Scene changed with sailor getting leave (7)
I believe the answer is:
absence
'leave' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'scene changed with sailor' is the wordplay.
'changed' indicates an anagram.
'with' indicates putting letters inside.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'scene' anagrammed gives 'sence'.
'sence' going around 'ab' is 'ABSENCE'.
'getting' is the link.
(Other definitions for absence that I've seen before include "Lack (of something)" , "form of inattention?" , "Lack - it makes the heart grow fonder" , "What supposedly makes the heart grow fonder?" , "Need" .)