to leave Paris. Her routine. Two years.

Knew Xiao Mei for a year now. Worked at Carte Rouge. Saved money.

No sign of Katherine. Not even a message. She had changed… Or maybe Nadia never knew her to begin with.

Nadia picked Monsieur Boulanger from the hospital. Put down as his daughter. He looked much better.

"Mademoiselle sexy… on sort respirer un peu, oui?" He said. (Sexy miss… shall we go out and breathe a bit, yes?)

"D’accord… Mais ne m’appelle pas comme ça… Je suis ta fille adoptive, après tout,” She sighed. (Agreed… But don’t call me that… I am your pretend daughter, after all.)

"L’inceste, c’est qu’un mot, ma chérie." (**** is just a word, my dear.)

She wheeled him out of the hospital to the small park area. Nadia purposely sped up on a crack on the pavement. Boulanger squeaked.

Boulanger had never married. Two kids. Both from one night stands. He wasn’t going to pay a cent for them. Explained why their relationship was non-existent – and why Boulanger lived in a decrepit old flat rotting away.

"Pourquoi les mecs sont-ils tellement obsédés par le sexe?" Nadia said. Exasperated. (Why are guys so obsessed with sex?)

"Parce que c’est le seul moment où un homme peut être sûr d’être désiré." (Because it’s the only time a man can be sure he’s wanted.)

Nadia, eyes wide. She showed Greg that he was wanted in so many ways. Infinite ways.

"Non… Je ne suis pas d’accord." (No… I don’t agree.)

"J’ai désiré les hommes que j’aimais toute ma vie… mais ils ne me voient jamais." (I've wanted the men I loved my entire life… but they never see me.)

Boulanger paused and nodded. Breathing in.

"Moi, je te verrais bien… si tes gros seins n’étaient pas toujours dans le chemin!" (Me, I’d see you just fine… if your big boobs weren’t always in the way!)

Nadia looked him in the eyes. Cheeky. Old. Man. She burst out in laughter. She squatted on the floor. Laughter turning into salty tears. Fuck…