“How old’s Ellie?”
“Sixteen.”
Phillip whistled, long and slow, “There aren’t many young girls like her around anymore, are there?”
“Nope.”
“Well, ya know, I’m personally not that worried about finding a girl to marry and all that yet, and I’m only a few months younger than you are,” said Phillip, “Maybe finding a girl’s not all that important. I wouldn’t mind living alone and lettin’ my bachelor days live on forever.”
“You will mind,” Jamie disagreed, “You will when you’ve grown up a little more.”
“Hey! I’m already more of a man than you’ll ever be,” Phillip replied haughtily.
Jamie went on, still hidden beneath his fedora, “I can’t live alone. I refuse to.”
“Why not?”
“The way I see it, without a wife and a family and all that, what’s there to life that’s worth living? I mean really, what would be the worth of it all?” Jamie questioned, but he added, “Of course, I can understand why some men don’t wish for that sorta life, but for me personally, I can’t imagine living without it.”
Phillip blinked, realizing how much this had really, truly meant to Jamie. Slowly and tentatively, he suggested, “Well, maybe there’s still a chance with Ellie. You never know.”
“No, no,” the fedora shook again, “She meant what she said and she’s not gonna change her mind. I could just tell, ya know? I could just tell by what she said and the way she said it that her mind was made up. There’s not gonna be a second chance. That was it. It’s done. It’s over.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll be hard, and it may take a while, but someday you’ll be able to forget her. Someday you will.”
Jamie made no reply and the room was silent. Phillip shifted rather uneasily on the sofa and propped a pillow up behind his head. The solitude was finally broken when Phillip said, “You’ll just have to find some way to make that time go more quickly.”
Once again, Jamie didn’t respond. Silence reigned once more until suddenly, without any warning, the pillow fell off Phillip’s couch as he sat up abruptly with his eyes wide.
“Well, I think I’ve got something!” he exclaimed.
“Got what?” came Jamie’s reply, muffled by his hat.
“All you have to do is find another girl! It can’t be too hard, and once you have, Ellie will instantly be swept from your mind again.”
“But there are no other girls, you said so yourself.”
“Just one girl,” Phillip replied slowly, thinking, “One kind, yet young girl for Ol’ Jamie boy to marry.”
“There’s not one, Phillip, I’m telling ya.”
Suddenly, there was an outburst as Phillip suddenly remembered someone, “Sarah Walsh!”
Jamie spasmodically sat up as well, and the fedora fell to the floor. “Sarah Walsh?”
Phillip nodded, “That’s it! Ol’ Sarah. She’s been crazy ‘bout you since…” he chuckled, “… since I don’t know when. If you ask her, she’s sure to answer yes. It’s practically a fact. She’s crazy ‘bout ya! And she always will be, too!”
“You want me to ask her to marry me?” Jamie repeated.
“Yeah. It’s perfect! It’ll get Ellie out of your head, for sure. Plus, Sarah’s a real sweet girl. She’s not bad lookin’ either. She won’t be any sorta gold digger, only lookin’ at the money behind you, ’cause she’s already head o’er heels in love with ya!”
“Ya think?”
“Sure do.”
“Well, you’re right about her bein’ real sweet, and it’s true; she’s not such a bad sight for sore eyes. She’d make a real nice wife, I’m sure, and I won’t have to struggle to win her affections like I did for Ellie.”
Phillip nodded, “Ya got that right.”
“Should I do it?” asked Jamie with a glimmer in his eyes, “Should I really ask Sarah to marry me?”
“It’s up ta you. Don’t make me affect a decision as big as this one. The one askin’ her should be the one who wants ta ask.”
A few seconds later, Jamie suddenly brightened, “I’m gonna do it,” he said, “I’m really gonna do it! This is the right thing too, right Phillip? I’m not going crazy or anything?”
“Nah, you’re not crazy and I think Sarah’d make a fine wife.”
“And I’m not drunk, am I?”
“Not by my watch.”
“Then I’m gonna do it!” Jamie stood up and, pushing the hair out of his eyes he repeated, “She’s real nice, and beautiful, and she loves me, right Phillip? She loves me? Are you sure?”
“As sure as the eye can see.”
“And I’m sure if I wait long enough, I could learn to love her too.”
“I’m sure ya could,” Phillip agreed.
“Then this is it,” Jamie said, grabbing his coat and fetching his lost fedora, “I’m going to the Walsh’s! I’m gonna get down on one knee and propose to Miss Sarah Eleanor Walsh!”
“And she’s gonna say yes, by golly!” Phillip added in.
“Yes, yes. That’s right,” Jamie told himself as he walked through the halls and out the door, “This is the best thing for me to do right now. I’ll forget about Ellie and I’ll live a nice, happy life with Sarah. She’s a real swell girl, that Sarah, and we’ll be happy. She loves me, yes I know she loves me, and I can learn to love her too. I need to do this and forget about Ellie. I can forget all about Ellie, and no longer have to think about crazy ideas of chasing after her when her mind’s already set. I’m goin’ to Sarah’s and I’m gettin’ married!”
Phillip, still in the parlor, leaned out the window just as Jamie boarded his horse and shouted out, “Good luck, Jamie! Good luck! Bonne chance!” he cocked his head to the side quizzically, “That’s French, right?”
“Yes, that’s French!” Jamie assured with a laugh.
“Bonne chance, mon ami,” Phillip exclaimed again, remembering a little more of the few things he’d paid enough attention to in French class to learn. Yes, he remembered that it meant good luck my dear, or my friend? Yes, yes, my friend, he thought in his somewhat impaired state.
“Goodbye!”
To the Walsh’s, Jamie rode, and when he arrived, he knocked upon the door and asked for Miss Sarah. One hour later, he emerged as Sarah’s fiancé. The deed was done.
Sarah was ecstatic. She’d had her eyes set on Jamie for more than ten years, since they’d been just children. And now, out of nowhere, after years of refusal, Jamie had arrived on her doorstep and proposed. It certainly was a shock; the biggest shock Sarah had ever had in her entire life. She’d begun to think lately that a life with Jamie was hopeless and so were her dreams, and although she knew something must have propelled him to this, and that he probably didn’t love her as much as she would have hoped, Sarah instantly accepted.
Her parents, upon hearing the news, became angry and depressed all at once. Mr. Walsh began quizzing Jamie and trying to get him to break under the pressure and admit he wasn’t good enough for his precious daughter.
Mr. and Mrs. Walsh hated Jamie Rhodes. They absolutely hated him. Out of all the men in Donners Bend, including the elderly and insane, they could not think of a worse man for their Sarah to marry. Education was very important to the Walsh’s, and despite Sarah’s frequent attempts to convince her parents of Jamie’s intelligence, they wouldn’t reply and would only bring up the six prestigious schools Jamie had flunked out of. He had that careless, free attitude that the strict Mr. Walsh detested; and Mrs. Walsh was one of those “gossiping hens”, and she’d heard more atrocities about him than she could name. She thought he was mad. Above all, they hated the fact their only daughter had become so infatuated with him, they were more than content when Jamie showed no interest in their daughter, and had no idea how they could have been so completely blindsided by this new turn of events. Through their dread, they could see that no amount of convincing could change Sarah’s mind.
So when they heard about the marriage soon to
take place, why, Mrs. Walsh practically fainted. Jamie lunged forward to help her if she should fall, but Mr. Walsh pushed him away.
Even after Jamie had left, they continued to reprimand Sarah and plagued her with so much astonishment that she soon burst into a fit of tears. Locking herself in her room, Sarah refused to listen to her parents as they shouted outside her door. She would only speak to swear her love to Jamie, her now fiancé, and to pledge that she would marry him whether they approved or not. The Walsh house was in quite a tumultuous state of affairs.
Meanwhile, Jamie had finally gone home and told his parents of the latter proposal he’d made that day. The children cheered, and tears of joy came to Louise’s eyes; for she believed her son had finally found love, and Robert smiled and patted his son on the back saying, “She’ll make you a fine wife, son. I’m proud of you.”
What a burst of chaos and excitement, which suddenly swarmed over two of Donners Bend’s finest families. The Walsh’s and the Rhodes, and all because of a simple young girl named Eliana Mae Henderson and the inebriated, flippant suggestion of Phillip Browning.
Chapter 24 - To Thee I Wed
It seemed only hours passed before the whole town of Donners Bend became aware of the big news, Jamie and Sarah’s betrothal. It spread like wildfire until only one person was left unconscious of what had happened. That person was Ellie.
Her mind had been swarmed with thoughts of Jamie since he’d left earlier that morning. She constantly reevaluated her choice to refuse him, but always came to the same conclusion. She’d been right, she decided. She’d made the correct decision and she didn’t regret a thing.
She sat in her little armchair beside the fire; quietly threading a needle in and out of a shirt she’d promised to mend for Jon. As she worked, she hummed a little song. The flames of the fire cracked and burned and created a dance of shadows along the walls. In the corner, the clock struck nine o’clock, disturbing Ellie’s peaceful solitude.
There soon came the sound of rapid galloping down the lane followed by the sounds of a man jumping off a horse and knocking on the door, to which Ellie answered, “Yes? Who is it?”
“Jon!” was the reply.
“Come on in!” Ellie called back, not even bothering to discontinue her sewing.
Jon walked in, breathing heavily with his cheeks flushed. He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, looking quite distressed.
“What is it?” Ellie asked after noticing his flustered appearance.
“I don’t know how it happened. He was just at my house this morning and then he… I don’t know. I just don’t know,” Jon was mumbling incoherently, “I don’t understand how it happened. I… I just ...”
“Johnny, what is it?” Ellie repeated.
“Haven’t you heard?”
“Heard what?”
Jon kneeled down beside Ellie’s chair and looked up into her worried eyes, “Was Jamie here this morning?”
“Yes, he was.”
“And did he ask you what I think he did?”
Ellie nodded, “He asked me to marry him.”
“And what did you answer?”
“I told him no. I told him that I was very sorry, but I just couldn’t marry him.”
Jon swallowed, not wanting to question Ellie’s answer. He explained, “Jamie came to see me, too. He asked me for permission to ask for your hand.”
Ellie’s eyes widened, “He did?”
“He did.”
There was a small pause before Ellie questioned, “Was that the big news you wanted to tell me?”
Jon shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he explained all at once, “Jamie and Sarah Walsh are getting married. It’s all over town. I hear they’re planning on marrying within the month.”
It took a few moments for Ellie to comprehend, but when she did, she didn’t know what to say: “I… I can’t believe it.”
“Are you okay with this?”
Ellie nodded and said quietly, “I wish them the best of luck.”
Jon ended up staying the night. Neither slept much. Ellie hugged her knees to her chest beneath a blanket on the couch while Jon lounged in the armchair. The time was two o’clock in the morning, but neither seemed to notice it much.
Ellie still didn’t regret her decision. She just wondered what in the world had made Jamie decide to ask someone else, and then suddenly she felt the same thing he’d felt while with Phillip: a sudden desire to find that someone you’re meant to be with for the rest of your life. Her gaze connected with Jon and a spark seemed to go off in her head.
Jon. They were the best of friends, they always enjoyed one another’s company, and Ellie would love to spend the rest of her life with him. It all seemed so simple. He’d been right in front of her all this time, yet she’d never noticed; and although she wasn’t in love with him romantically, she did love him as a friend and perhaps through time that could change.
Without even thinking, she blurted out, “Marry me, Johnny!”
He closed his eyes and shook his head with a look of disbelief, “What?”
“Marry me!” Ellie repeated, standing up.
“Have you gone mad?” Jon chuckled, thinking it was a joke.
“No, I’m not mad. I’m perfectly sane. Everything just became clear to me in an instant, and I don’t know how I couldn’t have seen it before. We’re meant to be together, Johnny! We’re best friends, and I love you and you love me; and we could spend the rest of our lives together!”
“I don’t know, Mae...”
“Just like I said that day at the pond when we were skating, we could live simply here in Donners Bend and never have any woes or worries. Just imagine it! Imagine how wonderful it would be!”
“I have no doubt that it would be a wonderful life, and of course I wouldn’t mind staying with you forever, but...”
“But what?”
“But like I said that same day, I’m not a marrying man.”
“Of course you are! You’d make a fantastic husband!” Ellie assured.
“It’s not that,” Jon shook his head, “It’s just that I don’t want to be married. I don’t want to have that kind of commitment. I’ve never wanted a wife and kids and I know I never shall. You want that stuff, Mae, and I can’t give it to you.”
Although it took a few moments, Ellie realized he was right. He’d meant it when he said he never wanted to marry, and she shouldn’t push him into something he didn’t truly want, for that could never end well.
The days passed slowly at first, and then without warning they suddenly sped up. Ellie’s recovery progressed and she was getting back into the swing of life. She returned to work and her encounters with Jamie occurred every so often, whether passing on the streets or while Ellie worked. It was certainly awkward, to say the least, but finally Ellie broke the ice and simply said, “Congratulations. I wish you both the best of luck.” And Jamie thanked her. After that, they only simply acknowledged one another with a nod of their head.
Their meetings became quite seldom, as Jamie was constantly out with Sarah preparing for the wedding.
Sarah beamed with joy whenever one saw her, but deep inside, she’d slowly begun to realize something; though her mind kept telling her it was all in her head. Although she wished she could say her fiancé was completely in love with her and that she knew it, Sarah knew that wasn’t the truth. She could sense something in Jamie’s dark eyes that she wished she wasn’t able to detect: his love for another. She knew he had fallen in love with someone else, and then one day it became apparent that the person was Ellie, but instead of making Sarah angry, her awareness of Jamie’s true love only confused her. She didn’t know why he was marrying her if he loved Ellie.
Time flew by and before anyone knew it, it was the day of Jamie and Sarah’s wedding. All the people of Donners Bend dressed in their best and gathered at the church. As they came in, they set their soaking coats and hats on the pegs in the coatroom; it had been pouring outside since dawn. The
people filled each and every pew as the organ played. Flowers and garland decorated the little white church, and the ladies admired Sarah’s taste in decorations.
The only person missing was Ellie. She sat alone at home, unable to attend for fear she wasn’t truly meant to have been invited, though she’d received an invitation. She was just afraid there would be an uncomfortable air between herself and Jamie, and she didn’t want to ruin his wedding day.
Jon went, although he stood in the back pew, choosing to watch from afar.
In the front row sat a smiling and proud Robert and Louise Rhodes, and the terribly sorrowful Mrs. Walsh. She and her husband were still against their daughter marrying Jamie, but they decided they could at least attend the ceremony like civil people. Her face was cold as stone as she glanced at her future son-in-law.
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