“Who are Penelope and Odysseus?” Suze whispers in my ear, and I shrug helplessly.
“Venetia…” Luke looks at her directly. “We were never Penelope and Odysseus.”
For the first time ever, I see Venetia falter. She doesn’t say anything, but just stares at Luke with a kind of defiance. Like she wants to say, Yes, we were.
OK, I have to know. “Luke, who are Penelope and Odysseus?” I ask.
I’m really hoping they’re not a PR guy and an obstetrician who get together after the wife is pushed out of the picture.
“Odysseus left Penelope to go on a long journey,” says Luke, his eyes still pinioning Venetia’s. “The Odyssey. And Penelope waited faithfully for him. For twenty years.”
“Well, she hasn’t waited faithfully for you!” Suze says, pointing an indignant finger at Venetia. “She’s had affairs all over the place!”
“Venetia, did you tell Becky we were having an affair?” Luke’s stentorian voice makes us all jump. “Did you say I was leaving her for you? Did you try to break her confidence?”
“Of course I didn’t,” says Venetia coldly. Her eyes are hard but her jaw is trembling slightly, I notice.
“Good.” Luke’s tone is still scathing. “Well, let’s make it crystal clear once and for all. I would never have an affair with you, Venetia. I would never have an affair with anyone.” He turns to me and takes both my hands. “Becky, there is nothing whatsoever between me and Venetia, whatever she might have said. We dated for a year. As teenagers. That’s it. OK?”
“OK,” I whisper.
“How did you break up?” Suze says with interest, then flushes as everyone turns to look at her. “It’s relevant!” she says defensively. “You should be open about past relationships! Tarkie and I know everything about each other’s old flings. If you’d told Bex, instead of…” She trails off.
“Maybe you’re right.” Luke nods. “Becky…maybe I should have explained what happened between us. How it ended.” His face twists fleetingly. “Venetia had a pregnancy scare.”
“She was pregnant?” I feel sick at the thought.
“No. No!” Luke shakes his head vigorously. “She thought she might be, briefly. But anyway, it…clarified things. And we ended it.”
“You panicked.” Venetia’s voice is suddenly throbbing, as though she can’t control a long-buried anger. “You panicked, Luke, and we lost the best relationship I’ve ever had. Everyone was jealous of us at Cambridge, everyone. We were perfect together.”
“We weren’t perfect!” He looks at her incredulously. “And I didn’t panic—”
“You did! You couldn’t cope with commitment! It frightened you!”
“It did not frighten me!” Luke shouts, exasperated. “It made me realize you weren’t the person I wanted to have children with. Or spend the rest of my life with. Ever. And that’s why I ended it!”
Venetia looks as though he hit her. For a few seconds she appears speechless — then her eyes focus on me with such aggression that I shrink away.
“And she is?” she demands with a savage gesture. “This mindless consumer little…girlie is who you’re going to spend the rest of your days with? Luke, she has no depth! She has no brain! All she cares about is her shopping, and her clothes…and her girlfriends….”
The blood has drained from my face and I feel a bit shaky. I’ve never heard such vitriol.
I glance over at Luke. His nostrils are flared and a vein is beating in his head.
“Don’t you dare talk about Becky like that.” His voice is so steely, even I’m a bit scared. “Don’t you dare.”
“Come on, Luke.” Venetia gives a mocking little laugh. “I grant you she’s pretty….”
“Venetia, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luke says evenly.
“She’s beyond frivolous!” cries Venetia. “She’s nothing! Why the hell did you marry her?”
There’s a tiny intake of breath around the room. No one moves for about thirty seconds. Luke looks a bit stunned to have been asked such a blatant question.
God, I wonder what he’s going to say. Maybe he’ll say for my brilliant cooking and repartee.
No. Unlikely.
Maybe he’ll say…
I’m a bit stumped, to be honest. And if I’m stumped, Luke must be too.
“Why did I marry Becky?” he echoes at last, in such a strange voice that I think maybe he’s suddenly wondering himself, and realizing he made a terrible mistake.
All of a sudden I feel a bit cold and a bit scared.
And still Luke hasn’t said anything.
He walks over to the sink and pours himself a cup of water as everyone watches nervously. At last he turns. “Have you spent time with Becky?”
“I have!” says Suze, as though she’s going to win the Jackpot prize. Everyone turns to look at her, and she colors. “Sorry,” she mutters.
“The first time I ever saw Becky Bloomwood…” He pauses, a tiny smile at his lips. “She was asking a bank marketing department why they didn’t produce checkbook covers in different colors.”
“You see?” Venetia tosses a hand impatiently, but Luke doesn’t even flicker.
“The next year they did produce checkbook covers in different colors. Becky’s instincts match no one else’s. Becky has ideas no one else has. Her mind goes to places no one else’s does. And sometimes I’m lucky enough to go along with her.” Luke’s eyes meet mine, soft and warm. “Yes, she shops. Yes, she does crazy things. But she makes me laugh. She makes me enjoy life. And I love her more than anything else in the world.”