“No, I do.” He smiled, the light in his eyes flirtatious. “You’re a girl, after all. You’d know.”
Jenna felt herself blush. Dammit. Blushing when the big man on campus acts a little flirtatious? “I was just going to say that it doesn’t matter so much what the thing is, just that there’s something you do together. Even if it’s as mundane as eating pizza.”
“You’re right, of course,” he said. “With work and everything . . . I never imagined I’d be a single parent.”
“You’re not,” she said, her voice urgent, trying to believe what she said. “You know what I mean.”
“Sure. But I am a single dad for now, no matter what happens next.” An awkwardness settled over their conversation, like an engine that just wouldn’t turn over. Ian brought them out of the nosedive. “I guess you’re wondering why I came by out of the blue like this.”
“I think I know.”
She told him about the calls from Naomi Poole and Reena Huffman. As she spoke, she knew Reena was on the air, broadcasting the story about Celia’s affair and, likely, Jenna’s lack of knowledge of it.
“Turn it on,” Ian said.
“Really? You want to watch it? I thought you stayed away from all that.”
“I watch sometimes,” he said. “It’s good to know what people are saying and thinking. Do you mind?”
“Not if you don’t.”
She flipped on the TV. The show was in its early stages, with Reena giving a rundown of all the stories she intended to cover during the hour. Apparently other things did happen in the world. She planned on discussing a priest who molested children in Idaho and a dog who rescued a family from a burning building in Michigan.
And, of course, she intended to devote a lot of time to the latest crime in Hawks Mill: the murder of Holly Crenshaw.
But then she was ready to launch into her first topic for the night: Breaking news in the case of the Diamond Mom, Celia Walters.
? ? ?
Reena delivered the news of Celia’s affair to the viewing public. She took her time, milking the story for all it was worth and placing forceful emphasis on certain salacious words. Extramarital. Sexual. Lying.
Jenna snuck a couple of glances over at Ian as Reena went on and on. His face showed nothing, just a simple curiosity about what was being said. He could have been watching a weather report.
“I hate this ‘Diamond Mom’ shit,” Jenna said.
“Celia would think it’s ridiculous.”
Reena mentioned Ian only in passing. She told the audience that Celia’s husband, Ian, had no knowledge of the most recent affair and was as blindsided by the whole thing as anybody else.
Jenna thought of her mom and the earlier phone call. Celia wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought, and everyone knew. Jenna hated herself for it, but she felt a little glee, the smallest hint of a fuck-you to her mother.
“Earlier tonight,” Reena said, “I spoke with Ian Walters on the phone. He was too upset to speak on the air, and I completely understand that. I do. But he told me how devastating these affairs are, especially considering that he has a young daughter at home. Think about that, folks, the Diamond Mom’s daughter is now learning that her mother, who is already a crime victim, was being unfaithful at the time of her disappearance.”
Reena gave the camera one of her patented head shakes, a gesture meant to indicate how confounding and crazy the things she was forced to talk about were. If only I didn’t have to do this, she wanted everyone to understand.
“Did you really talk to her?” Jenna asked.
“Briefly,” Ian said. “I didn’t want her smearing Celia without saying something.”
“I can’t reveal my source on this breaking news,” Reena said, “but I can promise you it’s been checked and double-checked with confirmation coming from individuals very close to the situation.”
“Do you want to turn it off now?” Jenna asked.
Ian held up his index finger without looking at Jenna, so she left it on.
“But do you want to know what really confounds me?” Reena said. “Do you want to know what really has me scratching my head? The best friend. Jenna Barton. I spoke to her earlier tonight as well. Obviously we didn’t want to speak to her live on the air given her proclivity for using profanity.” A little bit of an eye roll. “But I did want to get her take on this story, since she claims to be the Diamond Mom’s best friend.” She made air quotes when she said “best friend.” “And guess what? Jenna told me on the phone that she had no idea there was an affair going on. None. No idea that her best friend was involved with another man. Also no idea about the previous affair that we learned about. Does that seem a little odd to any of you?”