Page 106 of Gone Before Goodbye
Maggie sinks into the plush sofa next to Nadia.
The two women sit side by side in silence, both staring out at the curtain. The music thumps into the room, but it seems hushed now, respectful almost, as though the entire club is receding into the backdrop.
“I know you asked for me,” Maggie says.
“Asked?”
“To be your surgeon. You requested me.”
“Yes.” Nadia stares out. A sad smile comes to her face. “We met before, you know.”
“I don’t.”
“No reason you would. I was eleven. In Libya. You probably treated a hundred girls that day, maybe more.”
“Salima—”
“I prefer Nadia, if that’s okay. I was both for a while, but Salima is dead now. She died in that refugee camp too.”
“You’ve been lying to me,” Maggie says.
Nadia doesn’t answer.
“That tattoo,” Maggie says.
“It was temporary, yeah.” She shakes her head. “I should have kept it on longer, I guess.”
“I’d have figured it out anyway.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Why did you do it?”
“The tattoo? Why do you think?”
“To mess with my head.”
“Yes.” Nadia still stares out, so that Maggie has the profile view. “Most of what I told you is true. I grew up in Libya during a time…”
She stops, closes her eyes, opens them again. “That’s not important. There were refugee camps. There were humanitarian crises. You were there. I don’t need to explain to you how bad it was. And yes, I sold my kidney. Just as I told you. The World Health Organization claims over two thousand kidneys were sold in India alone last year. That’s a small part of the worldwide black market. I have no regrets. I explained my reasons for doing so. It saved my family.”
“Nadia?”
“What?”
“Are you in any pain right now? I mean, from the surgery.”
Nadia chuckles at that. “A physician first.”
“I should probably examine you.”
“No, I’m fine. Really.” Then: “Charles sent you, didn’t he?”
“You know Charles Lockwood?”
“I work with him.”
“He didn’t mention that.”
