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“Is she going to be okay?” Luke asked, after a long pause.
“I hope so…”
I didn’t hear any more, but I was confident Nate had kept his word.
* * *
Much to my disappointment, Marni’s family commitments didn’t hinder her from making it to Christmas lunch. I greeted Luke and Marni at the front door, and made every effort to make her feel welcome in our home.
Luke looked relieved.
“Marni, can I talk to you for a second?” I asked, sheepishly.
Marni glanced over at Luke with an uncertain smile. “Sure.”
Luke tried to walk away to give us some privacy, but I stopped him. “No, it’s fine, you should hear this too. I wanted to apologise to you, to the both of you, for bringing up ancient history at dinner a couple of weeks ago,” I acknowledged, swallowing my pride.
Luke’s eyes conveyed his approval, and he nodded.
“That’s okay Natalie, I forgive you,” Marni replied, condescendingly, touching my arm.
I gritted my teeth in contempt. “Thank you.”
“I totally understand you wanting to shift the attention,” she added, looking smug.
My eyes widened in astonishment. “Shift the attention from what?”
“Your situation…” She hinted, with a knowing glint in her eye.
My heart skipped and panic set in. How could she know about the baby? And if she knew…then Luke would surely know too. My throat constricted in fear and I glanced at Luke to gauge his reaction, but he looked as confused as I was.
“Sorry? What situation?”
“Oh, you know…” she whispered, as if we shared a secret. “Your drinking problem.”
My mouth gaped and I burst out laughing. Relief soared through my body when I realised she actually believed all the twisted stories that had been published about me in the media.
Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her away from me before my claws reappeared. Luckily, Dan and Amelie arrived not long after, and my anger defused. Amelie was such a delight she made it impossible to remain unhappy in her presence.
Before lunch was served, we all sat around the tree and Nate handed out the presents. I bought the majority of mine online, as it had been too difficult to get into Melbourne to do any decent shopping.
I uncomfortably watched Marni unwrap her gift from Luke, and winced when she let out a squeal of delight. It was a hair straightener, and she appeared to be over the moon about it.
She leaned over and gave Luke an affectionate kiss. “You know me so well, baby,” she cooed.
I tried my hardest not to gag.
“Open mine now,” Marni demanded excitedly, as she handed Luke his gift.
Luke smiled warmly and gave her a peck on the cheek. Amelie bounced into Luke’s lap and tried to help him open his present.
Marni frowned. “No, sweetie, this one is for Luke,” she said and Amelie’s face dropped.
I motioned to Amelie to come and sit on my lap and she jumped at the chance. “You can open my next one,” I whispered in her ear and she giggled happily. I remembered how magical Christmas was as a kid.
Everyone watched as Luke opened the little black box and examined the set of cufflinks I knew he would never wear.
Nate made a funny face and I tried my hardest to contain my laughter. Luke gave both of us warning looks, and turned back to Marni.
