On Wednesday morning, Ann Middleton had a smug grin on her face when Karen Walker strode over to her desk.
“What are you grinning about?” she asked Ann.
Ann replied, “That was Sam I was just talking to. He apparently tried calling me last night and got a recording that my telephone number had been changed to an unpublished number. He was madder than hell-he had actually thought I’d changed my number because of him!”
Karen chuckled. “Did you tell him the real reason you did it?”
“It was tempting not to, but of course I told him the truth. Then he got all upset at me because not only had I refrained form letting him know about the unpublished number, which honestly had slipped my mind, but I hadn’t told him about the obscene phone calls either. He’s been really worried about the murder case anyway and now he’s all paranoid that Stanley Jenkins made the obscene calls and is out to get me.”
“You shouldn’t come down on Sam for that, Ann. He’s only looking out for you and Amy, which is understandable.”
Ann sighed. “I’m not criticizing him for that, Karen. I know he means well and I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t appreciate his concern. It’s just sort of fun seeing him all bent out of shape over nothing. That’s a terrible thing to say, I know, but I guess this Shelley Hatcher thing has sort of gone to my head and I’m still having trouble dealing with it.”
“Aren’t you being a little flippant about this Stanley Jenkins character, Ann?” Karen asked. “I mean-you act as though there isn’t even the slightest chance that he might come after you.”
“Well, of course there’s a slim chance, I suppose. But you’ve read the article in the Dispatch-why should I feel any more threatened by him than anyone else? Hell, you’re just as much at risk as I am.”
Karen shook her head. “Not true. The article said that he seems to prefer beautiful women, remember. That definitely puts me out of contention as a potential victim.”
“You’re talking nonsense, now. And I think that Bill will agree with me on that,” Ann declared to her friend.
“Bullshit!” Karen exclaimed good-naturedly. “Have you told Sam about the prowler, yet?”
“I was going to until I saw how upset he was about the phone calls. Then I decided not to. I mean, why get him uptight over a false alarm, anyway? Ever since I learned from Amy that she had indeed come home to change clothes last Friday I have quit worrying about it. It’s been quite awhile since that incident in the backyard and I’m not even sure it was a prowler I heard that night.”
“Speaking of Amy, does she still seem to be okay with Jerry?” Karen asked.
“Yes, so far. I still can’t believe how well everything went with dinner Sunday night and I was especially proud of my little girl. She was well-mannered all evening and at one point actually modeled the dress she’s wearing to the homecoming dance for Jerry.”
Karen laughed. “So they got along pretty well, it sounds. Do you think she might actually like Jerry?”
“Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far. But she at least seems to be tolerant of him, which is about as much as I can hope for at this stage.”
“Are you seeing him again?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. We’re going to see a movie.”
“Sounds like Jerry is becoming habit-forming.” Karen declared with a sly grin.
“I have to admit it, Karen, I really like being with him. He helps make me forget all of the lousy things that have been happening lately, like Marsha’s death and now Sam’s latest little stunt with that woman. I’m having fun for a change instead of just sitting around brooding over everything.”
“Well, it’s sure good to see you so cheerful. In the short time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you so upbeat and together as you’ve been since you met Jerry. I think he’s really good for you, Ann.”
“I do, too,” Ann replied. “I just hope he can continue playing by the rules though. I’m afraid he’s starting to break down a little already.”
Karen Walker’s eyes narrowed. “What did he do?”
“Nothing, really. I think it’s more a matter of what he’d like to do.”
“What do you mean?”
Ann’s eyes looked away for a moment then returned to Karen. “Well, we were at the dinner table and I caught him staring at me… At my boobs, to be more specific. I was wearing a sort of low-cut sweater that evening. That probably doesn’t sound like any big deal but it was the way he was staring that made me feel a little uncomfortable. Then, when he realized that I’d caught him, he quickly looked away and his face got redder than a beet. Thankfully, I don’t think Amy witnessed any of this.”
Karen laughed out loud. “Good Lord, Ann, aren’t you being a little paranoid? He’s only human, after all. I catch men staring at my breasts all the time-they seem to have a natural affinity to them-but I don’t get all worked up about it. And now here’s poor Jerry trying to be a perfect angel for you but he lets his guard down and dares to stare at you in a manner that isn’t quite god-like, so you act as though it’s a federal offense. Give the poor man a break, dear!”
Ann fidgeted with a pencil lying on her desk. “I guess I may be over-reacting a little. It’s just that I want this to work out so much, Karen, and I’m afraid that it won’t because Jerry’s going to start wanting more than a friendship out of it.”
“Could it be possible that you don’t trust yourself, either?” Karen said.
“Karen!”
“I’m serious, Ann. My instincts are telling me that you wouldn’t necessarily cringe at the opportunity of getting intimate with Jerry, but you don’t want to admit it to yourself. Listen, Hon. I’ve been through the very same thing myself. After I got divorced, I had cold feet about sex, too. It’s a natural defense mechanism. You tell yourself that you’ve just gotten over an ugly relationship and that you aren’t going to make the same mistake twice, so you hold out for Mr. Right to come along. Let me tell you something I know from experience-you’re just wasting your time waiting for Mr. Right because he doesn’t exist! And in the process of waiting for this imaginary character, you let golden opportunities slip by-like Jerry Rankin, for instance. He may well be as close as you ever get to Mr. Right, so I wouldn’t let him slip through your fingers too quickly if I were you. Capiche?”
Ann remained silent a moment then said, “Alright, Karen. As usual, there might be some truth to what you’re saying. Why do you have to be so damn psychic all the time? You always seem to know what I’m thinking!”
Karen smiled. “Age, my dear, that’s all it is. There’s wisdom in getting older and that’s about all I can see in it.”
Ann took a sip of her coffee. “Well, I’m still going to ‘hold out,’ as you put it. At least for a while. After all, I just met Jerry-I hardly know the man! There’s nothing wrong with getting to know somebody before you go to bed with them, is there? Or am I just being old fashioned?” she added with a trace of sarcasm.
Karen shook her head. “No, you’re just being cautious, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Especially nowadays with all the crazies out there. The point I’m trying to make is that you should watch that you don’t get overly cautious to the point that you scare Jerry off, that’s all. Give him a little slack, anyway. You’re asking an awful lot of him and you can’t expect him not to slip up on occasion. I’ll be frank, Ann. You are an absolutely gorgeous woman and I’m sure that Jerry is quite aware of that. That, no doubt, makes the temptation to slip up even greater.”
Ann made the same surprised face she always made whenever somebody complimented her looks. “Okay, Karen. I’ll keep that in mind. I might as well tell you now why I’m so nervous about all of this. Jerry wants to take me to his country retreat this weekend and I haven’t given him my answer yet. I have told him, though, that if I do decide to go that I have no intention of spending the night with him. He was quite understanding of that and he says that he just wants to visit the place before the weather starts getting nasty. What do you think I should do?”
“Go ahead and go with him! There’s nothing wrong with that-especially since you’ve already informed him that you aren’t spending the night.”
“I think I will. It sounds simply wonderful. He apparently owns an A-frame house nestled in the woods somewhere in Hocking County. The way Jerry describes it, it’s nothing short of Paradise.”
“This guy must be loaded, is all I can say.”
“He seems to be doing quite well with his real estate business.” Ann said.
“God, how I envy you, Ann! This guy almost sounds too good to be true. Hang on to him, gal!”
“I intend to do just that as long as things keep going as well as they are.”
Karen snatched up one of the travel brochures from Ann’s desk and started to leave. “I’ll chat with you later-I’ve got a client waiting for an itinerary. You go, girl!”
Ann laughed and realized that she was in an exceptional mood all of a sudden. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this happy and she likened the experience to those rare magical moments she used to have when she was a teenager in high school. Like when she would find out that some gorgeous guy she had had her eyes on for weeks was going to actually ask her out on a date, stuff like that.
She realized that for the first time since her breakup with Sam that things were finally beginning to look up a bit. Nothing had really changed, granted, except for her fledgling relationship with Jerry Rankin. And maybe that was why she was suddenly seeing things in a more optimistic light.
Jerry is good for you. That’s what Karen had told her. And she was right. Ann thought about Jerry’s country retreat and decided that not only was she going to accept his offer but that she was actually looking forward to it. It would be nice to get out of town and take a long drive through the country and enjoy the fall foliage. Most likely they would leave early Saturday and return that same evening. Amy would be fine in the meantime-she could either stay at home or go out with her friends. No doubt she would be tired from the Homecoming Dance on Friday, anyway.
Suddenly it dawned on Ann that she had forgotten to tell Sam about Amy’s dance and wondered now if she should call and inform him. Then she remembered that she’d seen a letter in Amy’s purse addressed to Sam earlier that morning and that Amy no doubt would have mentioned the dance to him in the letter. Ann hadn’t been surprised to see the letter-Amy hadn’t talked to her father in a while and she had been into writing letters lately for some unknown reason-and her only concern now was that Amy didn’t mention Jerry to Sam in the letter. At least not in any sort of negative way. The last thing she needed now was for Sam to somehow turn Amy against Jerry and ruin things before they even had a chance to get off the ground. Then she recalled Shelley Hatcher and a smile came to Ann’s face. Sam was certainly in no position to criticize who she went out with!
Just then, the telephone rang and Ann picked it up.
“This is Ann Middleton, how may I help you?”