Chapter 4

In the morning, Léa was awakened by a voice she hadn't heard in a long time: Thomas's, joyful, almost euphoric.

He was on the balcony, phone to his ear, laughing, exclaiming, speaking quickly, animated.

She lay still for a moment, frozen, eyes open, listening without moving. She no longer heard that laughter from him.

And certainly not with her.

She slowly got up, crossed the bedroom in calculated silence, and headed to the bathroom. The cold water from the tap jolted her back to reality, like an electric shock. She looked at herself in the mirror, observing the traces of a restless night, her swollen, dark-circled eyes. She tidied her hair a bit, quickly tied it in a ponytail, then stepped out.

Thomas was still on the phone.

Still as cheerful.

Still as absent.

She did not try to interrupt him. He wouldn’t have noticed her.

She entered the kitchen, made herself a tea, slowly, mechanically. She took a sip, then headed to the sofa, settling in with the morning newspaper.

Thomas walked into the living room, a barely concealed smile on his face.

— Hey, I have something to tell you, he announced, a spark of excitement in his eyes. He sat down next to her, placing his plate on the coffee table.

Léa looked up from her book, intrigued. She wasn’t used to seeing her husband in such a light state.

— What is it? she asked, feigning an interest she didn’t entirely feel.

— Nathan, my twin brother, is finally coming back!

His enthusiasm was palpable. It was as if he was becoming a teenager again just by saying that name.

— He returned after spending years traveling abroad. I haven’t seen him in a while, and he has changed a lot.

Léa squinted, trying to gather her memories. Nathan. That name floated in her mind like an old, blurry photo, never really seen. She knew he was Thomas's twin, but their paths had never crossed.

— Nathan… I haven’t really heard about him in a long time. What has he become?

Thomas seemed to hesitate, his eyebrows slightly furrowing.

— Well, he is… how to say… a bit unpredictable. He has always had this ability to live in the moment, to seize every opportunity without worrying about the consequences.

Léa felt a slight tightening in her stomach. She didn’t like the unpredictable. That kind of free, spontaneous personality clashed too much with the reassuring routine of her own life, even if it had become stifling.

— And are you sure he will stay for a while? she asked, masking her reserve as best as she could.

— I think he plans to stay for a while. He wants to reconnect with family.

Thomas smiled, obviously happy at the thought of seeing his brother again.

— I think it will be good to have him here. It will do everyone good.

Léa slowly nodded, but a ball of concern was rising in her stomach.

— Have you planned something for his return? she asked, trying not to show her discomfort.

— Yes, I thought about organizing a little party. Just a few close friends and family. What do you think?

She forced a smile.

— Why not?

But inside her, no spark ignited. The prospect of organizing a party brought her neither joy nor distraction. It was just another social obligation. A staging.

— Great! I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet you. You two will get along well, I’m sure.

Thomas got up, already absorbed in the preparations he was probably visualizing in his head. Léa remained there, motionless. Alone with her thoughts, her fears… and that curiosity she didn’t want to admit.

Nathan. The twin brother. The opposite.

A stranger who, she sensed already, would disrupt her fragile balance.

She remembered the stories Thomas had once told about his brother. Colorful, almost romantic tales. Nathan in Bali, lying in a hammock suspended between two palm trees. Nathan in Tokyo, tasting improbable dishes in hidden alleys. Nathan again, facing a storm in the Moroccan desert, or sharing a cigarette with a stranger on the roof of a train in India.

Each story had made Thomas's eyes shine back then. Léa had listened in silence, initially fascinated… then slightly annoyed. Because through these tales, she perceived an endless, almost childlike admiration for this man she had never seen, but who seemed to hold an intimate place in her husband’s heart. A free man. A living man.

Behind the appealing image of the intrepid traveler, a dull anxiety was rising within her. A dread that Léa could not name, but which weighed on her chest like an invisible hand. She did not know where this feeling came from. Perhaps from the fear that Nathan would revive things she had locked away. Or from the fear that he would shake the little stability she had left.

The day passed in a sort of floating state. Everyone went about their activities. Léa cleaned, tidied up, reread passages of a novel she already knew. Thomas, on his side, seemed energized, as if he had found a forgotten energy. He moved from room to room, made phone calls, mentally listed things aloud. This was no longer just a visit. It was an event.

By evening, dinner was served in a dim atmosphere. But the conversation quickly turned to the preparations for the party. Thomas was overflowing with ideas: a nostalgic playlist, exotic dishes in homage to Nathan’s travels, memories to dig out of boxes.

— Can you believe it, Léa? We’re finally going to be reunited. Like before. Well… almost. He smiled, his eyes shining, lost in a joy that she did not share.

She nodded, distractedly. She looked at him, but her thoughts slipped elsewhere.

— I thought we could have the party here at home. He scanned the living room as if he were already trying to visualize the scene.

— It would be simpler, warmer. Nathan loved this house when we were kids, you know. And then, it would give him the feeling of truly coming home.

Léa slightly pursed her lips. This house was her haven, her organized, calm, almost sacred space. The idea of seeing it filled with a crowd, even familiar faces, made her uncomfortable. She hid her unease behind a smile.

— Who exactly do you want to invite?

— My uncles, my aunts, of course. They can't wait to see him again. Even Grandma Monique said she would make the effort to come, and you know what that means… He burst into a little laugh, touched.

— And… that’s it? she tried, already aware that the list didn’t stop there.

— Oh no, I also thought about his old friends. You know, those from high school, from soccer, from the neighborhood… He hasn’t seen some of them in over ten years. I thought it would be an opportunity to gather them all. It would please everyone.

Léa nodded slowly.

Thomas, on his part, was swept up in his momentum:

— I can take care of the invitations. You, if you want, could handle the decorations? You’re so good at that.

She forced herself to respond softly:

— Okay. I’ll take care of it.

He seemed relieved, then got up to clear the plates, humming a forgotten tune.