Connexion

Part 36

The following Monday, Caleb phoned Jena's home and got Melanie.

"This is lovely." Melanie had to contained her excitement. He had phoned. Perfect. He was going to invite her out again. Yes, yes, yes, she thanked her guardian angel.

"Sorry, I meant to phone on Saturday to thank you and Jena." 

"To thank me?" And certainly not Jena!  Melanie murmured under her breath. She continued more loudly. "I should thank you." Melanie crossed her fingers. "I had a great time. Because of you."

"Thanks." To derail the topic, Caleb asked, "Is Tony back?"

"Tony?"

Caleb kept the smile in his tone. "Assuming the invitation is still on." He had thought about Jena's suggestion, and thought it might be the best way to resurrect the connection between him and Jena.

"Yes. Of course." Which invitation? Melanie wondered.

"I think Jena, or was it you, who said, no plans for this week, but were hoping to arrange something with Tony, and included me." Caleb said, "Is he back?"

"No, he is due back later this week." Melanie nearly huffed.

Caleb wondered how to reintroduce the topic, "Bet Jena and you missed him."

"Yes. Of course."

"He is Jena's cousin, right?" Time to collect details. 

"Yes." Melanie's tone suggested she was not happy with the topic. Melanie frowned, something was not right. "A problem here?"

"No. Just trying to jigsaw what I know. Tony is Jena's cousin and he is your friend."

A pause. "Yes." Melanie asked, "Is that an issue?"

Caleb opted for bluntness, "No. I understand Tony was your boyfriend, and thought if I met him, and to do what Jena said,  I could take you and him when he gets here, and I could explain that I showed you some of the other sights in the city. "

This was the third time that Caleb asked her if she had a boyfriend. "He is not my boyfriend. I told you, he and I are from the same small town. So of course we are friends." Melanie frowned, and rehashed her chats with Caleb and Jena. While Caleb paused as he tried to rephrase his next question. Melanie's brain was in a whirr. The pause was concerning, Melanie thought. Again she went through her chat with Caleb, and things were fine. She again went through her chat with Jena, and Melanie reached the conclusion that Jena must have said something to Caleb on Friday. She bit her lip, and continued, "I think Jena has decided that I should date her cousin! She keeps throwing Tony at me! But that would be incest! Our social scene is small, practically family! Tony and I have an amicable, platonic relationship. We are good friends."

Caleb narrowed his eyes as he worked his way through her statement. He said, "I see." Melanie tried to think of something she could use to derail the topic. But before she could say anything, Caleb continued, knowing that Melanie's statement was perfect to draw a line under their budding relationship, "Good to hear that. Like us." Caleb said just to ensure Melanie got the message.

"Like us?" Melanie narrowed her eyes. 

"Yes. We are good friends, right?" 

"Yes." Melanie muttered. "Of course."

"It isn't often that I meet someone who is so gregarious and so easy-going. Which really helped us to established a good-natured platonic relationship within days."

"Thanks. Yes, we had a great time."

"And it was great to meet Jena's friends too. Obviously I am looking forward to meet Tony. He sounds great." Caleb said.

Melanie nearly screamed. Jena had scuppered her plans, Melanie thought.  Clearly, Jena gave Caleb the wrong impression of her and Tony relationship. The question was how to recover her position in Caleb's social life.

Caleb took the reins, "Anyway, the reason for this call, I was going to invite you, Tony and Jena, and her boyfriend, for dinner at my place." He simply wanted to know if Jena was with anyone, like Steve or Kevin. He wished he had ferreted the information yesterday. He was just not sure if the flirting between Steve and Jena on Friday was just in his imagination. Unfortunately, he also noted that Kevin put his arm around Jena's shoulder.  "I wanted to thank Jena for allowing us to join her and her friends. Thought I could reciprocate." Melanie sighed, knowing she has lost him. Caleb continued, "Could you check with Jena? See if you all,  you, Jena, her boyfriend and Tony, are available for dinner on Thursday."

"Thursday?"

"Yes, would have suggested Friday or the weekend, but I have a previous engagement which I cannot change." Caleb stated bluntly. " Is Jena around? I assume you and Tony are available. I could talk to Jena, see if she and her boyfriend are available."

Automatically, Melanie said, "No, er, she is not available at the moment."

"On a date?" Caleb pushed seeking information about Jena's personal live. 

Melanie reached a decision. She might have lost Caleb, but the time to squash Caleb's interest in Jena. "er, no," She opted for utter demolition. "er, Jena is currently hiding!"

"Hiding?" Caleb chuckled. "Really?"

Melanie threw Jena under the bus. "Yes. Jena said she would not be talking to anyone today! As expected, really."

"Why?" 

"Long story. She showed me a newspaper clip today." For effect, Melanie paused. Caleb frowned.  Melanie said with a feigned sigh, "Her affair was in the newspaper!"

"Affair?" He blinked. 

"Yes, it was reported in the Dunedin Echo today because the couple were local celebrities."

Dunedin? Jena lived in the north island and Dunedin is in the south island. That did not make any sense. So he said, "Jena had an affair?"

"Yes. With a married woman."

"A woman." He rubbed his forehead. This did not make any sense. And did not match what he knew about Jena. 

"The husband cited Jena in his divorce! Which was reported in the Dunedin Echo, because the husband was a county rugby player and his wife was a model! So the media was swarming around Jena today, seeking a comment or a scoop."

Caleb was shocked. And it did not marry with his view of Jena. An affair? "Jena had an affair with a woman?"

"Yes. I know. Hard to believe it. The article is online. Look at the Dunedin Echo webpage, put in her name, and you will see the article." Again Melanie theatrically sighed, "I know she said we would go out before Tony and I return to our town, but I doubt she will leave the house until this news fades." Melanie continued, "So many calls today! Especially the media, hence why I picked up your call."

"I see." 

"Sorry, Caleb, but Jena has refused to talk to anyone. She is keeping her head low. And I am answering the door and phone."

"I see." He rubbed his forehead, and looked at the ceiling. Clearly his personal-social radar was not working. His intuition and his gut feelings had never been so wrong.