Donners Bend

by Alexa V James

  “Do you like my picture?” Gracie asked. She’d been sitting at the window and she held up a drawing of the hills and snow outside.

  “I love it,” Jamie replied.

  “It’s your turn!” Demi informed her sister with impatience. She and Leah had been playing checkers on the floor.

  “Quiet down,” Jamie requested again, “If you don’t listen this time, we’ll have to leave. Do you understand?”

  The children nodded, all except for the snoring Wesley, who was lost in dreamland. His dark curls were rumpled and he leaned into Jamie’s warm chest where he’d been sleeping comfortably in his brother’s arms.

  For a few more minutes the room was silent, or as silent as it can be with four children inside. Gracie sat looking out the window and drawing little sketches on her paper with colored pencils, while Jamie and Wesley sat still in the chair beside Ellie’s bed, and Wesley slept. Demi and Leah, playing checkers, easily took the winner as the loudest group. They bickered and quarreled when the other made an illegal move or their king was taken, and Jamie had to continually remind them to lower their voices.

  After a few more minutes had passed, Ellie’s eyes finally opened, and quite shocked was she to find all five Rhodes children there with her. Gracie noticed her first:

  “Ellie’s awake!” she shouted happily, “Can we talk now, Jamie?”

  Jamie didn’t answer her but asked, “Ellie? Are you awake, Ellie?”

  “Uh huh,” she mumbled, rolling over to face him, “How long have you been here?”

  “’Bout an hour. The children haven’t had it easy, though. I wouldn’t let them talk for fear they’d wake you.”

  “And did they do a good job obeying?”

  “Of course we did!” Demi exclaimed, climbing onto Ellie’s bed after Leah.

  “I drew you some pictures!” said Gracie, handing them over.

  “Thank you, Gracie. I love them,” Ellie replied.

  Wesley began to rouse then, from all the loud voices. And he looked up with drowsy, half-shut eyes and a confused expression.

  “Hey, little man. Have a good sleep?” asked Jamie.

  Wesley didn’t answer, but looked around himself dozily before spotting Ellie.

  “Did you just wake up, too?” he asked in a little voice.

  “I did.”

  “Good,” Wesley mumbled, laying his head of dark curls back onto Jamie’s shoulder.

  Ellie smiled.

  There was a pause as the children finally became silent.

  Demi broke it, asking what all the other children had been wanting to, as well:

  “Why haven’t you come to see us, Ellie? Don’t you like us anymore?”

  Ellie looked hurt, “Of course I do, Demi. I love you all and I always will, you know that. I’ve wanted to come see you, but the doctor says I’m too weak to be on my feet right now, but maybe your mother will allow you to come see me here now from time to time until I’m back on my feet. I’d like it very much if you would.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Oh yes, quite sure.”

  From then on, Jamie brought the children with him every Sunday afternoon when he came to visit Ellie. They told her that they’d prayed for her during church and they always brought with them paintings they’d done and games to play. No matter how bad she was feeling, Ellie’s spirits always brightened when she saw the merry children. Jamie knew this, so no matter how much Dr. Hughes told him the children should be gentler with Ellie, he refused to make them change their ways.

  As Ellie slowly gained back some of her strength, she longed to get out of bed; but her legs were still too weak to support her. So, Jamie brought with him a surprise on his carriage one day. He brought her a wheelchair. A simple one, but a nice one nonetheless, with soft white pillows padding the bottom and back.

  Ellie was shocked when she saw it and she hugged Jamie tightly for being so generous. He carried her out of bed and set her down upon it, laying a quilt on her lap. Wearing a clean black suit, he looked quite different than Ellie in her old nightdress, but no one was around to make much of it. If someone had seen though, they would have thought Ellie a terribly improper lady for going outside, where anyone could see her, in her nightclothes.

  They sat out on the porch, and Ellie let the wind blow through her hair. It felt so good to be out in fresh air, though it was cold, after being cooped up for so long.

  It started to become routine for Jamie to come to Ellie’s every day, and not Jon. Jon would stop by several times, but when he saw that Ellie was being cared for, he saw no reason to stay and make it a crowd.

  Jamie would bring over his papers each morning, sit in a chair in the corner of Ellie’s room beside her desk and spread them all out upon it. And then, wearing his thick black glasses, he’d figure out different aspects of the orchard, which he was still planning to run come springtime. All this he did while she got her rest, and when she woke they’d open the window and play cards or sit out on the front porch.

  Ellie’s dreams about the lake and its evil creatures came back one night. Luckily, Jamie was right there beside her, and he held her in his arms until she fell back to sleep.

  Although Ellie was feeling terrible, it wasn’t so bad knowing Jamie was always right there with her.

  Chapter 21 - The Truth Comes Out

  Like it’s been mentioned previously, the people of Donners Bend had been watching Jon and Ellie’s growing relationship for months now. In that time and in their town, such a relationship was unheard of. They were closer than most male and female friends ever became, yet denied that they were involved in a courtship. The people figured that something must have been going on, but that Jon and Ellie were simply keeping it to themselves. The accident at the lake and Ellie’s illness only strengthened their belief that Jon and Ellie were secretly in love.

  They knew Jon had been going over to Ellie’s house a lot, at least for the first few weeks. And even when he stopped going so frequently, they could sense his constant worry when they stopped by as he was working at Ol’ Smith’s. He obviously couldn’t get Ellie out of his mind, or his heart, as the people thought.

  They knew nothing of the time Jamie had spent with Ellie or the constant worry he’d been under, as well. Absolutely nothing at all they understood about how he’d sat next to Ellie’s bedside and how he’d been under just as much, if not more, stress than Jon.

  Even more, society also wasn’t aware that one of the main reasons Jon was horribly worried about Ellie was because he’d been blaming himself for what happened. They knew he’d been with her when she’d fallen through the ice, but they had no idea he’d begged her to come and were unbeknownst to the fact that he’d been laying with his eyes closed while she skated.

  Everyone was under the impression that Jon’s distress had been caused by his love for Ellie, not a staggering reflection of his guilt.

  Jamie, not one to know all of Donners Bend’s gossip and suspicions, knew they thought something more than a friendship had been created between Jon and Ellie, but he didn’t know that their belief in the theory had just suddenly been heightened to something more substantial.

  It was as if someone had abruptly turned a switch on the minds of all Donners Bend’s citizens. Without warning, it seemed they all began to believe that their suspicions were the verified truth. They didn’t just think Jon loved Ellie; they became sure of it.

  They were so convinced that it seemed everyone was simply waiting for their betrothal to be announced. They knew it was going to happen and it wasn’t just a possibility anymore; it became a set-in-stone fact.

  Each morning, at least half of the town stopped by Ol’ Smith’s for absolutely no reason at all but to shoot the breeze with Jon a few minutes. They waited expectantly for the morning he’d finally tell them what they wanted to hear: that he and Ellie were to be married.

  On this particular morning, Jon had volunteered to stay with Ellie for the day since he hadn’t in some time, and Jamie agr
eed it’d be best for him to take a day off.

  Phillip Browning invited him over, and promised to keep his mind off of Ellie. He thought Jamie needed the break.

  First they fenced downstairs in Phillip’s billiard room; the pool table had been moved to the side. It was an extremely large room, so they had space to spare.

  As they fenced, Jamie’s face turned cross and bitter, and his movements developed sharp, menacing gestures. All his frustrations came out as he fenced, and he became more and more competitive. His breathing quickened and his hair flew out of place as he continually shouted out, “Touché!”

  Luckily, Phillip knew the best thing to do was to let his friend get through his troubles now instead of telling him to calm down. Jamie was victorious each and every game, but Phillip didn’t mind, this was exactly what he knew would help his friend. He let Jamie win without an ounce of jealousy, for he knew losing was the last thing Jamie needed.

  After they’d fenced for quite some time, Phillip and Jamie sat down for a little supper. The conversation was simple at first: with nothing much mentioned of importance, but then Phillip said something he never should have, but it was too late to take it back.

  Jamie had just finished saying, “You know, I don’t even know what those gossiping old hens are talking about anymore. Ever since I came home, it seems like I’m a little pulled away from the rest of the town, like I’m a disgrace or something and they’d rather not speak with me.”

  He didn’t act hurt by this observation, he was simply stating a fact.

  Without thought, Phillip added casually, “Oh you don’t want to know what they’re talking about anyway. My mum’s one of them. All they speak of anymore is when Jon Smithton’s gonna propose to Ellie, that nanny of yours. They act like it’s bound to happen any day now.”

  “They what?” Jamie asked in shock, dropping his fork onto the ground. Jamie reached down to retrieve it, but before he could, a butler rushed in almost instantly, picked it up, and walked back out again. The little incident only caused Jamie to become even more frazzled.

  Running his hand through his hair, his eyes distant, he ordered, “Repeat what you just said, Phillip.”

  “It’s just stupid gossip, and...”

  “Repeat it, Phillip!” Jamie ordered again, shouting this time.

  Phillip took a deep breath and explained calmly, “Some people in Donners Bend - well, I suppose everyone in Donners Bend - believes that Jon and Ellie are in love with each other; but that they just won’t admit it. Well, they have got reason to think it, haven’t they? Now it seems they’re all just waiting for Jon to ask for Ellie’s hand. They’re expecting it to happen any day now. They’re sure it’ll occur. To them it’s no longer just a suspicion, it’s a fact.”

  Jamie sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead.

  Trying to ease his worries, Phillip assured, “But they’re fools, Jame, the whole lot of ‘em. You needn’t believe a word they say.”

  “Every myth evolves from some sort of truth,” Jamie mumbled, burying his head in his hands.

  “But this isn’t a myth. It’s just some stupid town gossip,” said Phillip, “It’s the dreams of a bunch of silly old hens who invented a romantic story between two of their neighbors to make up for their own loss of romance. That’s all it is, Jamie. That’s all.”

  Jamie shook his head, which was still in his hands, and muttered, “It’s not. It’s the truth, and I’ve denied it for far too long.”

  A short silence followed as Jamie fell into the realization of the supposed truth he’d been blind to; and Phillip sat wondering what he should do or say next.

  He finally stood and said casually, trying to help his friend forget what he’d said, “Hey, do you want a drink or something? Scotch? Brandy? Gin? Wine? You name it. I’ve got it.”

  “Yes, yes,” Jamie nodded, “A drink would be good.”

  “It’d help calm your nerves,” Phillip agreed, “So, what’ll it be?”

  “Whiskey.”

  “Whiskey?” Phillip shrugged, “Whatever you say.”

  A few hours later, and quite a few more whiskies, both men were completely drunk. Neither meant for it to happen, but somehow their glasses seemed to never stay full for long.

  They now sat on opposite chairs in a dimly lit parlor room. Phillip lounged across one brown leather couch clad in a navy velvet robe that he’d found in a closet, as well as a pair of tasseled slippers. His normally very tidy light brown hair had flattened in some areas and began to stick out in others. The emerald green eyes so many women lost themselves in were now bloodshot and glazed.

  Across from him lay Jamie on a similar brown leather couch. Sitting up, his feet were flat on the floor, his elbows on his knees, and his head once again buried in his hands. Black locks ran through his shaky fingers, and a single strip of smoke drifted up from the cigar Jamie had put out moments before. Phillip still held his with a jittery hand.

  It wasn’t uncommon for them to be smoking; most men in Donners Bend committed the act since they found no health risks or any other reasons not to, but the drinking would certainly have been looked down upon by Donners Bend’s gossiping “hens.” But if it hadn’t been for the gossiping ladies, they wouldn’t have been drinking in the first place.

  They’d been speaking of random, insignificant things again, for they couldn’t concentrate on much else in their horrible drunken states; but then there was a silence and when it was broken, the topic was much less lackadaisical and carried out in earnest.

  “God help me,” Jamie whispered under his breath, dropping his head into his hands.

  Phillip looked up at him curiously. His voice slurred as he asked, “Somethin’ wrong, Jame?”

  “I… I think I’m in love.” Jamie stammered, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes as though he’d just stated a sin.

  “How in the world did that happen?”

  Jamie shook his head, “Don’t know.”

  “Well what’d ya go and do a stupid thing like that for?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Whoever invented love was a fool, that’s all I’ve got ta say,” Phillip added as he leaned back on the couch and took another puff on his cigar, “cause ya know what? Love’s a stinkin’ curse. It’s a curse added on to man’s list of anxiety for absolutely no reason at t’all, except so the world can ‘ave a laugh. A big old chuckle at how foolish people are.”

  “Love’s a stinkin’ curse… a curse. Just another thing to torment and plague silly guys like you, Jamie boy, that just let it go and bother ‘em and make’em feel like they’ve already reached the bottom with nowhere else to go and no way out. It’s a bottomless pit that ya can’t get outta. What ya go and do a stupid thing like that for? Love’s a stinkin’ curse. That’s all I hafta say.”

  Jamie just kept shaking his head, “I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know why it happened, but it’s true, and I can’t deny it any longer or I swear I’ll go mad.”

  Phillip raised his eyebrows, “You’re already mad in my opinion.”

  Jamie ignored him and admitted the evident truth, “I’m in love with Eliana Mae Henderson.”

  “Are you sure?” Phillip questioned, “Don’t say it out loud. You’re quite drunk at the momen’ and you never know, maybe you’re just makin’ this all up as you go along. Maybe you’re havin’ some sorta drunken rage or horrible nightmare, an’ you just don’ realize it.”

  “But I’m not.”

  “How do you know? You’re not even in your right mind.”

  “But I am in my right mind and I know I’m not so delirious as to say I love someone when I don’t.”

  “Ya never know.”

  “I love ‘r and I’m not just speakin’ nonsense,” Jamie assured him, “I love Wendy Ev’son and that’s all there is to it.”

  “’er name’s Ellie, you know.”

  “Right, right, just a little mixed up there. I love,” he paused, thinking, “Ellie Ev’son and t
hat’s the truth.”

  “There, now you’ve got it right.”

  “But I’ll never ‘ave her,” Jamie said solemnly, “I’ll bet Ol’ Smithton proposed to ‘er hours ago.”

  “Hours and hours ago,” Phillip repeated.

  “And I’ll bet she said yes.”

  Phillip nodded, “I reckon’ so.”

  “And I bet they’ll live a ‘appy, perfect little life in their cute little cottage.”

  “Cute cottage.”

  “And I’ll bet she’ll forget all about that mad Rhodes man she once met.”

  Phillip chuckled, “Mad Rhodes.”