Page 86 of You + Me – Against the World

I watched all of this from a distance, absent, practically a stranger.

Clémentine found out everything one morning. We were locked in the bathroom, brushing our teeth at the same time, her in her panties and bra, me wrapped in a bath towel. Clem was studying herself in the large mirror, first from the front, then from the side. She did a dance step and then complained about her little potbelly, tapping on it like a drum. I burst into tears.

That’s when she understood.

To be honest, I didn’t understand much of what she said to me because of the toothpaste in her mouth, but she has a gift for comforting me without even speaking. After a little hip bump, a tight hug, and an “It’s going to be okay. I can adopt it if you want!” later, I was laughing through my tears.

“You have to talk to Vadim about it before deciding anything,” she whispered to me.

“I’m terrified, Clem.”

“I’ll kill him with my bare hands if he’s awful to you.”

“That won’t help me much, but if you want to…”

“I’ve taken down tougher dudes in video games.”

I believe her. Of course I believe her.

***

Even during the holidays, Vadim spends his days with his community service group at the university. I decide to go surprise him on campus late in the afternoon. I don’t have the courage to ask him to meet up or to say I have something to tell him: he’d imagine all kinds of things… everything except this.

From a distance, I see him chatting with a tall, olive-skinned brunette with an athletic body and a kind of tomboy look, but with very long, shiny, black hair that she constantly sweeps to one side. She has the perfect blend of femininity and self-confidence—both charming and wild, seductive and indifferent.

She reminds me of Vadim.

When I’m a few feet away, he suddenly catches my eye. He runs a hand through his hair, says a few last words to his new friend, then comes over to meet me, smiling.

“Alma, what are you doing here? Did you come to check I was doing my duty?”

He gives me a little wink, and his upbeat mood takes me by surprise.

“She seems nice,” I say, nodding toward the brunette.

“So, you’re still not remotely jealous, huh, Lancaster?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he takes a step forward eyes me very closely. He seems to find it amusing.

“You didn’t look super busy. Is it kind of like a summer camp?”

“That’s what people do when it’s the end of the day. You know, they stop working.”

“What did you have to clean today?”

“Guess.” His damn smirk widens.

“Just tell me, Vadim,” I reply coldly.

“The gym.”

He wins.

The memories come flooding back, and I smile too. I even forget why I came, forget the weight in the pit of my stomach.

“Your work of art disappeared a long time ago, but I cleaned the bleachers, the courts, the locker rooms…” Vadim emphasizes these last words, deliberately trying to get a reaction from me.

And it works.