Donners Bend

by Alexa V James

  Gracie nodded and the children began rowing over to retrieve the lost oars.

  “This way,” Jamie directed and Ellie swam tentatively behind him to the edge of the lake. She couldn’t help but breathe heavily as she continually imagined little demons pulling on her feet from below and water rushing into her mouth until she suffocated. And besides all that, it wasn’t exactly easy to swim with a tight corset about your waist.

  After the unnerving journey to land, Jamie and Ellie arrived soaked to the bone and shivering with goose bumps running up their arms. Their clothes and hair stuck to their bodies and droplets of lake water ran down their arms, legs, and faces. Jogging to the shed following Jamie, Ellie grew even colder as the cool breeze, so peaceful and calmly before, hit her drenched body.

  When she reached the dark shed, Jamie was already inside standing on a footstool and trying to pull a few towels out of the wooden boxes sitting on the top shelf. He handed one down to her and stepped off the ladder with another dry towel for himself. They began patting themselves dry and Ellie wrung out her hair with the towel.

  “I’m terribly sorry, Ellie,” Jamie apologized, “I must have forgotten for a moment that standing in a boat isn’t always such a good idea. I really am sorry I had to get you all caught up and, might I say, soaked in my mistake. Honest.”

  “I would have expected one of the children to do such a silly thing, but you,” Ellie giggled, but her voice became softer as Jamie took a step towards her, “A little too caught up in the race, I suppose?”

  He smiled and whispered, “Maybe just a little.”

  Then, at that very moment is when it happened. Ellie had her towel pulled tight around her and her dripping dress and then suddenly, Jamie’s arms were around her as well. They pulled her close till their shivering wet bodies touched, and then, his lips were upon hers as well.

  Everything happened so quickly and before Ellie knew it, she was kissing Jamie back. Their surroundings vanished from Ellie’s mind, as did the children. Ellie became so light-headed and dizzy she forgot about everything but the present and even that was hard to see clearly. Her head began to spin and she stopped shivering; Jamie’s warm lips seemed to light a fire within her.

  But something about it also felt wrong. It was as though she was doing something terrible, but she didn’t know why. Maybe it was because Jamie was technically, almost, her employer, and love mixed with work is always frowned upon.

  Maybe it was because proper young girls were taught against situations like this. Ellie just knew a lady with any manners at all wouldn’t be caught dead kissing a man in a dark shed, when they were both soaking wet, with their clothes sticking to their bodies, and when they should be watching over a group of young children. Plus, a proper lady also wouldn’t kiss a man that wasn’t her husband, fiancé, or even her beau as long as Ellie had been kissing Jamie. They hadn’t even been involved in a courtship.

  Perhaps, it was because he was exactly the type of man her parents had always warned her not to get involved with: a smoking, yet youthful and childish, man that had been thrown out of school and had no definite future ahead of him.

  Still, how could it be terrible if it felt so right?

  It was as though she was in a dream, a dream she hoped would never end, but it had to end sometime. Suddenly, Wesley began shouting, “Jamie! Ellie! Jamie! Ellie!” as he ran to the shed. Just before he reached it, Jamie and Ellie broke apart.

  “If you’re all dry now, can you come play with us again?” little Wesley asked, completely unaware of what had gone on just moments before.

  Jamie ran a hand through his wet hair and answered slowly, “Of course, little man.”

  He and Wesley left the shed hand in hand.

  Chapter 15 - A Very Merry Christmas

  The rainy days of Donners Bend soon turned to the snowy days of Donners Bend, the warmth of summer relinquished its hold and gave way to autumn, which in turn, quickly changed to winter. The first day of December marked Ellie’s ninth month working for the Rhodes family.

  Things went on just as they always had before, as though the little incident in the shed near the lake hadn’t ever occurred. The whole situation confused Ellie greatly, for no matter how hard she tried, Jamie’s thoughts would always remain a mystery to her. And the worst part of it was that she knew it wasn’t the same for Jamie. He could read her like a book. Just by looking into her eyes he needn’t ask any more questions. Just that was enough for him to understand how she was feeling. She hated it.

  As for Ellie’s other friends, she hadn’t seen Marcelle in over a month, which was strange, but she had received a few letters. They were all fairly vague though, and didn’t say much except that she was happy and that she hadn’t been doing much of anything exciting. Ellie couldn’t help but wonder what Marcelle was really up to back in Hunter’s Ridge.

  Emily, Ellie still saw quite frequently, and though she was happy her friend was leading such a blissful marriage with Matthew, she couldn’t help but be a little jealous.

  Her relationship with Jon remained the same as it always had. Any free time either had was spent together and everyone in town knew they were the best of friends. Of course, as it’s been mentioned before, there were still a lot of people hoping a romance would spring up in the midst of their amity.

  Jamie hadn’t known of any of this until one day his friend, Phillip Browning, mentioned it. Jamie tried to act as though it didn’t really matter much to him, but as soon as he’d picked up a cigar Phillip knew something was going on.

  As Christmas grew nearer, the little town of Donners Bend prepared itself for the holiday season. Instead of raining every other day, it snowed. It came down so hard and so often that the Rhodes had to arrange for Jamie to pick up Ellie each morning in the carriage so that she could actually make it to work, but though some may have found so much snow a hassle, the people of Donners Bend adored it. It created such a beautiful scene as the formerly green hills turned to white. Wreaths were hung on the door-fronts and windows, nutcrackers set up, letters to Santa were busily written, stockings hung on each chimney, and large pine trees, decorated with strings of popcorn, beads, and brightly colored balls were set up in each and every parlor.

  Ellie had never had such an enjoyable Christmas season. Each day there was yet another Christmas festivity for her and the children to do. One afternoon they made a mess as they built gingerbread houses in the kitchen and not one person left without a little flour on their apron or some sugar in their hair. The next day they baked cookies for the neighbors and for Jon. And the next afternoon was to be spent outside in the snow.

  Jamie, Ellie, and the children dressed in their warmest coats, hats, scarves, and mittens. The boys wore either a newsboy cap, in Wesley’s case, or a fedora, which Jamie wore, and the girls put on furry earmuffs. They rummaged around the house until they’d found a good many sleds, as well as some carrots, charcoal, and a few extra scarves.

  On their way to the hill, a velvety brown horse came up behind them and Ellie instantly recognized it as Penny and the rider as Jon. She called him over and the children began pleading that he join them. It seemed that all members of the party wanted him to come, so he agreed, but he didn’t know that Jamie was a bit skeptical. He’d been suspicious of Jon and Ellie’s friendship ever since he’d spoken to Phillip about it.

  That day was a thoroughly enjoyable one for all. They sledded down the hill in pairs and held races to see who could reach the bottom first. Then, they began to build several snowmen complete with charcoal features, carrot noses, warm scarves, and stick arms.

  Just as Jamie was finishing up their friendly snowman, Wesley took a section of snow, packed it into a ball, and threw it straight at the back of his brother’s head, hitting his black fedora.

  Jamie turned around slowly, “Was that you, little man?

  Wesley nodded with a little smile.

  Jamie smiled back and began making a snowball of his own, sending Wesley running away and scre
aming at the top of his lungs.

  That was all it took for the snowball fight to begin...

  There weren’t actually sides, so it was every man for him, or herself as snowballs flew like bombs around them as if they were taking part in an infamous battle. After a mini-war against Gracie and Leah, Jon changed his victim to Ellie. He grabbed a snowball, crept up behind her, and buried it right into the hole between her scarf and bare neck. She screamed as the snow touched her skin and began to melt and slide down her back.

  “Johnny!” she yelled and began laughing as she ran after him, picking up snow as she ran and trying to hit him back, but missing every time.

  “Try and catch me, Mae!” Jon returned, quickening his pace.

  She tried numerous times again to pack together another snowball, but it was too hard to do as she ran, and besides that, it’s also not easy to do when you’re laughing uncontrollably. So finally, she just decided to do as he said, try and catch him. After chasing him around for a few moments, she gained a few feet, so that while he was trying to run she was able to jump atop him and send them both to the ground. They rolled around a few minutes like children and Ellie was able to grab a few fistfuls of snow and stuff them beneath Jon’s scarf.

  “Mae! Mae!” he laughed, “Stop! Stop! I didn’t mean to!”

  The children laughed as they watched and yelled out, “Get’m, Ellie!”

  Finally, when both were completely exhausted, they collapsed onto the ground next to one another. Both were smiling and completely out of breath. Little white puffs came out of their mouths because of the cold.

  “Truce?” Jon asked, and reached out his hand.

  Ellie shook it and agreed, “Truce.”

  Although neither Ellie nor Jon had seen it, a sadness had appeared in Jamie’s eyes as he’d watched them throw snowballs at one another and wrestle in the snow. After Jon had left, and the Rhodes and Ellie arrived at home later that evening, they warmed up by the fire and sipped hot cocoa. Jamie was distant. He sat a little farther off with his glasses on and a book in his hand, but he wasn’t actually reading.

  As he thought about that day, he pulled out and lit a cigar.

  The joyful month of December passed fairly quickly and before Ellie knew it, it was Christmas Eve.

  Ellie sat in the middle of a long table in the Rhodes’ elegant dining room that evening. At one end of the table sat Louise, at the other end, Robert, and in between were their children, parents, Ellie, and Jamie’s friend Phillip Browning. All were dressed in their finest and the meal was by far one of the best Ellie had ever had the honor to partake in. Candles, holly, and arrangements of poinsettias acted as the centerpiece and ran down the table festively. Ellie sat near the children, and though she was also there as a friend, she was supposed to be working and looking after the children as well.

  As she listened to yet another of Phillip’s amusing stories Ellie couldn’t help but smile. It seemed everyone around her was smiling and joyful as well, for how could they not be on such a wonderful day?

  Until, something changed the festive atmosphere. It was as if a match was lit:

  “What are you planning to do now James?” Louise’s mother, Anna Day-Harris, asked politely, “Will you be going back to school, or finding a job, or...”

  Jamie looked up and replied simply, “For the moment, I’m taking some time off. Thank you for asking, Grandma Anna.”

  She nodded in reply, but Robert wouldn’t let it go at that:

  “You can’t take time off forever.”

  “I know that, father,” Jamie replied.

  The table had gone silent, for everyone could sense the growing tension. The flames were slowly spreading.

  “Well, if you’re going to be so darn smart about it, then I suppose you’ve also realized that it’s been more than eight months since you came back from Lakewood. Eight months is enough time to do something with your life, in my opinion, but as far as I can see, you haven’t done a blasted thing.”

  Louise, becoming quite flustered at her husband’s behavior, said quietly, “Please dear. The children are present.”

  But Robert paid her no mind, “You haven’t done anything! Isn’t that right, James? Tell me! Isn’t that right?”

  Jamie was just about to lash back when little old Anna spoke again:

  “Well, I’m sure James is smart enough that he has a very successful future lying ahead of him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he followed in your footsteps, Robert.”

  This only angered Robert more, “After all the shame he’s put us through, I’d be embarrassed if he followed in my footsteps!”

  Louise stood up and took her mother’s arm, taking her away from the angered men, “Why don’t I go show you that new window treatment I just ordered in from the city? I’m sure you’ll love it, mother.”

  Anna was easily led away, as was Robert’s elderly mother Katherine.

  With the older ladies out of the way, the men forgot about the children, forgot about Ellie, and they certainly forgot their manners. The fire was fully ablaze.

  “You needn’t worry, pop. I wouldn’t follow in your footsteps if you paid me. And besides my general disliking of the doctoring profession, if I did decide to go down that pathway, I’d have to be in school until I was thirty-five.”

  “From what I can see from your past experiences at universities, that wouldn’t even be possible. You’ve never even managed to stay in a school for a year, much less ten!” laughed Louise’s father, Ebenezer Day-Harris.

  Jamie smiled, remembering something, “But that wouldn’t matter much, would it Grandfather Eb? You didn’t go to school at all from what I can recall, and yet still managed to run a successful lumber mill and earn a fortune or more.”

  Ebenezer laughed, “That ’tis true, James.”

  “But not every man has the luck of your grandfather here, and you can’t just wait and hope that the same luck and fate will be bestowed upon you!” Robert interrupted.

  “I’m not waiting on fate!” Jamie returned, “I’m waiting for an opportunity to arise.”

  Phillip looked across the table at Ellie, his eyes wide. He didn’t know whether they should sit, watch, and wait for the conflict to end or leave the table then. And plus, Ellie had almost forgotten that the children were still present. They decided to wait and hope it would end soon.

  “Well, opportunities don’t always come and you can’t just sit on your behind and wait for them!”

  “I’m not going to make some rash decision before I’m ready, father! The rest of my life is hanging on what I do next, and I don’t want to make some silly mistake that I’ll come to regret years from now!”

  In the midst of this, Gracie stood up with Leah behind her and asked Ellie, “May we be excused? I’d like to practice on the piano.”

  Ellie nodded, “You may. Please take Demi and Wesley with you, dear.”

  She didn’t know why she hadn’t just gone herself. It would have been most seemly since she would be the only lady present after all, but something in her wouldn’t let her leave.

  The children left, but no one except Ellie seemed to notice.

  “Well, if you don’t make a decision soon, you’ll end up having regret anyway. You’ll regret that you wasted eight months lying around your parent’s house like a lazy bum instead of doing something with your life!”

  “I don’t regret any of that and I know I never will!”

  “Don’t be so sure!”

  “I’ll decide what I’m going to do next when I’m good and ready, and I’m sick and tired of you nagging me about it every second of every blasted day!”

  “I’m nagging you as a warning, because if you don’t decide soon, I’ll decide for you!” Robert ordered, “I’ve already got all the papers signed and ready for the Navy. I thought about the Army as well, but you seemed more like a water man to me.”

  “You just can’t send me off to the Navy like I’m your property! I refuse to join the military and there’s
nothing you can do to make me go! I’m twenty-five years old now, father! You haven’t had control over me for seven years and it’s time you realized it!

  “I may not have control of you, but I am in control of everything you know and love. I can take away everything: your family, your home, your inheritance, your life!”

  “You’re not God, you know! And you don’t own everything under the sun!”

  “I own enough to make you a miserable man!”

  “I’ll never be a miserable man until I let myself be one, and you have no control over that!”

  With the sounds of Gracie playing “Hark the Harold Angels Sing” on the piano in the background, Robert suddenly realized something: “When I was your age, son, I already had a wife, son, and a job! What have you got? Nothing, as far as I can see, you have absolutely nothing!”