Donners Bend (24 page)

“You just can’t send me off to the Navy like I’m your property
! 
I
refuse to
join the military and there’s nothing you can do to make me go
! 
I’m twenty-five years old now, father
! 
You haven’t had control over me for seven years and it’s time you realized it!

“I may not have control of you, but I am in control of everything you know and love
. 
I can take away everything: your family, your home, your inheritance, your life!”

“You’re not God, you know
! 
And you don’t own everything under the
sun
!”

“I own enough to make you a miserable man!”

“I’ll never be a miserable man until I let myself be one, and you have no control over that!”

With the sounds of Gracie playing “Hark the Harold Angels Sing” on the piano in the background,
Robert
suddenly realized something: “When I was your age, son, I already had a wife, son, and a job
! 
What have you got
? 
Nothing, a
s far as I can see
, you have absolutely nothing!
”

“I’ve got plenty,” Jamie replied gruffly.

“You’ve no sweetheart, no job, no job proposition, no home of your own, and no idea what you can possibly do for the rest of your life
! 
Remind me again
about
what you have so da
rned
much of
! 
And stop playing that
annoying
piano, Grace!”

The playing stopped and the house became silent.

Just in the middle of the raging fire, as
Robert
was about to begin screaming again, his slightly kooky father Frank looked out the back window at the bare apple trees and asked, “You still keeping that orchard, Izzy?”

Phillip
looked over at
Ellie
and they both gave a small smile at the silly old man.

Robert
, bewildered at his father’s naïveté, scratched his head of gray hair and said slowly, “Yes, father
. 
I am.”

“Making you any profit?”

Robert
shook his head, “Not much
. 
In fact, now that you bring it up, I was thinking recently about letting it go
. 
This manager I hired is no good and besides that, even if he was the best in the business, I don’t think he could ever get much out of th
at
orchard
. 
I might as well stop
wasting
my money on it if I’m not going to get any back in return.”

Suddenly Jamie piped up, “What if I took over the orchard?”

Robert
smiled mockingly as though his son had just said the most foolish thing in the world, “What did you just say
? 
You want to take over that piece of crap we’ve got lying out in the back yard
? 
Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“And why would you actually want it
? 
What good could it do you?”

“I could build it up, start
selling
the apples at more markets
. 
If things went well, a whole business could be built around it
. 
I could sell apple juice, apple butter, apple pies, apple everything
. 
I could make a fortune if it was done correctly.”

Robert
laughed, “You’re
telling
me that after months of thinking, after months of looking over university brochures, military schools, and job applications, after months of waiting, you think your golden opportunity rests in a few
lousy
apple trees in the backyard?” he laughed harder, “Are you a
n
idiot
?”

Jamie’s face remained stern, yet earnest, “I’m not a
n
idiot, a
nd I do think there is an opportunity waiting out in the orchard
. 
If you don’t want the orchard anyway, why not give it to me, your son?”

“Because it’s useless
and a waste of time
.”

“Just give me a few months and I swear I can earn some money from it
. 
Give me a few years and I know I can make a flourishing business
. 
What have you got to lose, father?”

An hour later Jamie stood on the back porch looking out at the bare apple trees, covered in snow
. 
His fedora was on and he was smoking another cigar
. 
Ellie
came out to join him.

“Jamie?”

“Yes?”

“Merry Christmas.”

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, giving her a half-hug, “Merry Christmas to you to
o
,
darling
.”

She paused a moment before asking again, “Jamie?”

“Yes
? 
What
’
tis
it?”

“Do you really think you’ll be able to make a good profit off the orchard?”

“Anything can be done, lov
e, if one has the will to do so,
and the faith that they will succeed.
  Yes, I believe I can do something with it.
”

The next morning, Ellie was fast asleep in her warm bed under an old quilt.  Outside, the snow was coming down quickly and in large clumps.  Approximately six inches had already accumulated on the ground, and far away at the Rhodes house, the children were already opening their gifts from Santa and playing with their new toys.  They’d been doing so for more than an hour, and yet, Ellie hadn’t even begun to wake up yet back at her own humble abode.

Her sleep was abruptly disturbed when suddenly, she heard someone singing outside.  She opened her eyes in a daze to the charming sound of a Christmas carol coming from her front porch:

“We wish you a Merry Christmas;

We wish you a Merry Christmas”

They really were a terrible singer, so it was impossible for Ellie not to awaken.

“We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin

Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;

We won’t go until we get some;

We won’t go until we get some;

We won’t go until we get some, so bring some out here!

We wish you a Merry Christmas;

We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We
wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”

After carrying the last note as long as he could, the singer shouted joyfully, “Merry Christmas, Mae!  Merry Christmas!”

Ellie sat up and rubbed her head sleepily, “Johnny?”

From behind the door, he shouted back, “Jonathan Robert Smithton at your service and here to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”

Slipping on a red plaid robe over her nightgown, Ellie slowly trudged to the front door.  Her hair was tied up with a red ribbon into a stubby ponytail on the top of her head and she wore a pair of overly large knit socks.  As soon as she’d opened the door,
Jon grabbed her in a huge hug as he repeated happily, “Merry Christmas, Mae!”

She laughed, “Merry Christmas to you, too.” And then, seeing his outfit, she smiled, “I see you took the time to dress up for me, didn’t you?”

He returned the grin, “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

He too, was dressed in his pajamas, a green thermal shirt and green striped pants, along with old, worn-out brown shoes and his jacket.  A branch of holy and a candy cane were stuck in the brim of his fedora and the tips of his white-blond hair stuck out from beneath.

“I brought muffins!” he exclaimed with the enthusiasm of a young boy, holding up a basket.

“And did you make them yourself?”

“Well I would have, darling, but I just didn’t have the time.”

“That’s quite alright.  These aren’t bad,” Ellie replied as she took a bite of a lemon poppy seed muffin, “Though I’m sure if you had made them they’d be even better and even more delicious.”

“Of course they would.  How could they not?” said Jon as he caught the muffin Ellie threw him and took a bite.

They each took a cup of coffee and another muffin each and sat down on the rug beside the fireplace to eat.  Beside them was Ellie’s Christmas tree.  Jon had brought in over about a week and a half back as a surprise; they’d decorated it together.  Beneath it though, there weren’t an extraordinary amount of gifts.  From Marcelle there was some perfume and Emily had sent a picture frame.  Inside it was a painting completed by Matthew, for he loved to paint the hills of Donners Bend during wintertime.  He was quite an artist.  There was also a pink scarf with matching mittens from Robert and Louise Rhodes and various small gifts
from the children.  She hadn’t received the package from her own parents yet, but they’d assured her it was on its way in their last letter.

Realizing what Ellie was looking at, Jon informed her,
“
I have a gift for you too, Mae.”

“Oh you do, do you?”

He nodded, “It’s out on the front porch.”

“The front porch?  Why’s it out there?”

Jon shrugged, “I didn’t want you to see it.  I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“May I see it now?”

“If you like.”

“I would.”

Jon smiled and hopped up.  He went out the front door and returned moments later with a present wrapped in brown paper and tied up with a silver ribbon.  He sat down beside her and handed it over, “Merry Christmas, Mae.”

Ellie smiled and began un-wrapping it.  She found a box, and when she opened up the box she found two books.

Laughing, she held up the top one, “You got me a cooking book?  What are you trying to say, I’m a bad cook?”

Jon smiled as he explained, “I’m not trying to say anything.”

“Well then why did you give me a cookbook?” she asked, laughing harder, “If you’re trying to tell me something than just say it.”

Jon took her hand as though in pity, “Look, I’m not saying you’re a bad cook.  I’m just saying that there’s always room for improvement, now isn’t there?”

“Is that why you had to bring over your own muffins, so you wouldn’t have to risk my cooking?”

“That had nothing to do with it,” he assured.

“Well,” Ellie said, trying to calm down her laughter, “Thank you very much for the cookbook.  I’m glad you aren’t afraid,” she smiled, “to recognize my faults.”

“That’s not the only gift in that box, you know,” said Jon, “There’s more.”

Ellie pulled out the second book, a copy of J. M. Barrie’s
Peter Pan
.  Her smile faded, as her curiosity heightened.