A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility: An Adaptation of Jane Austen's Classic (8 page)

“No,” continued Francil, huffing her way through the French doors that led onto the porch, “I told you to order it—now Harry’s going to have to wait another month for one to be shipped in!”

Reaching for the last stack of plates in the china hutch, Ellie over-estimated her arm strength and began to wobble while attempting to lower herself from the ladder. Ever observant, Edward came to the rescue.

“Here—let me take that,” he said as he took the dishes and placed them on the table for her. Ellie couldn’t help but notice his very large biceps as he completed the task. Usually hidden beneath a t-shirt, they were now exposed by the sleeveless tank he had worn during his earlier workout.

“Thank you,” Ellie blushed gratefully, dropping lightly to the ground. To get her mind off Edward’s wonderful physique, Ellie tried to distract herself by proceeding to wrap the dishes in newspaper.

“Ellie,” Edward began, his tone causing Ellie to quickly look up. There was something different between them that evening. Perhaps seeing Ellie pack made Edward realize he had few opportunities remaining to reveal his heart?

“Yes,” Ellie answered anxiously.

“Ellie, you do know that I attended Stanford several years ago, right?”

Ellie was surprised at his choice of topic. It certainly wasn’t what she was expecting and certainly not what she’d hoped for. “No, I—ah, I don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned that,” Ellie replied cautiously, wondering where he was going with this.

“I studied English there,” continued Edward.

“Oh. . .” Ellie nodded, “um . . . so you like to write then.”

“Oh no, I can’t stand English,” Edward confessed, “It was my mom’s idea.” He smiled at her before moving closer. If Ellie believed in such things as personal space, Edward had just stepped inside hers. She felt her lips tingle, her body anticipating what might happen next. Would he try to kiss her? The tension between mounted as the silence lengthened. Ellie was unable to tear her gaze from Edward.

“Ellie, I—” Edward started to say, his voice deep and laced with another emotion Ellie couldn’t quite put her finger on. Was it regret?

“Edward!” Francil’s frantic voice came crashing through the room.

The pair quickly turned to see Francil gawking at them, and there was no mistaking the worried expression on her face after having observed their interaction. Her alarmed behavior effectively broke the intimate conversation started by Edward.

“Edward—” she continued, somewhat flustered, “Mom wants to talk to you right away.”

Edward’s brow wrinkled, “What’s the rush? Please tell her I’ll call her back later.”

“No!” Francil pursued a bit too enthusiastically before reclaiming herself, “No, Edward, she wants to speak to you
now
.” Francil was going to use any means possible to separate Edward from Ellie.

Knowing he could not win this battle, Edward glanced apologetically at Ellie before taking the phone from his sister and moving outside to take the call. With Edward’s protective presence now gone, Francil used this opportunity to send Ellie a condescending frown as an attempt to intimidate her sister-in-law.

Instead of reacting like Francil expected though, Ellie averted her eyes and once again busied herself with packing dishes. Her hope was that Edward’s sister would eventually leave and Edward would return to continue their conversation.

Unfortunately, the outcome of Edward’s chat with his mom ended with his running an “urgent” errand for Francil ASAP. Therefore, the closure Ellie hoped for did not come to fruition and she was instead forced to ponder what might have been while pouring all of her energy into work. Yet try as she might to keep on task, Ellie couldn’t stop hypothesizing over what exactly Edward had attempted to communicate. Had he been trying to tell her he wanted to go back to school? Or did Edward just want her to know he went to college? No, Ellie was sure Edward had been too serious for objectives such as
those. What if it was something about his past he’d wanted to share? Sighing, Ellie knew only time would tell. What was it that her mother used to say? “Patience is a virtue”? Now that long-suffering trait only seemed a torment.

That Sunday morning, Ellie awoke to surprising news—her family would be moving to their new home in just two days. Ellie was overwhelmed. Not only was the idea of leaving her heart behind troublesome, but now they only had a couple of days to pack up their bedrooms and be out of their long cherished home! Although it was hard to imagine any other place feeling like their own, the panicked Ellie tried to reassure herself that at least she and her family would be together as they started this new life.

When hearing of their planned departure at breakfast, Francil was delighted. It was no secret she had been eagerly anticipating their evacuation. “So, are you excited about moving, Ellie?” Francil’s sugary-sweet voice inquired in between bites of her quiche. They were all seated around the kitchen nook table sharing a Sunday brunch.

Taking Ellie’s forlorn expression as a satisfying reply, she continued to chatter away while Edward glanced at the Dashwood women with surprise.

“So soon?” Edward interrupted Francil to ask. The disappointment he felt was reflected in his eyes, warming Ellie’s heart.

The ever-observant Diane caught a glimpse of the interaction between the couple and her heart swelled with romantic anticipation. “The day after tomorrow,” she answered.

“This seems rather sudden,” Edward probed, looking defeated.

“Edward, I’m sure they’re eager to be settled in a place of their own,” Francil cut in.

Diane eyed the conversation intruder with cagey eyes. She felt like telling Francil they did have a place of their own, only John and her had ripped it out from under their feet—but she held her tongue.

“It just seems so abrupt though . . . it won’t be the same here without you,” Edward smoothed over the tension, at least on Diane’s part. His eyes wandered to Ellie and held her gaze for a moment before glancing down to his half-eaten breakfast.

“We will miss you as well,” Diane said with extra feeling to spite Francil. “Remember, Edward,” she continued, “You’ll always be welcome wherever we live.” She finished by flashing a defiant look Francil’s way, and then smugly took another bite of her oatmeal.

Edward glanced again at Ellie for any sign of confirmation that she held the same sentiments as her mother, and her hopeful smile did just that.

The last two days of packing were stressful to say the least, but with Edward’s help they now stood with a sense of accomplishment before the overflowing vehicle. Since it had been obvious not everything would fit into Diane’s Volvo Station Wagon, they had sent ahead the items from the storage unit, their bedroom furniture, and any remaining things too large to make the road trip. What would now accompany them on the long drive to their new homestead this chilly March afternoon were their wardrobes, the more treasured keepsakes, and enough food to tide them over on their journey.

Marianne, with sorrowful eyes, climbed into the backseat next to Margaret who had already positioned herself inside. Marianne knew visits to her beloved home would be few and far between, or perhaps never, and the idea made her heart
sink. Settling herself onto the seat cushion, she buried her face in a pillow and began to shed a few tears while Margaret, still excited by the hype of moving and the expectation of exploring new surroundings, had already pulled out her Game Boy and was on the third level of Zelda.

Meanwhile, Ellie and Diane took care of the last few items on their checklist before closing the jam-packed trunk and turning to John and Edward who were waiting outside to say their goodbyes.

“I’m sorry Francil couldn’t be here,” John started apologetically, “She really did try to reschedule her facial.”

“It’s fine, John,” Diane sighed, but it was a sigh of relief. If Francil had been there to see them off, Diane couldn’t have enjoyed her last few minutes at home. Glancing one last time at the beloved house which encased so many loving memories of her husband, Diane gave John a hug before turning to Edward. Having already expressed her goodbyes to him earlier, she squeezed his hand comfortingly before getting into the passenger seat of the car.

John hugged Ellie goodbye and excused himself to make an important conference call while Edward waited his turn. When the two of them were finally alone, Edward scuffed his feet nervously. “I hope you all have a safe trip,” he began, then added, “I’ll try to be in touch soon.” Edward gazed tenderly at Ellie.

“Goodbye, Edward,” Ellie said, her heart sinking as she began to feel his loss already. Would he really come and visit them? Even though Ellie had a healthy opinion of her worth, it was hard to imagine a guy traveling hundreds of miles to come see her, especially when he only said he’d “try” to keep in touch. Yet, in spite of her better judgment, she would still hope.

“Goodbye, Ellie,” Edward said, then hesitated. Unable to resist the urge any longer, he held out his hand for her to take.

Ellie’s heart fluttered as she placed her hand in his. But instead of merely shaking it and letting go, Edward held onto
it tightly for what seemed an eternity. Giddy, Ellie blushed and looked down, relishing this connection with him. He squeezed her hand gently, returning her smile, and then finally released her so that she could join her family in the vehicle and be on their way. She started toward the car until hearing Edward say her name again. Stopping, she turned to face him. “Ellie, I have something special I wanted to give you . . . all of you. . .” he motioned to the others inside the Volvo, “But it’s not quite finished yet. I’ll bring it when I see you next, if that’s okay.”

Her hope bolstered by this declaration of a rendezvous, Ellie smiled and nodded. Climbing into the driver’s seat, she watched Edward as he closed the door behind her before taking a step back to see them off. Sighing wistfully, Ellie turned to look at her mother and siblings, “Everyone buckled up?” she asked.

“Yes,” Margaret replied with anticipation.

Diane, in turn, nodded and laid her hand comfortingly on Ellie’s to relay her sympathy at what must be a painful separation from Edward.

Ellie smiled but kept her emotions in check as she put the car into drive and began maneuvering it down the street. She glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Edward waving at the precocious Margaret who had rolled down the window and stuck her head out to shout goodbye to him.

“Margaret! Put your head back inside right now!” Diane chided Margaret who waved one last time before settling back into her seat and closing the window.

While Marianne strained to keep an eye on her beloved home until it was out of sight, Ellie’s eyes gravitated toward Edward. He looked so forlorn as he watched the distance between them grow.

As the car turned the corner of the long driveway in pursuit of the freeway, Edward shuffled his feet and began to head slowly back toward the house. He would miss the smile of that beautiful young woman who seemed to understand
him so well. Returning to his room, he felt a gloominess descend upon him with the realization that his life would soon revert to normal; the time he’d shared with these four wonderful women would slowly become a dream he would have to force himself to forget.

“Is this where we’re going to live?” Margaret asked, opening the car door and scrunching her nose as she looked around the apartment complex which was now to be their new home.

The apartments definitely needed some work. The architecture, although popular during the ‘70s, now looked quite dated. Still, it wouldn’t have been so bad had the place been kept up. If Ellie had to guess, besides the obvious paint job, it also needed a new roof, extensive yard maintenance, and new windows before this place could even begin to look halfway decent again. Seeing the parking lot empty except for an old Astro van parked in front of the manager’s unit, she suspected the complex was riddled with vacancies. As the four of them observed their surroundings in a state of shock, Margaret leaned over and picked up some trash off the ground, asking them what it was.

“Margaret, put that down!” Marianne exclaimed with disgust, “You don’t know where that’s been!” Margaret immediately tossed it to the ground and wiped her hands on her pants.