Donners Bend (37 page)

“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
, a
nd 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
;
a
nd
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
, w
e 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 c
an
’t give it to you.”

A
lt
hough 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.”
A
nd Jamie thanked her
. 
After that, they only simply acknowledged one another with a nod of their head
. 

T
heir 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 whi
t
e 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
,
al
though
h
e 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
. 

Jamie stood up front with the pastor
. 
He wore a classic black suit, and was looking quite dashing, one had to admit
. 
His shoes were shined to perfection and his dark, just about black, hair had been combed tidily
. 
If one had known him well though, as
Phillip
did, they’d sense the far off look of sadness in his eyes
, but
Jamie didn’t regret anything he’d done
. 

Down the aisle came the flower girls: Gracie, Leah, and Demi
. 
All three had been dressed in little white dresses with violet bows in the back and they wore flowered wreaths upon their hair
. 
Behind them walked little Wesley, the ring bearer, looking quite cute in a miniature suit just like his brother’s.

Then came the bridesmaids, all friends and relatives of
Sarah
, and the groomsmen
. 
The best man was
Phillip
, and he stood beside Jamie once he’d reached him
.

The organist began to play a wedding march and the people looked to the back, waiting for the doors to open and the bride to emerge
. 

But they didn’t open, and
Sarah
couldn’t be seen
.

The silence was quite uncomfortable as the people waited
. 
Slowly, they began to whisper to one another, wondering where the blushing bride was
. 
Jamie held himself up civilly and ignored the puzzled crowd.

Finally, after enough time had passed that one could assume that not just some everyday accident had occurred,
Phillip
stepped forward dutifully as best man.

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a loud, yet calm, voice, “Please quiet down for a moment
. 
It seems we’re having a slight difficulty, but I assure you all is well
. 
If you’ll please
wait a moment everything will be cleared up and the wedding shall commence as pl
anned
.”

He walked down the aisle, finished with his little speech
. 
The audience looked to him as he passed
,
and as soon as he’d gone through the large oak doors, chaos broke out
. 
Everyone began talking loudly back and forth, trying to come up with ideas as to why this was happening
.