A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility: An Adaptation of Jane Austen's Classic (11 page)

Offering to help Mrs. Jennings with picnic clean-up, Ellie had been assigned dish-drying detail and was now in the kitchen beside the elderly woman. Accepting another dish, Ellie began drying it with the damp dish towel. As the two of them worked together to complete this task, they continued to watch the commotion outside through the kitchen window. All the while, Mrs. Jennings persisted in her quest for more information concerning Ellie’s love interest. Upon realizing she would get nowhere with the secretive girl, she proceeded to speculate about Marianne’s love life instead.

“At first I thought of you, but when Brandon spotted Marianne. . .” Mrs. Jennings sighed, a true romantic, “Well, who am I to change fate? He is quite smitten, I can tell.” Her eyes glistened with excitement until noting Ellie’s bewilderment. She tried abating her young friend’s reticence with more words of wishful thinking. “And, Marianne would do very well for him. She is lovely and, take it from me dear,” she raised her eyebrows, “Brandon is
very
well off.” She handed Ellie another dish and paused, watching him out in the yard. “Not only that, he is a good man, Ellie.”

Ellie nodded, continuing to work as she watched her sister interact with Brandon. The two of them were playing volleyball with Margaret. Just then a long spike was hit and Brandon, the gentleman, ran to get it. Mrs. Jennings chuckled and looked over at Ellie with gleeful eyes.

“He deserves to be happy,” continued the elderly woman as a seriousness shrouded her features. She handed Ellie another dish and placed her hands in the sink water to locate the next item to wash. “He’s had a very difficult and painful past.”

Hesitating, Ellie glanced at Mrs. Jennings with curiosity. She knew it wasn’t right to gossip, but she was interested in hearing what her landlady had to say about this new acquaintance. Pausing from her task, Ellie nodded for Mrs. Jennings to continue.

Seeing this, Mrs. Jennings smiled knowingly. But the pleased look of satisfaction quickly faded from the elderly woman’s face as she turned to study Brandon from afar. “He fell in love many years ago. . .” she explained, “. . .but his parents didn’t approve—poor guy. The two were separated, and they sent Brandon to study overseas.”

“What happened to the girl?” Ellie asked, now completely immersed in his dramatic past.

“Oh, that’s quite sad. After Brandon returned, he searched endlessly for her, only to find her dying of AIDS with a daughter being held in state custody. She made him promise he would take care of her little one. Brandon felt it was the least he could do. . .” Mrs. Jennings paused, searching her mind for another tidbit of information, and then turning to look at Ellie, she added, “I believe she’s at an allgirls school in New York.” Without another word, she pulled the plug in the sink, letting the water drain.

“How awful!” Ellie felt tears accumulating behind her eyes. “Does the daughter have AIDS as well?”

“Fortunately, no,” Mrs. Jennings answered, “That was the only good that came out of this.”

Ellie picked up the final dish from the counter to towel dry. “How old do you think the girl is now?” she asked, hoping to do some deduction and see how long ago this ill-fated romance had ended. It would give her a clue as to Brandon’s age.

Mrs. Jennings dried her hands on a towel and paused, “Oh, I’d say she’s about sixteen now.”

Ellie glanced at Brandon again, figuring he must be about thirty-seven—yet he didn’t look it. Brandon was still just as agile as Marianne and Margaret as he ran about returning the girls’ wild volleyball hits.

Mrs. Jennings refolded the towel she had been using and laid it on the counter. “Your mother is very quiet. Is she always like that?”

A worried look creased Ellie’s features as she turned her attention to that of her grieving mother still sitting at the picnic table. She tried to hide her troubled expression from the elderly woman as she answered, “She’s still getting over the death of my dad.”

“She must have loved him very much,” Mrs. Jennings said quietly.

Ellie nodded. “Yes . . . he was her life,” she replied wistfully, her heart aching not only for her mother’s loss, but for her own.

It didn’t take Mrs. Jennings’s observation to make Ellie aware of her mother’s change in emotional state. Ellie had been conscious of it for some time now. Her worry continued to increase at noticing how Diane rarely got out of bed these days, and when she did, she often just sat on the edge of the mattress looking terribly sad. They had been living in the apartment for two months now, and Ellie thought perhaps her mom would have snapped out of it by this time. But Diane hadn’t, and their funds were nearly exhausted. Although Ellie had been diligently looking for work, positions like the paid internship she had back in Seattle were hard to come by in this area. Even the local shopping mall was fully staffed, forcing Ellie to take notice of ‘Help Wanted’ signs like the one posted at their nearby market. That’s where she and Marianne were headed that particular morning.

“But I don’t want to work,” Marianne complained. “Is it that bad, that I have to get a job?” she asked, watching as Ellie warmed some milk for their mom.

“You can’t expect Mom to,” Ellie sighed, sending her sister a pointed look. Marianne couldn’t object—they had all witnessed the down-slide in their mother’s behavior.

Her complaints silenced for the time being, Marianne turned her attention back to the living room mirror where she continued readying herself.

Ellie had known Marianne would resist the idea of having to get a job; thus, she had put off revealing their desperate circumstances until she no longer could. Because it was necessary for both sisters to acquire employment, Ellie hoped her sister’s lack of job experience wouldn’t hinder her chances of getting hired. Although Ellie held an accounting degree and could boast of an impressive internship at Dashwood International, Marianne had never really held down any sort of employment before. Her only turn at working consisted of being a camp counselor one summer at a campground their father had owned. However, since their first stop was to be the nearby market, Ellie was optimistic the manager wouldn’t be too picky about prior experience.

But Marianne had other plans, and working a dismal job didn’t fit into them. Though their living circumstances had taken a definite dive, it was difficult for Marianne to grasp the concept of living on a budget. Besides, she didn’t plan on sticking around Oregon very long. Once she got a few loans and perhaps applied for several scholarships, she saw herself back in Seattle within a matter of months. Ellie, however, was more pragmatic. If Marianne wished to continue eating until her departure, getting a job was a necessary “evil.”

There was a knock on the front door and Ellie moved to answer it, revealing an ever-smiling Mrs. Jennings holding a basket full of delicious-smelling blueberry muffins. Marianne thought the sight of Mrs. Jennings had never been so pleasant.

“I brought some muffins to cheer your mom up,” Mrs. Jennings explained, straining her neck to see beyond Ellie’s form into the apartment.

“Wow, that’s so nice of you,” Ellie thanked her, accepting the basket and setting it down on the counter after inviting Mrs. Jennings in. Marianne wasted no time in snatching a muffin and biting into it hungrily.

From where Mrs. Jennings had planted herself in the kitchen, she could see Diane still lying in bed through the
opened bedroom door. Her eyes wandered to the girls for an explanation as to the afternoon slumber, but they merely busied themselves with their previous employments. By then, the milk was beginning to simmer and Ellie transferred it to a large mug.

“Well hi, Mrs. J.!” Margaret exclaimed at catching sight of the elderly woman. She ran to give her a hug.

Hugging the youngster back, Mrs. Jennings looked to Ellie and Marianne and asked, “Where are you girls headed?” She had observed Marianne’s preparations and the girls’ purses positioned readily on the kitchen counter.

“We’re going job hunting,” Ellie explained before catching her youngest sister’s attention. “Margaret, can you take this to Mom?” she asked, motioning to the mug and placing a warm muffin on a small plate next to it. Margaret nodded and carefully walked the goods into the bedroom.

“Do you know where you’ll be applying?” Mrs. Jennings asked, her brow furrowing with concern.

“I noticed that the local market down the road is still looking for help, but other than that, we’re just going to have to look around downtown,” Ellie answered.

“I don’t want to work at the grocery store!” Marianne objected, her nose going up in the air indignantly.

“Marianne, we can’t be picky,” Ellie quickly replied, glancing over at Mrs. Jennings with an embarrassed smile. “We need to earn money,” she pleaded, trying to mask the desperation in her voice as well as she could.

This was all too much for Mrs. Jennings. With obvious alarm etched on her features, she was no doubt considering the many terrible scenarios beautiful women like Marianne and Ellie could find themselves in when working at such places. Unable to remain silent, she asked, “Ellie, didn’t you mention last night that you do accounting?” Ellie nodded. “Well, as you know, Brandon owns the fanciest hotel in town. I’m sure we could speak to him and something could be worked out.” Ellie smiled hopefully. “And Marianne, how
about you coming to work for me?” Mrs. Jennings knew Marianne wasn’t too excited about the prospect of job hunting. “I’m in desperate need of some help getting these complexes in tip-top shape—oh, and the office is terribly disorganized!” As soon as she blurted out the idea, Mrs. Jennings could tell it would be a pleasant proposition for both parties.

Ellie and Marianne looked to each other, confirming that the solutions suggested by Mrs. Jennings sounded ideal.

Turning to smile at the elderly woman with pleasure, Ellie asked, “When could we start?”

While Mrs. Jennings worked out some of the particulars with Ellie concerning Brandon’s hotel, Marianne looked on. She chided herself for thinking so cruelly at times of Mrs. Jennings, especially since all the elderly woman had ever been was nice—and now offering her a job around the apartments when they needed it most! Marianne made a mindful decision to be nicer to Mrs. Jennings from then on.

Ellie wasn’t sure why she was so nervous. Mrs. Jennings had assured her that Brandon seemed more than willing to find a position for her at his hotel, yet Ellie wasn’t one for taking handouts and sensed in Brandon a man she could look up to and respect. She wanted to impress him, not merely show up on his doorstep as a charity case. Having selected her most flattering business attire, Ellie arrived at the hotel lobby fifteen minutes before her interview and was now waiting in one of the plush leather chairs to be called back into his office. Mrs. Jennings’s description of the facility had not been exaggerated. The Portland estate was beautiful. The outdoor grounds were charming and the many trees well tended. The interior boasted a simple yet chic elegance. Ellie admired the deep shades of burgundy and forest green around the lobby as well as the crown moulding accents. Brandon, or whoever he hired to do the decorating, had done a fine job selecting rustic Italian accents which blended with the modern feel of the hotel.

“What do you think?”

Ellie looked up with surprise before smiling at Brandon. She hadn’t noted his approach. “Oh, it’s lovely.”

“Thank you,” Brandon smiled in return. His golden-retriever eyes displayed the kindness Ellie had sensed the evening of the outdoor dinner where they had been introduced. “If you’ll follow me,” he gestured toward his office.

Ellie stood and followed him into the nicely-appointed room. Along one wall were what must have been hundreds of books organized on a built-in bookcase. Opposite that wall was a large bay window which framed the beautiful view of the hotel’s swimming pool and grounds. Sitting in the chair opposite his, Ellie waited while he pulled open a file containing her application.

After studying it for a moment, he began, “It looks like you come with some valuable experience, Ellie.” Ellie smiled shyly. “Mrs. Jennings informed me you’re looking for work. I think you would make a nice addition to this team. I’m looking for a part-time accountant to go over the books and keep our tax information in order. I know it’s a step down from what you were doing before at—ah,” he looked down at her resume, “Dashwood International, but it’s all I have open right now.”