Chapter 39 - Farewell

When I arrived at OWE, the first thing I did was check with Dorian who the evening's clients would be. To my surprise, Carbon wasn't on the list. I could have sworn he wanted to see me again. I tried to hide my frustrated face, but it wasn't possible. Unfortunately, Dorian had noticed. "It seems that your show last night gave the customers a bit of a fright. I don't think they want to risk staying with you since apparently no one will satisfy you on that level," he said, being as sincere as possible. It was part of his personality, and I couldn't complain. In fact, I preferred it, even though I wasn't a big fan of his.

"And did you feel threatened by everything you saw, too?" I asked rhetorically. "Besides, it's not like when I'm with them, I don't fake pleasure, is it?" I commented, emphasizing that they always knew I wasn't finding it amazing. In fact, most of them didn't even care about my pleasure; it didn't even make sense for them to be acting like that.

"I know you fake pleasure, EVE," Dorian said as he wiped a few glasses from the bar. "The point is that you couldn't fake an orgasm like the one you had with Carbon. I think having the experience they had yesterday made them realize how bad they are," Dorian said. For a moment, I stopped to think about what he had said, and it seemed realistic. I shouldn't have been worrying so much about it, as it wouldn't last long. Besides, new clients were appearing all the time.

"Anyway, Oswald and Tyrone will have sessions. At least I know it'll be a quiet night," I said. I already knew I wouldn't have sex with them, although Oswald might surprise me. Tyrone would probably continue with the clothes fittings, so there wasn't much to worry about.

"Oswald doesn't look too good," Dorian commented. I was just getting ready to leave the room and get ready for work when he spoke. Normally, Dorian spoke very little to me, so it was strange to see him interacting as if he were close to me. Had his mind wandered for a few minutes, and he thought he was talking to Amelie? He even seemed to be more airborne, as if he were thinking about something as if something was getting in the way of his thinking or something like that. I thought about asking, but maybe that would spoil the rare interaction we were having. Maybe I should just follow the flow of the current conversation.

"Why do you think that?" I asked about Oswald. It was already known to everyone that his health wasn't good; after all, he was making it clear to everyone that he wasn't well. However, the way Dorian had commented, it was as if he had taken a significant turn for the worse, and I began to worry. I liked Oswald very much, and there was still the matter that he hadn't met Amelie. He needed to get to know her.

"He's going to be your first client, EVE," Dorian informed me. "He didn't make any demands this time, and he also looked even weaker. He also came with an increased amount of security, and I noticed there were nurses with him. My guess, EVE; is that he probably came to say goodbye. I really think he's going to die this time," Dorian said, also worried. Everyone was very fond of him. Oswald had been a customer for years, and like everyone else, he frequented the bar a lot. Everyone was close to him. Come to think of it, it seemed that the mood in OWE really wasn't good. My concern only grew.

"I'll go and meet him. Thank you. By the way, get well, whatever you're going through now," I said, moving out of his sight. The atmosphere was very strange indeed because having a conversation of more than ten words with Dorian and not coming out with any kind of curse was something rare and deserved a belated celebration.

On the way to the room that Oswald chose the most, I passed through the lounge. I chatted with Cindy and Mandy, and they also seemed pretty shaken up. Apparently, everyone already knew everything, and they were just waiting for me to find out. It was a really tense atmosphere, and as I walked to the room, it seemed to get worse.

When I entered the room, Oswald was sitting down. He didn't even need to say anything, and the other employees didn't even need to comment. It was obvious what state Oswald was in. I swallowed the tears that were welling up inside my body. Dorian was right; it was goodbye.

"Hello, EVE," he said. Despite the whole situation, he was talking well and even smiling. There was a security guard in the room and a girl, who was probably a nurse. There, the level of the situation became even clearer. Oswald seemed to take everything positively as if nothing bad was happening. I should be happy that he was so calm.

I sat down next to him, and we talked for a few minutes. It seemed like a normal session, and it was like that because he had asked us to act normally. Like a scene from a movie, he paused to cough discreetly and repeated that everything was fine. Everything wasn't fine. He knew it. I knew it. Everyone knew it. The truth was that we weren't ready.

The conversation lasted a while longer, and then I realized it was time to say goodbye. Oswald had commented that this was the best place in town and that he wanted this place to be his last visit before he went to perform euthanasia. Some people were able to get permission and resources to use it. He had commented that he had been feeling very unwell for the last few days and that it was getting difficult to live and breathe. He said it hurt a lot. He didn't even hesitate to talk about euthanasia. It really was his last day alive. We said goodbye and cried. It was beautiful. I said goodbye to a friend and a partner. Then, as promised and at the wish of both of us, I forced myself to swap with Amelie. I thought it would be more difficult, but as incredible as it was, it didn't take long.

My body felt wet when I appeared. EVE was crying. I couldn't think of any situation that could make someone like her cry. It was new to me. However, when I saw the person in front of me, I knew right away who it was. I longed to meet Oswald, and I knew he wanted to see me too. Both Dorian and Axel had told me a lot about him, and I knew him from photos. So I knew who he was and what he was going through. If EVE had exchanged with me, and we were in OWE and my body was crying, it could only mean one thing. Goodbye.

I talked a lot with Oswald about trivial things. I felt envious of EVE for having had so many moments like that with him. He really was a wonderful person, and I wish I'd had more time with him. Unfortunately, as the minutes passed, he seemed to get worse and suffer more. There was a moment when there was little else to do but accept the inevitable.

We all got out of bed and left together. When we crossed the courtyard of the club, everyone was close by. We made our way to the bar, where Dorian had two glasses ready for a drink I didn't know about. He looked like he wanted to cry too. He talked about something personal with Oswald and laughed with him. They toasted and had their last glass of drink together. It was emotional. Dorian, having seen me, already knew that I was there and that I was no longer EVE. For the first time in a long time, I felt that he would have preferred it to be EVE and not me. Perhaps it would have meant more if it had been her. Axel walked past us, joining the others, also shaken. Cindy and Mandy were waiting, too, with red eyes and white handkerchiefs in their hands. Oswald seemed to have already said goodbye to everyone and was only there for a final farewell. I could see some of the customers who came into Lowe's watching too. They were all watching as Oswald said goodbye to everyone, crying. We saw him get into the car, roll down the windows, and refuse to leave. There were still people saying goodbye, and he was saying goodbye too. Deep down, nobody wanted him to leave the place. Oswald was an important part of the place. I, who had only been with him for a few minutes, was feeling an enormous pain in my chest. I could imagine the pain the others were feeling.

We saw him close the car windows. We saw the car gain momentum and start to drive away. Not only that, but we saw the car follow the huge street of the club and watched as it turned the corner with Oswald. We would never see him again. It hurt. It hurt a lot. And then I collapsed in tears in Dorian's arms.