Donners Bend (32 page)

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
, a
nd he held her in his arms until she fell back to sleep
. 

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

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
, o
r 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 be
d
side 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 i
t 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 agreed 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 the
y
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 to
wn, 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
? 
N
ow 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 b
lin
d 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?”