In front of the sauna, a small park serves as an antechamber for a few men resting there, stretched out on the grass, seemingly happy and released. Others circle the trees, searching for the prince who might deign to draw them inside. Rémi knows this waiting well: brief for some, usually the same ones, and longer for many others, those whose shyness clings to their skin like a bad trait.
The city, imprisoned in its smog, is suffocating. The trees offer more than welcome relief.
“Will we see each other again?” Stéphane asks as he lights a cigarette.
Rémi does not answer right away. He has not yet decided what fate to assign this encounter. They did make love, something rather rare in this kind of place. He watches Stéphane, still awaiting his answer, wreathed in white smoke that the wind quickly carries away. Rémi pulls a business card from his shirt pocket.
“Boulangerie La Cigogne,” Stéphane reads without taking the card. “You work there?”
“It’s mine.”
He points to the name on the card.
“That’s me.”
Stéphane smiles, brushing Rémi’s finger as he takes the card.
“I’m closed for two weeks. But my cell number’s there, at the bottom. If you like good bread…”
Stéphane winks as he slips the card into his shirt pocket. He settles back on the bench and surveys what is on offer, a hint of a smile on his lips, as though Rémi no longer concerns him.
“Goodbye,” Rémi says. “I hope we’ll see each other again.”
Stéphane smiles without looking at him. He is independent; Rémi likes that. It is always easier to say goodbye to people who are sufficient unto themselves.
He turns away, glancing right and left as though wary of being watched. Victor’s office is nearby. As he leaves the park behind, he toys for a moment with the idea of paying him a surprise visit. It would be stupid. Just another trick played by his misplaced guilt.
He heads toward the old city, intent on making the most of the beginning of his vacation. He checks his watch. Ten o’clock. He hadn’t asked Stéphane what he was doing in a sauna so early, or what he did for a living.