“Sounds like you weren’t exactly looking forward to his call.”
“You wouldn’t believe how mad I am at that man! I tried calling you earlier by the way-where were you?” Ann asked.
“Just running errands. So tell me, what did your ex do to get you so angry? And how did the date go last night?” her friend inquired.
Ann heaved a long sigh. “I guess I’d better start at the beginning. The date went very well-I had a great time. We went to Angelino’s for dinner then came here for a drink. Jerry’s such a nice guy! I wouldn’t call it love or anything, but I really did enjoy his company.”
“That’s great! So are you going to go out with him again?”
“Yes, I am. In fact, I invited him over for dinner tomorrow.”
“Are you serious? What about Amy?” Karen asked, obviously stunned by Ann’s apparent turnaround.
“Well, you’re probably going to get mad at me for not following your advice but I told Amy about Jerry this afternoon. Now before you tell me that I’ve made a big mistake, let me explain. First of all, as I told you before, I don’t like sneaking around behind Amy’s back. I want to be up front with her all the time. Can you imagine how she’d react if she found out about Jerry and I hadn’t told her about him? She’d never let me live it down! That’s just the way Amy is. So last night I decided that when Jerry called me today I was going to tell him that I only want to be friends with him and nothing more; that I’m not ready to start a relationship with anybody right now. I figured that if he could agree to those terms, then I’d continue going out with him. I think he really likes me, Karen, and I want everything out in the open before this goes any further and somebody gets hurt. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I understand and that makes good sense. So how did Jerry react when you told him?” Karen asked.
“Well, he wasn’t very thrilled, to tell you the truth. He didn’t act like he was disappointed but I could tell he was. I think he was hurt, too, which is all the more reason why it was a good idea to confront him now instead of leading him on. Anyway, he agreed to keep it on a friendly basis and that’s when I elected to ask him over for dinner tomorrow. He’d told me last night that he would really like to meet Amy some time so I told him that he could meet her when he came for dinner, providing that Amy didn’t react negatively to the idea. It was a bold move, I realize now. But it turned out even better than I thought it would.”
“What did Amy say?”
“I caught her at a good time and I think that really helped the situation. She was asked to the homecoming dance last night, so we went shopping for a dress this afternoon. She was all excited about the dance so I took advantage of her upbeat mood and casually mentioned that I had a male friend that I was having over for dinner tomorrow and asked her if she would mind joining us. She was a little put off at first of course, but I think that had more to do with actually making a commitment to dinner than the fact that I’d invited some guy over. Anyway, surprise of surprises, she said it was okay with her as long as she didn’t have to get dressed up for the occasion. Can you believe it?”
“I think that’s wonderful, Ann! These kids today will fool you once in awhile, won’t they?”
“That’s for sure.”
“So now, tell me about Sam,” Karen demanded.
Ann groaned. “Well, I decided to give him a call this morning-I guess because I felt a little guilty about going out with Jerry and all. You know how it is, even though we’re divorced I still feel sort of attached to Sam-I guess out of habit. Anyway, who do you suppose answered his phone when I called? None other than the same bitch I had caught him fooling around with before! Can you believe it? And I felt guilty?”
Karen hissed, “My Lord! I’ll bet you were absolutely livid!”
“I was! Then, to top it all off, he just called me a few minutes ago to try and mellow everything out. Well, I wasn’t very mellow to say the least. In fact, after several un-pleasantries, I let him know that I just happen to be seeing someone myself!”
“How did he take it?”
“Not too well. He tried to blow it off but I could tell he was upset. I’m not usually one to play head games, but I just couldn’t resist. Had he been with anybody else, I wouldn’t have gotten so down and out nasty with him. But that slut? No way!”
“Sounds like you really put him in his place.”
“I think I did. What angers me so much, Karen, is that Sam’s been playing the “mourning role” ever since we split up. Then all of a sudden he turns around and pulls this crap. It’s like a slap in the face!” Ann declared.
“Well, I must admit I’m more than a little surprised,” Karen said. “From what all you’ve told me about Sam, this almost seems out of character for him.”
“I’ve always thought he was different, too. But now he’s shown his true colors-he’s just another typical man like all the rest. Except for Jerry, that is. He genuinely seems to be different; he’s a real gentleman and doesn’t patronize women.”
“Maybe this will go beyond friendship.”
“Hmm, I don’t know about that. All I can say is that right now, I’m not interested in any relationship. I used to think Sam was a gentleman, too. He sure has had me fooled!”
“Well, between you and me, that’s exactly why I have never gotten married again. Things seem to change once a man thinks he has a hold on you. I like to keep Bill guessing-keeps him honest. Not to change the subject, but have you had any more prank calls?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you! I got one last night when Jerry was here. It was horrifying!”
“What happened?”
Ann told Karen about the call and Jerry’s suggestion to get an unpublished number, which she intended to do Monday.
“That sounds like a good idea, Ann,” Karen said.
“Jerry is so sweet. He told me if I ever needed him for anything to just call him, night or day.”
“He sounds like quite a wonderful guy, Ann. My advice is to keep him around awhile, even if it’s only a platonic relationship.”
“I think I will.”
“Well, I’d better go. Hey, maybe we can double date sometime-go see a movie or go out to dinner. What do you think?” Karen said.
“Maybe,” was Ann’s reply. “Let me see how everything goes tomorrow and we just may do that sometime.”
“Great! Give me a call tomorrow and let me know how dinner went, okay?”
“Okay.”
Ann hung up and returned to the kitchen sink. Karen’s inquiry about the obscene phone calls had suddenly reminded her of the opened window blinds she’d discovered in the bathroom last night and that she had forgotten to ask Amy about it earlier. She then made a mental note to be sure to ask her when she got home later.
After finishing the dishes, Ann decided to take a hot bath. While lying back in the tub, she started thinking about the last phone conversation with Sam. When he had told her that the police thought Stanley Jenkins was the man who had murdered Marsha and Sara Hunt, she’d nearly broke out laughing. It was impossible to imagine the shy national honor student with the horn-rimmed glasses capable of harming a fly, much less raping and murdering two women. It was preposterous!
Granted, she had hardly known the guy back at school-in fact the only time she could recall ever speaking to Stanley at all had been the time he had asked her to Senior Prom. She could still remember the incident quite well; only because of the total shock she’d felt that Stanley Jenkins had actually had the nerve to do it in the first place. Surely, she had thought at the time, he simply had to have known that she would turn him down. Not so much because of the obvious fact that he was a certified nerd and an absolute zero in the popularity column at school (although that certainly should have been enough) but because everyone who was anyone at Smithtown High School had known that she was going steady with John Flinders at the time and that she most certainly would be going to prom with him…
Yet, Stanley Jenkins had nevertheless asked her to prom anyway-the hapless loser.