Trust Me on This - Jennifer Crusie [43]
“See, this is why I do the charming bit,” Dennie said, exasperated. “When I stick to charming, people say yes. If I tell the truth, people say no.”
Victoria frowned, obviously considering the situation, and Dennie went back to the muffin basket. Orange-coconut. Much better. She reached over and swiped Victoria’s empty plate and began to butter.
“Why should I?” Victoria said. “She’s my friend. She’s going through a terrible time. Why should I turn you loose on her?”
“Because she’s going to have to do an interview sooner or later,” Dennie said, trying to be reasonable. Victoria should be able to figure this stuff out for herself. “And I’m on her side. I admire her. I’m changing my whole life because of what she said in the restaurant. I really do want to help her.” Victoria looked unconvinced, so Dennie moved on to logic. “That fool Tallie Gamble will be talking to every rag in the country. All Janice needs to do is give one preemptive interview and she’ll spike Tallie’s guns good. If she’d talk to me right away, she could even be the one to announce the divorce. It just makes sense.”
“Not to somebody who’s supposed to be an expert on marriage.” Victoria stopped inhaling muffins and sipped her coffee, slower now, more thoughtful. “This is a large helping of crow, and you want her to serve it to herself?”
“She’s an expert on relationships,” Dennie said. “Sometimes those end. That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to her about. I found this wonderful quote from Margaret Mead. Somebody asked her how she explained the failure of her marriages, and she said, ‘What failure? I had three marriages and none of them were failures.’ Think what Janice could do with that.”
Victoria looked intrigued but not convinced so Dennie plowed on. “Besides, she’s the one going around talking about risking and then hiding behind the cops. If she really believes in risking, I’m her best bet. I believe in her.”
Victoria pushed her plate away. “What cops?”
“She’s threatened to have me arrested for stalking,” Dennie said. “That’s why I needed Alec to get to you, and you to get to her. So I wouldn’t be stalking her.”
“So you were using Alec to get Janice, while Alec was using you to get Bond.” Victoria grinned. “I like that. It’s tidy.”
“Victoria, concentrate,” Dennie said, and Victoria said, “Eat your muffin and listen to me.”
Dennie sighed, and prepared to be patient while she chewed.
“Janice has built her entire career on understanding how marriage works.” Victoria spoke carefully, as if she were arguing with herself, presenting points. “Charles isn’t just leaving her for a younger woman, he’s taking her career with him. Women like Janice and me have given up a great deal for our careers, and we don’t regret it.” She stopped, as if she were a little surprised. “I don’t, you know. I fulfilled any maternal needs I had taking care of Alec and Andy in the summers. I don’t regret one minute of my life.”
Dennie nodded, still chewing, not sure how Victoria’s summers had gotten into her interview, but too far in to back out now.
“But even without regrets, we aren’t willing to see that kind of power taken away from us.” Victoria straightened a little. “It’s taken us forty years to get where we are today. That’s something neither one of us is going to give up without a fight.”
“Why?” Dennie said.
Victoria blinked at her. “Did you hear anything I said?”
“Everything.” Dennie put the rest of her muffin down, the better to do battle. “Did you listen to yourself? You said the two of you have worked really hard to get where you are. Well, I know that. Everybody knows that. It’s documented. You’re published, people already know, you don’t have to prove it anymore. In fact, proving it is redundant.”
“That’s not the point—” Victoria began, and Dennie cut her off.
“That’s exactly the point. You’ve arrived. You’ve done that. What are you going to do now, just sit where you are and congratulate