That afternoon Jennifer asked Brandi to watch Lucy while she visited her new friends Nina Caliente.
Nina was sweet enough, but Jennifer wasn't sure if she'd appreciate the company of children. She
walked a few blocks from their apartment complex to the Caliente house and tapped politely at the
door. Why was she so nervous? This was just a visit. A friend calling on another friend. That's all. All
except for the sleuthing part. She wondered if she could actually do this.
Nina was happy to have a visitor. Dina was out at a class, She'd be home soon enough. They didn't get
many visitors. The women in town were pretty uppity about having a good time and having any fashion
sense. Being from the city, Jennifer would be a breathe of fresh air. Nina asked her about the latest in
the city. It was damned boring being in Pleasantview, cut off from the world. Hardly any men to keep
them company. And shopping for clothes in this abysmal place was sheer agony.
"This may sound a bit rude, I promise I'm not trying to be, but why do you stay?" Jennifer asked. Nina
gave a small shrug, "We need to stay in town until Michael's affairs are in order. Everything must be
nice and tidy for Dina," she said with an affectionate, if not tolerant, sideways glance, "His accounts,
this house, which he bought only about a year ago. I don't see why these things take so long."
"Oh, it's a lovely house," Jennifer said, appreciating the fireplace and hardwood floors.
"Oh, I'll show you around," Dina offered and Jennifer agreed. It gave her a chance to do some
innocent snooping, but her heart stopped when she saw Michael's grave. "Did you know him?" Nina
asked gently. Jennifer nodded. "I'm sorry," Nina gave her arm a soft pat and left Jennifer there to
pay her respects, "I'll be in the front when you're ready." Jennifer gave Michael a silent minute and
reflected on her memories of him before rejoining Nina, "Did you know him well, too?" she asked.
Nina frowned. "Oh, I envied Dina getting married before me, that's true. Michael seemed like a safe
bet. He had that streak of gray Dina finds so attractive in men. So she thought he was tame and
stable." She cast a pained look at the house. "He wasn't," Jennifer surmised out loud. Nina gave her a
brief but severe glare. "He was so determined to have her in the beginning. She thought it was out of
love. But I don't think he understood what love was. He was possessive, controlling and extremely
jealous. The first year they were married I wasn't even allowed to visit. Not even allowed to visit my
own sister!"
Jennifer guided Nina inside the to kitchen table and started some tea while Nina continued on."When
I was finally allowed to see her again she was a completely different person. We had always been so
alive, but she... it's like she was in a daze. The only sign on life I saw in her now was fear whenever
he got close to her."
"How dreadful," Jennifer murmured, mostly to herself. She handed Nina a cup of tea and sat down just
as Dina opened the front door and made her way into the dining room.
Jennifer was caught off guard after listening to what her life was like being married to Michael and
she stammered very clumsily, "You m-must be Dina!" she knew she said that too excitedly, but stood
up and shook Dina's hand and offered her a cup of tea and to join them. Dina smiled politely, but gave
her sister a questioning look. "Oh, this is Jennifer, just come in from city, I told you about her," Nina
explained. Dina smiled again and asked how Jennifer was.
"A little rattled," Jennifer confessed, "I just paid my respects to your late husband. I knew him...
when he was much younger." Dina stared at Jennifer, "How?" "I... I used to live here when I was a
child," she explained. Dina began angrily nodding, "Ah, and I bet you're married to that cop that's
been asking around about him, huh?! Thought you'd just come on over and see for yourself?!" Jennifer
had the look of a frightened rabbit and searched Nina's face for some kind of help. "Dina, that's
enough." "No, Nina! She's a spy! She's spying on us! Little information gatherer for that lousy two-bit
dick!" (Detective, in this context.) Jennifer stood up, made her apologies to Nina and curtly left.
*No italics this time. John isn't narrating this episode, so they weren't necessary. ^-^