“Really?”
“Of course.”
She smiled politely. Daniel started punting again. A silence fell between them.
He felt he should make amends. “What are you thinking?”
“What if it . . . you know, the whole money thing, comes between us?”
“Why should it? Okay, okay, I know it just did, a bit, but now we know we can deal with it.” He looked at her and guessed what she was thinking.
“It’s not just us though, is it? Your mum thinks that’s why I’m with you.”
“That’s got nothing to do with us.”
“It has, though. I’m never going to be as rich as you, you know that. We’ll always be different. You’ll always end up paying more than me as long as we live your lifestyle. Sometimes it’s a struggle to keep up, to not mind. I do have pride, you know.” Upset, Cherry looked toward the bank.
Daniel stopped punting and sat down in the boat. “It’s okay. . . .”
“I wish I could buy this, buy that, but I can’t. That’s just the way it is. If it bothers you, you must say so.”
“I’m sorry, Cherry.”
She turned to him then and gave a small smile. Allowed him to take her hands. “Of course, we could always move to Croydon.”
He laughed. “Wouldn’t bother me.”
She grimaced. “Would me.” And he laughed again.
“I’m afraid of what she’ll do,” she said quietly, “afraid I’ll lose you.”
She sounded so fragile, on the verge of defeat, and he felt a sudden fierce urge to fight for her. And a fear. He realized he’d let something toxic in, into what was theirs, their space, their love, and he was angry at himself for allowing his mother’s words to influence him so much. He’d never been so happy, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d drive Cherry away. And then he knew he couldn’t go on for months with his mum’s constant disapproval, her dissuasive arguments. It was like pulling a tooth—the more you thought about it, the worse it seemed. Better for his mother for it to be over. One short, sharp tug.
“Marry me.”
Her look of shock made him laugh. Then he realized in a flash of panic, she might say no. He went onto one knee, the boat rocking precariously, and took her hand as she giggled and yelped.
“You’ll tip us in!”
“Will you?”
She laughed again and a joy radiated over her face. “Yes!”
44
BACKWARD AND FORWARD, SHE SLOWLY TILTED HER HAND, ENTRANCEDby the leaping colors that flashed at her before vanishing and being replaced by other, seemingly brighter colors. It utterly captivated her and she knew she’d never get bored of it. They’d gone shopping immediately, Daniel saying he wanted to make it official, propose to her properly, and he apologized for not being better prepared.
At first, Cherry had been so stunned she didn’t quite believe it. She allowed herself to be pulled along to a small, exclusive jewelers just five minutes from the boathouse, where she was presented as “my fiancée.” The assistants had cooed over how “romantic” the proposal was, and she and he were asked if they had a preference for a particular type of stone. This made Cherry sit up and take notice; she had to exert some influence here if she was going to get what she wanted.
In fact, Cherry knew just what she wanted—a diamond, of course, a distinctive one—but there was an opportunity here to fantasize with a rainbow of jewels, some of which would appear later in her life in a different form. A gift for her birthday, their first child perhaps, an eternity ring. She tried on a sapphire first, surrounded by smaller diamonds, then an aquamarine, which was the color of the Caribbean Sea, then a bloodred ruby, before she sensed a note of restlessness in Daniel, and the assistant was clearly beginning to lose interest too. So she chose the one she’d spotteda full ten minutes before. It was a two-carat, square-cut diamond in a platinum band.
She left the shop wearing it. As she walked along, her right hand in Daniel’s, with the other she rubbed her thumb against the underside of the ring, smiling and feeling its cold hardness in some sort of private acknowledgment that they were going to be friends for life.
After Daniel had left for work the next day, Cherry had tried her ring in each room, seeing how it looked in certain lights and against particular fabrics and then with numerous outfits too. She experimented in how it looked when she poured some water from the kettle, when she was on the phone, hand held aloft, when she typed on a keyboard. She became more delighted with every scenario. She draped the ivory curtains in the living room around her waist and twirled, her heart soaring with happiness.She’d done it!She was going to marry someone who would keep her from her old life forever. She would never have to worry about struggling, about money, or the pure drudgery of a dead-end, monotonous job, like her mum had had to endure. She was better than that and she could hold her head high.
Stuff Nicolas and his bigoted views.Maybe they’d buy a house on the Webb Estate. Imagine if it was next door. If Nicolas and his stupid wife just came out one day and there she was. She delighted herself for a good while with this notion and the imagined looks on their faces; then she began to grow restless and looked out the window. She wanted to go out and tell someone her good news. Take her ring on a trip to someone. She found herself driving toward Croydon and thought she’d surprise her mum. She’d go and see her and wait to see how long it took her to notice.
Wendy, so unused to impromptu visits, was convinced there was something wrong. In the end, Cherry had to show her the ring, just to shut her up, which spoiled her plan of waiting to see when she caught sight of the ten thousand pounds of rock on her finger.
