Page 24 of Phoenix Fire

There was a period later in the evening when she felt that Jason had become somewhat remote toward her. She was concerned that she had inadvertently done something to upset him. Perhaps Jason had misread her gaiety and good cheer as a flirtation with Carlton. Even worse, perhaps Carlton had misread her.

Then, the trip to 'Apple Brown Betty' with Jason was simply glorious, and the evening, purely divine. Surely Jason would have felt, as she so openly felt, the magic passing between them. He surely must have known that she was falling in love with him. The signals that she was receiving from him had indicated that he, too, was falling in love with her.

Could she have misread the signals so badly?

What about Carlton's intrusion at lunch? How was she to handle it? Should she call Jason and tell him about the odd encounter? Should she simply forget that the incident had taken place?

She heard the loud steady buzzing of her clothes dryer and went to empty its contents in exchange for more damp towels and bed sheets.

From the utility room she went to the kitchen to empty her dishwasher of the clean dishes and silverware. Oddly, it was a tedious task that she did not like. She smiled at herself when she was finished, thinking how silly it was to dislike such a simple chore.

Next she attacked the carpet with her vacuum cleaner. The carpet, she noted in her mind, did not really need vacuuming. She was making 'busy work' for herself, she decided. She pushed the stop button on the cleaner, wrapped the long cord in a neat round pile around the hooks on the long handle and stowed it in the entry closet.

She dusted furniture for a while. She became restless with this chore and quit. Then she sat with some ad copy strewn about the coffee table and floor. Haydn became monotonous and she exchanged the CD disc for another. She decided on a John Williams classical guitar disc.

The thoughts kept intruding while she did her chores. Why did Jason not call her? She expected him to call. Perhaps he knew that she expected him to call and simply wished to tantalize her. But, no, he would not do that. Some other men she had dated might do that but not Jason. And, she must not begin to think that way. Those kind of thoughts could harm a relationship. She hoped that it was not already damaged.

She could call Jason, of course. However, she was from that old school where it was not really proper for a woman to call a man. Oh, sure, the women liberation groups made it acceptable. But she was not given to the 'woman's lib' philosophy. She had never climbed aboard that 'feminist' wagon. Yes, there were some tenets about the feminist movement that just made good sense, like, equal pay for equal work, better job opportunities, recognition for women who made significant achievements in the work place. It was too often than men took credit for work actually done by women.

All in all, though, she still enjoyed very much being a woman catered to and made over: the car door opened for her; the chair pulled out for her at dinner; sincere flattery. Jenny felt that the 'feminist movement' had taken things too far, had not truly recognized or accepted the simple truth about men and women. They were not equal, not in a whole lot of ways --- biologically, emotionally, physically. Some activities on the far side of the 'movement' were in Jenny's mind ludicrous: women boxing, playing football, fighting front line wars. The times, she thought, could change too drastically, too much, too fast. Sanity and sensible thinking should not be subverted, should not be free-thought into serious inconsistencies and moral nit-picking.

Jenny smiled at herself, at her philosophical rectitude, at her silent 'holier than thou,' perhaps, pompous thoughts. What? All of these aberrant side trips just because she could not bring herself to call Jason Prince? Then, dammit, just why the devil did a great big part of her want to call him?

The dryer buzzer went off again, announcing an end of a cycle. Yes, indeed, good timing. Her thoughts, her brain, needed to be equipped with a cycle ending buzzer. Oh, well, for now, she would just use the dryer's buzzer.

When she had emptied the last load from the dryer, she decided to run her bath and have a glass of wine. With the hot and cold valves adjusted on the bathtub for the desired water temperature, Jenny went to pour her wine. She had just recapped the Gallo bottle when the telephone rang. She almost spilled the contents of her wine glass by her reactive jerk. The loudness control was turned to its highest point. She hurried to answer the shrill ring. She glanced quickly at the microwave's digital clock. The time was 9:45 PM.

“Hello, this is Jenny.” She spoke cheerily.

“Hello, Jenny, I'm glad I caught you in.” The voice was glib and over confident, not the voice she had hoped to hear. “I've been thinking of you all day and all evening. I want very much to see you. Have you thought about what I said?” Carlton Prince paused. He knew that she would recognize his voice.

Jenny indeed knew who the caller was and she was not sure just how to handle him. But, then, in a moment of clarity, she understood that there was but one way to handle this call. When she started to speak, their voices collided. “ Carlton …”

“Are ...” he had started to ask her if she was still on the line. “Go ahead, Jenny.”

Jenny could almost see his smug face through the telephone line. “Carlton, I had hoped it was clear at lunch that I did not want you to call me. It must be difficult for you to ...”

“But, Jenny, surely I can't be that mistaken by my instincts. You were hesitant at lunch but you were simply uttering a woman's automatic responses. That was to be expected. Somewhere inside, you very much wanted me to call you. And I do believe you have been thinking about what I said to you.”

“You are brazen and arrogant, Carlton, and I have no intention of continuing this conversation. You are dead wrong about which you speak. It is none of your business, but my only interest is in your brother. Your brother, Carlton! What has he done to make you so rudely disrespect him? Now, I don't wish to be rude myself but I do hope I've made it abundantly clear to you. I don't like hanging up on people. I prefer civility, so I will just ...”

“Jenny, Jenny! You're in denial. It happens all the time. I'll give you a bit more time. You need to get in touch with your true feelings. You will see ...”

“You pompous creep! Get yourself some much needed help. Goodnight and goodbye!” She started to slam the phone down but stopped herself. She could hear his voice as she quietly put the phone in its cradle.

Her heart was beating at a rapid rate and her anger threatened to explode. The overbearing jerk! The audacity. The gall. Who did he think he was? Calling and interrupting her life with his insane talk? This was harassment. Stalking, even. Jason's brother, for God's sake. How could he do this to his own brother? It was stupid and beyond the realm of her comprehension. She sat and seethed.

The telephone rang again.

“Darn it!” She said out loud, shocked again by the shrill ring, “forgot to turn the darn volume down.” Before answering she readjusted the loudness. Then, she cautiously picked up the receiver.

“Hello,” she said tentatively.

“Jenny, you must not hang up on me. I do have feelings, you know. I have a suggestion which might ...”

“Carlton!” she broke in, forcing herself to control her breathing, fighting back the ire, keeping her voice modulated with some semblance of sanity. “Really, please do not call me again. I do not wish to hear from you. Again, I am saying goodbye and hanging up. Please, please, do not call again.” She put the phone in its resting place.

She clinched her tiny fists and began to walk away, hoping that he would not call ever again.

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