Reversing Over Liberace by Jane Lovering

Mrs. Fry—oh my God, I was going to marry him! I admired the back view of my husband-to-be, his hair coiling into loose curls just over the collar of his jacket, a jacket which fitted to absolute perfection across his slim shoulders and tapered down to not quite cover his delicious buttocks. Not, of course, that these were visible to the naked eye, but I knew they were there , which is what counted.
    We stepped out of a glass lift, which had carried us to the second floor of one of the blocks of apartments, and into a light, airy hallway. Luke opened the door to one of the flats with a key he had in his pocket. “I asked the agents for this, so that I could look around. Now. Do you want to see the kitchen first, or the bedroom?”
    As proudly as if he was already the owner, Luke showed me around. The flat was small, one ensuite bedroom, another bathroom, kitchen and living room, but it had phenomenal views of the city, a balcony hanging over the river, bare wooden floors and pale painted walls like a colour supplement ad. “What do you think? I know it’s probably not quite what you had in mind, but it’s convenient for both of us for work and it’s extremely prestigious.”
    I was in a mental void, I literally did not know what to think. I had only just come to terms with the fact that this man wanted to marry me and now I had to get my head around the whole new life that this would entail. “It looks pricey,” I squeaked.
    â€œAh, yes. It’s not really. Not that bad, at any rate, for what it is. And, of course, we don’t have to decide anything here and now. That would be stupid. It’s only that”—Luke looked a little crestfallen—“I fell in love with the place when I saw it advertised and, moron that I am, I kind of thought that you would love it as much as I did. But it’s okay. I mean, we can look at places you like, too.” He gave a deep sigh.
    â€œOh, Luke, no. It’s lovely, really it is. I hadn’t considered…I mean…” I looked around at the flat again, seeing the nicely proportioned rooms, the superb fitted kitchen with top-of-the-range fixtures, the railed balcony which would catch the summer evening sun. “It took me by surprise, that’s all.”
    Luke put his hands on my shoulders and looked deep into my eyes. “Are you sure? You’re not just agreeing with me to keep me sweet, are you? Because, Willow, I don’t sulk. You should know that about me by now. If I can’t have what I want, I learn to live with it.”
    â€œYou don’t have to,” I said. “I love the place, Luke, honestly. But how would we afford it?”
    Luke massaged the base of my neck with his thumbs. He was breathing quickly, I noticed, and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. “For now we only need the deposit, that’ll reserve it for us, until we can get a mortgage sorted out and that shouldn’t be a problem at all.”
    â€œHow much is the deposit?”
    â€œTwenty.” Luke leaned back against the immaculate wall, his eyes still fixed on mine. The sun slid over him. He looked like a David Hockney painting.
    â€œTwenty thousand?”
    â€œYeah, but it’s not so bad. I’ve got about four grand I can put down now, cash.”
    â€œBut.”
    Luke stepped up to me again, cupped my chin in his hand and raised my face to his. Kissed my mouth softly. “It’ll be worth it, Willow. In the end. You and me, here. Of course, if we decide to have children we’ll have a place with a paddock, ponies for the kids, few chickens scratching around. For now, though, don’t you think this will be the perfect start to married life? Imagine, waking up on a Sunday morning.” He turned me by the shoulders until I was gazing out of the porthole-shaped window. “Lying in bed and being able to see the raindrops falling in the river. Newspapers spread all over the