Missing Marlene by Evan Marshall

foolish,” she said to Audrey.
    “Foolish! Don’t be silly. I think it’s marvelous. I came outside to get the mail and heard you two.” Audrey frowned in puzzlement. “I thought you had a lawn service.”
    “Yeah—us!” Jane said with a laugh. “Can’t afford that quite yet, Audrey.”
    “Ah,” Audrey said, but the expression in her blue-green eyes made it clear that the idea of being unable to afford something was completely foreign to her.
    Jane, uncomfortable, added, “Not till I get that big bestseller.”
    “Mm,” Audrey said. “By the way, I heard Marlene left.”
    “How did you hear that?” Jane asked.
    “Roger told Elliott at their club.”
    Jane nodded.
    “Any idea why she left?” Audrey asked.
    “Apparently she’d just broken up with her boyfriend—”
    “Boyfriend!” Audrey, to Jane’s bewilderment, looked astonished. “Marlene had a boyfriend?”
    “Yes, Audrey,” Jane said, frowning. “Why do you find that surprising? She is quite a beautiful girl....”
    “Oh, I agree, I agree,” Audrey blustered. “It’s just that—well, did you know about that? You certainly never mentioned it.”
    “No, I didn’t know about it, but it’s true nevertheless. Anyway, she broke up with this young man. And she didn’t like working for me, so”—Jane shrugged—“why stick around?”
    “Why indeed ...” Audrey said thoughtfully, eyes unfocused. For a long moment she stared down at the ground, crunching a leaf with the toe of her shoe. Then she looked up brightly. “So—have you hired someone new?”
    “Yes, a lovely young woman named Florence Price. She’s arriving tomorrow.”
    “Good,” Audrey said, apparently no longer interested in this subject, because she was now studying the front of Jane’s house, no doubt noticing that it needed a fresh coat of paint. She turned back to Jane. “Well!” she said briskly. “Don’t forget my party Saturday night.”
    Audrey’s husband Elliott was a cardiovascular surgeon, considered one of the best in his field. For that reason he was under serious consideration for the medical directorship of the New Jersey Rehabilitation Institute, one of the country’s leading facilities. Which was why, as Audrey had explained to Jane, she was giving this cocktail party—to ingratiate herself and Elliott with the members of NJRI’s board of trustees, who would ultimately appoint the medical director.
    “Six-thirty,” Audrey said. “Don’t forget.”
    “I won’t,” Jane assured her.
    At that moment a voice from across the street called, “Mother! I’m waiting!”
    Jane glanced over at Audrey’s house. Audrey’s daughter Cara stood near the three-car garage, her hands on her hips.
    Audrey laughed and rolled her eyes. “I promised to take her to the Short Hills Mall. It’s her favorite.” Backing toward the road, she put out a cautionary finger. “Now don’t forget—Saturday, six-thirty.”
    “Got it!” Jane said brightly.
    “Bye, doll!” Audrey said, turned, and hurried toward her house, calling, “Coming, darling, coming.”
    Jane sighed and surveyed the masses of leaves. They didn’t look like much fun anymore. She returned the rakes to the garage and entered the house through the kitchen. She peeked into the family room. Nick sat cross-legged on the sofa, engrossed in a cartoon. Winky lay asleep in his lap, a tight tortoise furball.
    Jane poured herself a glass of Diet Coke and sat down at the kitchen table. She was glad Nick had Winky. Kenneth had given the kitten to Nick only a month before he died.
    She remembered Nick’s questions about Roger in the car. Did Nick think Roger would be his next daddy? Jane considered this extraordinary notion. Did she think so? Perhaps. It was possible. Though she and Roger had only made love that one time, they were becoming more and more intimate these days, and Jane felt ready now to take the relationship to the next level. She sensed that Roger felt the same way.
    She roused herself