A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility: An Adaptation of Jane Austen's Classic (7 page)

“What about the upstairs laundry room?” the maid suggested. “It rarely gets used.”

“That’ll be perfect. Thanks.”

Making his way upstairs, Edward had no problem locating the vacated laundry room. The large countertop opposite the front-loading washer and dryer suited his needs perfectly. Dropping off the items on hand, Edward went back to his room and retrieved his portable darkroom enlarger and the red lamp he used to see while working. Returning to his make-shift workspace, he plugged in both devices before turning out the overhead light. Next he tacked up a heavy curtain over the one small window in the room and began unloading the gear from his backpack. Setting up three tubs and filling them with the appropriate chemicals, Edward next strung up a sturdy piece of rope with clothes pins attached. Ready to work his magic, Edward opened the first roll of film and began enlarging the best of the photos. This particular roll included stills from the evening they made banana splits. He chuckled at Margaret’s expression—he’d have to make
a copy for Diane. Enlarging the next few as well, Edward paused to study the striking portrait of Ellie. Ellie hadn’t noticed, but he had taken a photo of her while she studied Marianne’s painting. Placing the photo paper into position, he turned on the enlarger and exposed the image for the allotted time. Then dropping it into the first tub, he agitated the solution until her image began to reappear. There was something about Ellie’s features which captivated him, yet he couldn’t quite pin down exactly what—maybe it was her countenance. Edward felt like he could be himself around her.

She’s so different compared to
—Edward stopped himself. Perhaps that was why he found himself so attracted to Ellie—but he wouldn’t let his mind go there. Using the tongs, he transitioned her image to the second tub and dropped another photo into the first. Agitating both, Edward attempted to keep his thoughts from returning to Ellie and was surprised when someone suddenly opened the door, flooding the room with light.

“Hey!” Edward exclaimed, trying to shield the tubs from the abrupt white light with his body. “Shut the door!”

“Oh!” Ellie gasped, frightened at finding Edward alone in a dark room. Stepping the rest of the way inside, she quickly closed the door behind her. “I’m so sorry!” she apologized.

Discovering it was none other than the person foremost on his thoughts just seconds earlier, Edward blushed. “Ellie, I should be the one apologizing. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“Just a little,” Ellie shuffled nervously, her eyes adjusting to the dim red light. “Did I ruin any of your pictures?” she asked, her eyes taking in the damp string of photos hanging from the rope and the two still soaking in the tubs. She was surprised to see most of them were of her family.

Edward returned his attention to the pictures. “Well, only a few, but it’s no matter. It’ll only take a moment to redo them.” As he picked up the tongs to dish them out, Ellie came beside him to get a closer look. Edward was suddenly
self-conscious about the portrait of her he had earlier been admiring. Yet her gaze wasn’t fixed on it. Instead, she was studying the photo he had started developing after it.

“May I?” Ellie asked, motioning to the image.

“Sure,” Edward replied, picking the photo up with the tongs and placing it on some paper towels he had laid out.

The photograph was of Ellie and her family. She remembered him snapping the picture several days before. She and her sisters had been sitting on the couch when Edward turned the camera on them. Diane, nearby, had come up from behind the couch and placed her arms tenderly around her daughters. Their smiles were sincere and the love between them apparent. Ellie wanted to ask Edward for the photo but couldn’t quite muster the courage. Perhaps in a day or two she’d request a copy. Moving her attention to the prints hung on clothes pins to dry, she giggled at the one of Margaret with her mouth covered in chocolate.

Edward, who had been watching her, felt his breath catch. Ellie had the cutest giggle. He wanted to move closer to her but wouldn’t. “I plan on giving that one to your mom. Think she’ll like it?” he asked, already knowing her response.

Ellie nodded. “These are great—though why you took so many pictures of us I can’t understand. I thought you preferred animals and landscapes,” she playfully jabbed.

Unsure how to respond, Edward smiled and shook his head. “There’s something about your family that intrigues me. Maybe it’s the way you all get along and how close you are.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the arguments? We don’t get along all the time.”

“Yes, but at least you argue. My brother and sister and I aren’t even close enough to argue. We’re like strangers. I guess I’m envious of the bond you share.”

Ellie studied his face in the glow of the red light. She felt sorry for him, and suddenly grateful for the family she sometimes took for granted.

Shrugging, Edward checked the hanging prints and, confirming they were fully dry, began plucking them up. “So did you need something from the laundry room?”

“Oh, I completely forgot why I’d come in here in the first place,” Ellie blushed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry I interrupted you.” Going over to the shelf above the washer, she opened it and, pulling down a stain-remover stick, motioned to it. “Margaret spilled some mustard on her outfit and I couldn’t find any stain-remover downstairs.”

“I think it might be a lost cause. I remember getting mustard on myself many times when I was a kid. My mom always ended up just throwing the item away. Too much work.”

“Well, this just happens to be her favorite ballerina leotard.”

Edward playfully cringed. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Ellie smiled. Sensing his need to be alone again, she exited the room and returned to Margaret.

Edward watched Ellie leave and then sank against the countertop. There were so many things he wanted to say to her but couldn’t. Dragging his hand down his face, Edward was torn over whether their budding friendship was even acceptable. Perhaps Ellie just considered him to be—a friend. Although he could tell she enjoyed his company, there didn’t seem to be any kind of marked partiality. Yet the way she blushed sometimes. . . . “No,” Edward said aloud, busying himself with re-developing the prints that had been ruined by Ellie’s entry. Though he knew he should stay away from her, Edward was having a hard time convincing himself that spending time with Ellie around the house could do any harm.
I’ll only be hurting myself in the long run
, he tried to reason. As he studied the negative of Ellie through the peephole viewer on the enlarger, Edward tried to convince himself this “friend” didn’t elicit any feelings within him at all. He never had been a good liar.

“Yes, I’m absolutely serious!” Edward insisted, “My mom rented a castle for us to stay in when we vacationed in England.”

“I’m so envious!” Ellie replied as she walked through the porch door he held open for her, “I’d absolutely love to visit England someday.”

“Perhaps someday you will,” Edward smiled, causing Ellie’s heart to skip a beat as they continued outside to walk through the Dashwoods’ enormous backyard. Their walks had become a nightly ritual. Edward always brought his camera along and the two chatted while he snapped pictures of the yard or his reluctant model, Ellie.

On the other side of the wall, Marianne paused from her sketching, and Diane from her correspondence, to share a knowing look. Both had overheard him and assumed a double meaning to Edward’s words.

As soon as Diane heard the porch door close, she got up and hurried to the window to catch a glimpse of the pair. She smiled while watching them wander laughingly into the crop of sunflowers Margaret had planted several years ago for a school project.

“Mom, don’t spy on them,” Marianne chided without looking up, her bangles making noise as her arm manuevered the paintbrush over the canvas.

“I’m not spying,” Diane denied as she returned to her seat. What was wrong with watching her oldest daughter fall in love? As a mother, seeing her child’s heart being awakened for the first time was one of the most terrifying yet remarkable things she’d ever witnessed.

Sneaking a peek outside again, Diane glanced just in time to see Francil walking past the window on her way back inside. To both her and Marianne’s annoyance, Francil joined them moments later in the second study where they were sitting. Yet instead of greeting them, she merely walked straightaway to the window to continue staring intently into the backyard. Diane, curious as to what had captured Francil’s attention, strained her neck to get a better look and found that both Ellie and Edward were visible again.

“Edward is such a fine young man,” Diane began, breaking the silence as she tried to interpret Francil’s expression. “We are so glad you invited him.”

“Edward is liked wherever he goes,” replied Francil, turning only slightly to acknowledge her mother-in-law. “My mom and I have great hopes for him.”

“As do all parents for their children,” Diane commented as she picked up her pen to continue writing.

“I don’t think you understand,” Francil’s change in tone caused both mother and daughter to look up. “I can tell you right now, we will never let him settle for someone who can’t benefit him financially.” Francil glanced pointedly toward Edward and Ellie, and then back to Diane.

With coldness forming her words, Diane asked, “And does Edward have any say in it? What if he wishes to marry for love?”

Francil smirked. “My brother is not a fool. Without my mom’s blessing, he will be completely cut off without a penny.”

Diane could not—would not—stand for this type of condescending threat and fumed inside, knowing all too well her daughter-in-law’s meaning. Ellie was now penniless. Get
ting up, her voice stretched tight as she returned, “I understand your meaning perfectly. Please excuse me.”

Observing this strained interaction, Marianne was flabbergasted by her mother’s unusual self-control. Afraid of what she might do or say in her mother’s stead, she quickly followed after Diane. But before soundly closing the door behind them, she shot one last accusing look at her sister-in-law. Francil, however, took Marianne’s hostility in stride, secretly pleased by her and Diane’s affronted reactions. She had to admit it was fun stirring them up a bit. Besides, Francil felt they should have already known that Edward was way out of Ellie’s league!

Now in the safety of her suite, Diane paced back and forth across the floor as she tried to work through some of the protective rage surging through her motherly veins, declaring that the last encounter with Francil was the final straw. Diane felt as if she’d been bending over backward in putting up with John’s wife, but enough was enough. It was officially time to get out of that house, romance or no romance! If Edward cared for Ellie, as indeed she suspected, he would follow after them.

Having made up her mind, the next day Diane wasted no time in extricating her china from the house. Not yet telling Ellie about her cousin’s offer or the fact that they’d be moving out in a matter of days, Diane asked her eldest to assist with packing up her treasured china dishes after dinner. Margaret, being too young, was no help, and Diane had asked Marianne to complete some other preparatory tasks for their move. Much to Diane’s dismay, when she and Ellie were about half way done, Francil sought them out in the dining room.

“Why are you packing up those dishes? Are those supposed to go, too?” Francil’s voice hissed. Ellie turned from atop her perch to see her sister-in-law greedily finger the remaining china on the dining table.

Unable to look at Francil for fear of losing her temper, Diane addressed the woman, “These dishes were my mother’s. They are not included in the estate.” Ellie breathed a sigh of relief at how well her mother was maintaining her composure.

“Oh. . .” Francil said with disappointment. Even though she already knew there wasn’t a chance the dishes were ever going to stay behind, she added, “Are you sure you’ll have room for them in your new place?”

Diane couldn’t hold back her glare, “Don’t worry, I’ll
make
room for them.” She then glanced up at Ellie who sent her mother a pleading look to not engage in a verbal war.

Ellie lowered more plates from the hutch to wrap and pack, handing them to her mother. But instead of continuing their task at hand, Diane merely put them down on the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I forgot I have something I need to do,” she announced before making her way to the door.

Before Diane could exit, Edward’s sudden entrance blocked her escape route. “Oh hello, Edward,” Diane greeted with a natural smile. Her dislike for his older sister had no effect on the fondness she felt for him. “If you’ll excuse me, Edward, I have to attend to some pressing matters.”

Edward nodded and allowed Diane to pass before walking toward Francil with his cell phone in hand. “Francil, Mom’s on the line.”

Francil took the phone from Edward and placed it to her ear. “Yes, Mom?” she asked into the receiver.

Now discharged from phone delivery duty, Edward finally turned to Ellie and they shared a fond smile. His presence was so soothing, Ellie nearly forgot about the drama which had taken place in that room mere minutes before.