Since November, Paul's been staying with his dad, I don't see him anymore, I don't speak to him anymore. Every time I propose something, Laurent either refuses or doesn't reply. Nothing, no news, not a word. The weeks go by, then the weeks turn into months. I don't threaten to take him to court, I don't want to make things worse. One day, when I'm feeling fed up, more so than usual, I go over to his, to theirs. Laurent opens up, doesn't say a word, goes into the living room. Paul's in his bed, duvet pulled over his head, head on the pillow. Laurent's in the next room, smoking. I speak to Paul but he doesn't move, doesn't look at me, doesn't answer me. I try different tones of voice, I ask him how he is, I try to make him laugh, I talk about something else, I ask him what this is all about, I say, Come on, come and get a Coke downstairs with me, he doesn't open his eyes, he doesn't move a muscle, he's tense, stubborn, heavy as lead. Finally I lose my temper, I yell at him, That's enough now, get up, get dressed, come with me just for five minutes. He gets out of bed, he goes to his dad in the living room, he hides behind him, he's shaking and yelling, he tells me to go to hell, he gives me the finger. Laurent points at the door and yells, Now get out. I look at him and realize he's stronger, physically stronger than me, the fact that we're the same height, that we wear the same clothes, that we occupy space in the same way, that we speak at the same volume, none of that makes any difference. That's when I realize that the difference between a man and a woman is just a question of weight and muscles. I look at Laurent and see he's thinking the same thing, I look at Paul standing behind his dad and see there's nothing I can do, I tell myself this is between them, their little guy thing, I shrug my shoulders, I leave.

At the local dive bar run by the Chinese family, I tell my friends from the swimming pool what happened. Dominique and Ming say, That's crazy, you have to do something, speak to Laurent's parents, go to the police, André says, Leave it, it'll be all right, your son will come round sooner or later. He says something similar happened with his daughter after his own separation. It all worked out in the end.