Trust in Love

Chapter 10

When Justine went to work on Monday, she still hadn't heard from Jared. He had probably dismissed her as one of his "mutually beneficial encounters". She couldn't believe she had fallen for somebody who wanted nothing to do with her. Jared had truly seemed to care about her. She had been so wrong about him.

Nigel came into the office looking serious.

'Hi, Nigel! How was your conference?' Justine queried.

'It was good,' Nigel replied. 'Did you hear what happened?'

'No. What?' Justine asked.

'One of the professors got arrested for sexually assaulting a student on campus,' Nigel replied.

'Oh no! That's horrible!' Justine cried.

'Jared has been doing damage control all weekend,' Nigel stated. 'You couldn't pay me enough to do his job.'

'That's for sure,' Justine responded.

So that's why he had been so distant with her. He had been dealing with a major crisis. Why didn't he say so? She'd been in anguish since Saturday.

'Sandy told me what happened with your mom,' Nigel continued. 'That's a bum deal. Did you find a place to stay?'

'Yes I did, thanks,' she replied.

They went on to discuss Nigel's upcoming lecture and Justine got down to work.

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By the end of the week Jared still hadn't called Justine. She realized he must be busy dealing with the scandal that had rocked the university.

Nigel invited Justine to his house for Thanksgiving. She gratefully accepted, looking forward to a home-cooked meal. One thing she definitely missed living in a hotel was her mom's cooking. She realized she had probably taken it for granted. She was managing to survive by eating noodle bowls and Kraft dinner. Doing laundry was also an adventure. Not only was going to the laundromat inconvenient, it was also expensive. Justine couldn't wait for pay day. She was hoping to find a furnished apartment for rent soon. She had to save up some money first.

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There was a festive atmosphere at Nigel's house on Sunday when Justine arrived there. She met Sandy's sister Debbie and Debbie's boyfriend Alex.

Sandy offered Justine some hot apple cider.

'That would be lovely. Thanks,' Justine said gratefully.

Once Justine had a mug of cider, she wandered into the living room. She saw Jared sitting on the couch talking to Nigel. They were watching a football game on t.v.

Jared stood up and came over to her.

'How are you?' he asked casually.

'Fine,' she replied, feeling awkward in his presence. He seemed to be acting as though nothing had happened between them.

'I'm sorry I haven't called,' he continued. 'It's been a rough week.'

'So I've heard,' she answered, taking a sip of her cider.

There was an awkward silence between them. Justine didn't know what to say. Jared didn't owe her an explanation; he didn't owe her anything. Dealing with a crisis obviously took precedence over his personal life. How he felt about her would remain a mystery.

'Dinner is ready!' Sandy called from the dining room.

Everyone went to the dining table. Justine sat next to Debbie and across from Jared.

The conversation was lively and the food was delicious. Justine savored every mouthful. She felt Jared's gaze on her a few times, but she didn't look up at him. He'd had lots of chances to talk to her and he'd chosen not to. She was going to enjoy her meal and then go home.

Sandy and Debbie started gathering the empty dishes.

'Can I help?' Justine asked.

'Sure! Why don't you grab the plates while I get the pie?' Sandy responded.

Justine was grateful to have something to do. She brought the dirty plates into the kitchen.

'I'm stuffed!' Debbie said. 'I don't know how I'm going to eat pie.'

'Me, either,' Sandy replied.

Nigel came into the kitchen and told Sandy that the guys were going to do the rest of the clean up after dessert.

'That sounds fair,' Sandy said, giving Nigel a hug.

Justine helped serve the pie.

There wasn't as much conversation while everyone enjoyed their dessert. Sandy received lots of compliments on her cooking.

'I don't know about you guys, but I need to move around and clean up or I'm going to fall asleep,' Nigel said, standing up.

Jared and Alex followed suit and started picking up the dirty dishes.

'Come on, ladies, let's go relax in the living room,' Sandy suggested, standing up.

Justine and Debbie followed her to the living room.

'When the guys finish cleaning up, why don't we play a game?' Debbie suggested.

'That sounds like fun,' Sandy said.

Justine didn't think she had the energy to play games.

'If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go home now,' Justine said.

'Really? Are you sure?' Sandy asked, sounding dismayed.

'Yes, I'm sorry. Dinner was wonderful. Thank you for inviting me,' she replied.

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Fifteen minutes later, Justine arrived back at her hotel room. She felt tired and overwhelmed by her situation. She had one more day before she had to go back to work. How was she going to stay sane in such a small room?

She collapsed on the bed and tried to find something to watch on t.v.

There was a knock on the door. She got up and looked through the peephole.

It was Jared!