Since She Went Away(55)

“You know, Ian, I haven’t stopped thinking Celia can tell Ursula herself. I—”

But she stopped herself. She wasn’t sure if she believed the words coming out of her own mouth. And she didn’t want to sound completely fake.

“It’s okay, Jenna,” Ian said. “We all know where we stand.”

A silence settled over the call, so Jenna broke it by giving him her cell number. “Call me or text me if you want to share those good memories with Ursula. Or anybody else. I think you’re right. It would be a good thing.”

“Sure.” He paused. Jenna heard someone talking in the hallway. Then Ian said, “It’s been good reconnecting with you, Jenna. It’s, well, it’s a part of the past that had been shut off for a while.”

“You’re right,” she said. When she hung up the phone, her hand was shaking.

? ? ?

She walked out with Sally at the end of the day, both of them moving slowly, tired from a busy Monday.

“So, who was your mysterious caller today?” Sally asked.

“Oh.” Mention of the call made her feel guilty, even though she wasn’t sure why. She’d spent the day thinking about Ian a lot. The two times their hands touched, the desire to reconnect and share old memories. Wasn’t that a perfectly normal thing to do when someone . . . “Just a friend.”

“‘Just a friend’? Just a man friend? Why so defensive? Do you say that about me? ‘Oh, that’s Sally, she’s just a friend.’”

They stopped by Sally’s car, a black Jetta. Sally leaned back against the trunk as if she had all the time in the world.

“It’s Ian.” Sally didn’t react. “Celia’s husband.”

“Oh, I get it.” A knowing look spread across Sally’s face. “You’re worried what it looks like if you two start buddying up.”

“We’re not buddying up. We’re old friends too.”

“I thought he was such a stick-in-the-mud. Didn’t you always refer to him as Mr. Uptight or something like that?”

“He is like that now, but he wasn’t always. In high school he could be funny. He partied like anyone else at times. He has a warmer side.”

“So did Celia, apparently. I saw that stuff on the news over the weekend.” Sally studied Jenna, waiting to see if she wanted to talk. When she didn’t say anything, Sally said, “I’m sorry you got dragged through the mud again.”

“It’s fine. I just didn’t know my best friend as well as I thought I did.”

“Hey, who knows anyone as well as they think they do? Derrick, my oldest, he called me over the weekend. His whole family is converting to Catholicism. The whole family.”

Jenna was only half paying attention. She saw her conversation and contact with Ian through Sally’s eyes, through the eyes of anyone else in town. No, it might not look right, even if they were old friends. Even when things with Marty were at their worst, their most unfulfilling, she never cheated. Not that she had a lot of choices as the stay-at-home mother of a four-year-old boy. But how far she’d come, how much more confidence she possessed about her own place in the world.

“Do you have time for a drink?” Sally asked.

Jenna came back to the conversation. “A drink? No, I should get home. Jared and I had a rough patch over the weekend. I feel like I should be there. And his girlfriend dumped him.”

“No way. That little bitch. And after she mounted him that way? Got him all stirred up?” Sally offered a sympathetic smile. “Those poor boys. They never talk about their feelings, but when they get hurt, look out. There’s a well of emotion just waiting to come out.”

“I know. He was really into this girl, I think. It’s a long story.”

“Maybe that’s what’s going on with your gentleman caller,” Sally said.

“What do you mean?”

“Celia’s husband. He’s hurting. His heart’s broken. The disappearance. The affair. Hell, the guy’s been crushed. He probably sees you as someone he can open up to. An old friend, right?”

Sally’s logical explanation disappointed her a little. Disappointed because it made sense.

“Maybe,” Jenna said. “You’re probably right.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX


When she came in the door, Jared was at the kitchen table, doing his homework. He had books and papers spread all over and headphones covering his ears. He slipped them off when he saw her and offered a small smile.

He still looked as if someone had run over his puppy.

“How’s it going?” she asked, trying not to sound falsely chipper.

“I’m fine.”

“I thought I’d make spaghetti. Are you hungry?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

“Clear your stuff and I’ll get it going.”

He ate quickly and didn’t say much. Jenna wanted to give him his space, let him lick his wounds over being dumped by Tabitha. Jared was more outgoing than Marty, better able to express himself and open up. It was likely a consequence of growing up with a single mom. She edged toward bringing up the elephant in the room rather than ignoring it, but before she said anything, Jared spoke up.

“So Celia was really having an affair before she disappeared?” he asked.