Donners Bend (2 page)

Unlike Marcelle, Ellie loved to read, she absolutely adored children, and she'd never had a beau, not that she was in desperate want of one.

"It's perfect!" Marcelle exclaimed as she looked upon Ellie's new cottage.

"Well, almost," Ellie agreed, "But it's still missing a few things.  Perhaps we should head over to the market to pick up some groceries and such and see if we can find someone to fix the plum
b
ing and that window in the kitchen."

They boarded the little carriage Mr. Henderson had loaned his daughter for a few days and set off for Donners Bend marketplace.  About fifteen or twenty stores formed a u-shaped shopping center at which the two girls purchased all the items on their list.  Where they were to find a man to help them fix up the house they didn't know.

Finally, they came upon a small shop called
Ol’ Smith’s
that looked as if it might have someone who could help. 

"Excuse me?" Ellie called as they explored the store, which was completely void of customers, “Excuse me?   Is there anybody here?"

Marcelle walked behind, looking around at all the random objects for sale around her: bookshelves, lemonade pitchers, lampshades, picture frames, birdhouses, candles, dog bowls, and a few packets of petunia seeds were littered all about the messy shop.

Finally, they heard a man calling, “Yes?  Can I help you?" from a hole in the ceiling.  A ladder led up to it. 

"Should we go up?" Marcelle asked, confused.

"I don't think so," Ellie answered.

She was right, for but a few seconds later the man climbed down the ladder and hopped down in front of them.

"Hello, ladies," said he, "I don't believe we've met.  Are you two new in town?"

Marcelle smiled coquettishly at him; she hadn’t known that such handsome men could reside in a tiny town like Donners Bend.  He was very tall, around six feet, and very muscular because of the hard work he did around town.  He had very, very, light blond hair and grayish brown eyes that seemed to smile just as his soft pink lips did.  Wearing old brown shoes, a pair of dusty jeans with holes, and a red flannel shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, one could tell he was definitely not a city boy.

"Are you new in Donners Bend?" he repeated, "Or are you just stopping in?"

"I've just moved here a day or so ago,” Ellie replied, “but Mar-"

Marcelle cut her off, "I live in
Hunter’s Ridge
and I'm just helping Ellie here move in," she paused and winked, "But maybe I'll have to rethink that.  I didn't know there were such dashing men in Donners Bend."

The man obviously wasn't aware of her constant flirting, or simply chose to ignore it, and introduced himself modestly, "My name's Jonathan Robert Smithton, but most people just call me Jon.  What might your names be?"

"Eliana Mae Henderson, but I’m called Ellie," said Ellie as they shook hands.

Marcelle then introduced herself, "Marcelle Marquis.  It's French."

"Oh, French," Jon nodded uncomfortably, "Very sophisticated."
 

"You know they say French is the language of lovers," Marcelle added in her most seductive tone.
 

"Is it?  Well, that's nice," Jon replied, ignoring her dalliance.  Sticking his hands in his pockets, he asked with a smile, “Now what can I do for you ladies?” 

“Well, I was wondering if you had anyone that could come help me with a few difficulties I’m having with the plumbing and one of the windows in my new house,” Ellie explained, “I’d do it myself, but I don’t really know how.”

“I’d love to help.  I’m sort of the unofficial handy-man here in Donners Bend, so if you ever need any assistance just stop on by.  I need to watch the store right now while my boss, Ol’ Smith, is out but I should be able to come over later this evening if that’s convenient for you.”

“Sounds great to me,” Ellie replied with a smile.

“Where do you live?”

“Umm
...
It doesn’t really have an address, but I can tell you that it’s the little cream-colored house over on Sampson Hill if that helps.”

“Oh yeah, of course.  I know where that is.  What time do you want me?  I get out at around five.”

“Whenever is best for you is fine.  I’ll be home all day.”

Marcelle gave Ellie a little kick before fluttering her eyelashes at Jon and saying, “If you want, you could stop by for dinner.  We’d love to have you.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t want to put you out of your way and make you prepare for another person and everything, but thanks for the offer.”

“It’s not out of our way at a
ll,
” Marcelle declared, “
h
onestly.”

“Maybe some other time,” Jon suggested with a friendly smile.

“Alright,” Marcelle sighed, “But I’m putting you down for that promise.”

“Fine by me,” Jon then turned to Ellie and asked, “How about seven?”

Ellie nodded, “Alright.  I’ll see you tonight.  Thanks for the help!  Goodbye Jon!”

Marcelle followed her friend back out of the shop and called out, “We’ll be expecting you, Mr. Smithton!  Seven o’clock!”

When they’d reached the street and begun walking back towards their carriage, their arms laden with Ellie’s new possessions, Marcelle said casually,
“
Well, that Jon Smithton seems nice.”

“Your next victim, I suppose?” Ellie asked, glancing over at Marcelle suspiciously.

“Victim?”
Marcelle smiled knowingly, and added in a sarcastic tone “Why whatever do you mean?  Are you proposing that I,
Miss Marcelle
Amelia
Marquis, am a predator of men?  How preposterous!  Surely you jest!”

Ellie returned the grin and answered, “I’m only saying, Miss Marquis, that you seem to have a strong interest in the area of the male species.  Would you care to explain this strange infatuation of yours?”

Marcelle laughed, “Well, I am a female.  I don’t believe further explanation is needed.”

Ellie giggled, but returned to reality as she said, “In all honesty though, I know you have a habit of flirting with just about every man you meet, but it seemed different with Jon.  You seemed fonder of him than the others you’ve met.  Has your heart chosen its next suspect?”

M
arcelle frowned, but in a friendly way, and answered, “I don’t know why you make it seem like I’m just a little coquette, because I’m really not.”

Ellie knew it was a lie, but she chose not to interrupt or press the issue further. 

Marcelle continued, “Jon
has
become, using your terms, my next victim and my heart’s next suspect, but I prefer to call him my next little project.  It will be hard though, I’m sure.  He completely ignored all of my advances, didn’t he?” Without allowing time for Ellie to answer, Marcelle proceeded, “He doesn’t seem very open to a relationship with me, but I guess that’ll just have to change, won’t it?”

“I suppose.”

Marcelle added to her own defense, “But I mean you can’t blame me, can you?  He really is a fine specimen of the male species.  With those heavenly eyes and soft blond hair and, my God, did you see his arms?  My heart just melted at the site of him.  And from that very moment I intended to make him mine in some
way or another.  Hopefully, it shan’t be too troublesome a task.  What do you think of him, Ellie?”

“He seemed very nice, though also very different from any of your previous beaux,” Ellie replied
.
“He looks as though he hasn’t much money, something you usually seem to look for, and I think he may be just a little too sweet for you, Marcelle.”

“
Too
sweet for me?  How can he be
too
sweet for me?”

“I don’t know, it’s just
...
” Ellie paused, looking for the words to express her thoughts, “It’s just that I think you’re only looking for a fling, while it seems he would rather have a courtship than a fling.  Do you know what I mean?”

Marcelle shrugged, “I suppose, though I think you’ve got it all wrong.  How do you know all I want is a fling?  Maybe I want more than that.”

Ellie laughed, “I know you, and I know all you want is a little fun from a man.  Go for Jon Smithton if that’s what you want, but I just hope you don’t hurt the man.  I feel sorry for him already, for I’m sure it’s not easy to be a victim of the alluring Marcelle Marquis.”

Marcelle giggled, “Surely not!”

Jon
came by that night, and despite
Marcelle
’s numerous attempts
Jon
seemed completely oblivious to her actions
. 
Either he didn’t notice them, or he did notice but he wished he hadn’t
. 
Marcelle
couldn’t figure out which it was
. 
When he left after about an hour and a half later
,
Marcelle
declared him hopeless.

“So your pursuit of him has come to an end?” a surprised
Ellie
asked.

“God no,”
Marcelle
laughed, “Of course not
. 
It’s just going to be a little harder than I expected
. 
Especially since I’ll only be able to come to
Donners Bend
every so often.”

That was true
. 
She still lived in
Hunter’s Ridge
and could only visit
Ellie
in
Donners Bend
when she had the time, which meant she’d usually be coming on weekends or days free from work;
Marcelle
worked for a local seamstress.

She left the following morning so she’d be able to get back to work in time, but she promised
Ellie
she’d return late next Friday night and stay till Sunday if she could
. 
Her pursuit of
Jon
would just have to wait a few days before it commencing.

Meanwhile,
Ellie
set out on her own undertaking: finding a job
. 
It was not an easy task, for she didn’t have much experience
. 
Besides helping her mother out around the house cooking and cleaning and such,
Ellie
had never had a real job
. 
Without knowing what she was really looking for
,
it was quite hard to find it
. 
Besides asking around town, which she did,
Ellie
didn’t know what else to do
. 
After asking at the market, the laundromat, the seamstress, the café, the library, and even at
Ol’
Smith
’s
,
Ellie
couldn’t find a thing
. 

Jon
went out of his way to help her too
. 
He talked to everyone he knew, which basically meant everyone in the little town, and still he found no job opportunities
. 
T
hen one day he was talking with a
Mrs.
Thompson
at the café and she mentioned that
although
it wasn’t official yet, her neighbors, the
Rhodes
, were probably going to be in need of a new nanny/teacher for their four young children since their old governess had resigned the day before.