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‘We have to come back here,’ Ty says. ‘You’re a star, man.’
‘I would like that.’
Again, he high-fives his coach.
‘I’m just glad that you landed in one piece,’ I tell him as the others move out of earshot.
As Dominic unclips his snowboard, he winks at me. ‘Me too,’ he says.
Chapter Seventy-Five
I go into the changing room with Nina. I feel giddy with euphoria. Not only did Dominic rise to the challenge, but he smashed it and now I’m walking on air. I feel at least as tall as Dominic and can’t stop myself from grinning madly. He’s a crazy, snowboarding, Maasai warrior and I love him for it!
My friend and I both flop down on a bench and pull off our boots with a grateful sigh. In comparison to the slope, it’s like a sauna in here and I strip off my jacket as quickly as I can.
‘Dominic nailed that,’ Nina says, reluctantly impressed. ‘Certainly wiped the smile off Gerry’s face.’
I don’t tell her that I’m still cross that her twat of a husband led Dominic into that situation in the first place. It was very lucky that due to some innate ability and supreme balance skills, he survived it, unhurt.
Nina stops what she’s doing and looks at me. ‘He’s certainly got what it takes,’ she says, even though it sounds somewhat grudgingly. She might not be falling all over my lover but, at last, she seems to be accepting Dominic.
‘I’m glad you think so.’ I peel off my salopettes, fish my jeans out of my locker and tug them on.
‘Think he’ll stick around?’
As we’re having a period of entente cordiale, Nina might as well know my news. I take a deep breath. ‘We’re going to get married,’ I say.
At that, she sits bolt upright. ‘What?’
‘We’re going to get married,’ I repeat. ‘As soon as we can.’
She stares at me, mouth agape. ‘How stupid are you?’
I bite down on my lip and curl my fingernails into my palm. ‘The usual response is congratulations and much hugging ensues,’ I retort crisply. Now I’m cross. More than cross. I’m furious. ‘I thought you just said you like him.’
‘I do. But he’s not marriage material, is he? Let’s face it.’
She’s sounding more like her stupid husband by the minute. ‘Why not?’
Nina sighs as she too pulls off her salopettes in a world-weary manner. ‘He’s after one thing, Janie. Not five minutes after you’re married, he’ll be suing for divorce. You mark my words, he might be all sweetness and light now, but he’ll be trying to take you for half of your home, half of everything you’ve got.’
‘Dominic’s not like that.’
‘Why can’t you see it?’ Nina shrugs off her jacket. ‘It’s what everyone thinks.’
‘Everyone who?’ Certainly no one who knows Dominic properly.
‘They might pretend to like him to your face, Janie, but they all think like I do. Wait and see. It’ll start off innocently enough with you sending money here and there to his family to help them out . . .’
The look on my face must give me away.
Nina looks smug. ‘There you are,’ she says. ‘Looks like it’s happening already.’
‘We’ve sent them a few things, a bit of money,’ I counter, ‘at my suggestion. It wasn’t Dominic’s idea at all. Most of it will be spent on medicine. I begrudge them nothing, Nina. If you saw how little they have, you’d feel the same.’
She shrugs away my explanation. ‘I’m just saying, this is how it starts out.’
‘You’re wrong,’ I tell her firmly. ‘Very wrong. Just look at him. Can you not see what I see in him?’
‘So the bloke looks great, in a different kind of way,’ my friend continues, her tone more petulant than I’d like. ‘If you want something a little unusual there are plenty of websites for that, Janie. You don’t need to go this far. You don’t need to think about keeping Dominic. You don’t need to think about marrying him.’
‘I can’t believe you actually said that.’ I slam my locker, barely holding my temper, and wrench out the key.
‘Just because he’s a natural snowboarder, that hardly makes him the perfect husband.’
‘So what does make the perfect husband, Nina? One who can’t stay faithful for more than ten minutes at a time? One who chats up all of your friends,’ – even your best friend – ‘the minute your back is turned? Sometimes he doesn’t even offer that courtesy, Nina. He does it right in front of your face. Is Gerry the perfect husband?’ I’m breathing heavily now. ‘How dare you criticise Dominic. He’s kind, considerate, funny and charming, and I would trust him with my life. Can you say that about your own partner?’
