The Perfect Girlfriend(90)

‘Is this the ex-girlfriend you told me about?’ Tara says to Nate. ‘The one who wouldn’t leave you alone?’

‘Not ex-girlfriend, current wife,’ I correct her.

She stares at me, as though all this is my fault. Nate goes over to her and whispers something in her ear. She throws me a look of disdain before she heads for the nearest toilet. The door clicks shut and the occupied light illuminates. Nate and I are alone. I walk over to the right-hand side door and lift the window blind. Over the dark clouds the horizon is lined with distant blue-and-orange light. He grabs me by the shoulders, twists me round and shoves his face close to mine. I can smell the cognac on his breath.

‘What the fuck!’ he says. ‘None of this was just about me, was it? You’ve dragged Bella into it now too. How dare you imply that I like young women. You were culpable too.’

‘Keep telling yourself that. And let go of me.’

He does.

I sigh and try again. ‘Nate, you married me. Your sister made my life hell at school because of you. You owe me. Your sister owes me. I want a happy-ever–after, and you’re going to give it to me.’

‘One mistake. One stupid, thoughtless mistake I made so many years ago.’ Although he’s speaking out loud, it’s as though he’s speaking to himself. ‘One reckless moment.’

‘In fairness, the only mistake you’ve ever made was in thinking that I’d give up.’

He opens the bar trolley and reaches for another miniature. I resist the strong urge to slam the door shut, trapping his hand.

I continue. ‘Acceptance is the key to this situation. I’m not going away. Accept that and everything will be OK. Keep fighting me and you’ll end up paying. Love hurts. Get used to it. I’ve had to.’

‘I thought if I played fair that you’d eventually see reason. I don’t have anything else to add.’

‘Fine. I will go to the police. I’ll say that you forced me. The whole under-age thing will be more of an issue then, too.’

‘What a ridiculous notion! Why would you marry me if I’d assaulted you?’

‘Because you said you were sorry and you wanted to make it up to me. Because, despite your faults – and, believe me, there are many – I love you.’

‘I give up, Juliette,’ he says. ‘You’re stooping even lower. Plain and simple requests don’t work. Threats don’t work. Reasoning doesn’t work.’

The mere fact that he is calling me Juliette alerts me to the fact that he is trying to lull me into a false sense of security.

I remain patient, however. ‘And nothing ever will,’ I say calmly.

He suddenly seems to break. Like he’s given up. He sighs loudly and turns to walk away. And there is something about him turning his back towards me, something about the whole finality of our marriage hurtling towards a brutal and cold end unless I stop it, and stop it now, that makes something in me ignite. I look around, release a fire extinguisher from its brackets, ready to whack him with it. He must sense something, because he swings round and grabs it from me. He yanks it from me so violently, I fall down. The pain to my right arm is momentarily shocking. Cold air blasts me from the chillers and I focus on the debris below the trolleys – a teaspoon, an olive and a cork – before I look up and see Tara’s horrified expression looking down.

There is also another passenger; an elderly man, who looks utterly confused. Nate tries to help me up but I ignore his offer and stand up myself, rubbing my arm.

‘Are you all right?’ the man asks.

I nod. ‘I think so.’

‘I’ll go and get one of your colleagues,’ he says.

‘It’s fine,’ I say. ‘But thanks, I’ll speak to someone if I think it’s necessary.’

Despite looking unsure, the passenger heads for the magazine rack and takes his time browsing the selection, making a deliberate show of glancing back at us every few moments.

I look at Tara. ‘We need some privacy, please.’

She looks torn, but Nate gives her a slight nod. She gives us both a look of bewilderment before she walks slowly back to the sanctuary of her seat.

‘Finish with her,’ I say as I re-stow the extinguisher. ‘I’m putting my foot down, which is something I should’ve done a long time ago. If there’s one thing I regret it’s that I didn’t fight hard enough for you. I caved in too quickly to the pressure you and James put me under. Well, no more. Tell her it’s over. Tell her to get the next flight back to London. Tell your family I’m joining you in Whistler on some kind of getting-to-know-the-family type of honeymoon mini-break.’

‘Absolutely not.’

‘Fine.’ I list my weapons, one per finger. ‘Under-age sex, forced or not – your own sister will be able to bear witness – plus adultery, assault, just witnessed by your own girlfriend and another independent person. And don’t forget that I can show everyone recent photos of us happily getting married. I can make such a good story out of this, trust me.’ I pull a sad face and put on a pathetic voice. ‘I forgave him for the past, because he was so remorseful. But I shouldn’t have allowed him to talk me into a quickie marriage, because it meant he thought he could continue his game-playing with my feelings. I never knew where I stood. It’s been dreadful.’ I switch back to my normal voice. ‘Who do you think they’re going to believe?’