Love Is in the Air

Eugene arrives at Whit’s End looking unusually bare-faced: he has shaved off his mustache because Katrina may be visiting Odyssey. He has not seen her since his conversion, and he wants everything about their reunion to be perfect. While Jason struggles to repair the ice-cream freezer, Connie hovers nearby, eagerly fetching tools and praising his abilities. Eugene finds her behavior peculiar, especially when she brushes off his attempt to talk about Katrina.

The door opens, but the visitor is not Katrina. Tasha Forbes has come to see Jason. She and Jason once worked together for a government agency, though they tell Connie and Eugene only that they were government analysts. Jason is delighted to see his old friend, while Connie immediately grows suspicious of Tasha’s glamorous appearance and easy familiarity with him. Tasha explains privately that the agency has changed since Jason left. She misses him and has taken some time away to consider her own future, so Jason offers to show her the quieter life he has found in Odyssey.

After they leave, Eugene points out Connie’s hostility toward Tasha. Connie insists that a woman can sense things about another woman that men cannot, but Eugene suspects jealousy. At the Bible room, Connie asks Jack how she should greet someone after a long separation. When Eugene enters, she demonstrates an enthusiastic embrace on him - just as Katrina walks through the door. Katrina takes one look at them, apologizes for arriving at a bad time, and leaves before Eugene can explain.

Eugene catches up with Katrina and brings her back to Whit’s End. She assures him she was not jealous, but the room quickly becomes crowded and uncomfortable when Jason and Tasha return. Eugene nervously explains that there is nothing romantic between him and Connie. In his eagerness to prove it, he announces that Connie has a crush on Jason. Humiliated, Connie storms out. Katrina decides to go to her dormitory and asks Eugene to call her, while Jason takes Tasha to the zoo.

At the zoo, Tasha admits that she has never stopped loving Jason. Jason tells her that returning to Odyssey has brought him peace, yet he has still felt that something is missing. Realizing that he wants Tasha beside him, he says he loves her too and asks, “Will you marry me?”

Meanwhile, Eugene meets Katrina at a restaurant and apologizes again for Connie’s embrace. Katrina repeats that jealousy is not the problem. She cannot return to Odyssey permanently because she still has school to complete, and much has happened since she left. During the painful months when she feared Eugene might never accept Christ, a mature Christian named Brandon helped her through her doubts. He leads her university’s Student Mission Fellowship, studies the Bible with her, and understands her new faith.

Eugene tries to accept this news calmly until Katrina explains that Brandon has become more than a counselor and friend. With painful directness, Eugene asks whether she is dating him. Katrina answers, “Yes, Eugene. I’m dating Brandon.”