Gertie's Choice (7 page)

“No problem, Miss. Do you
live in that Village where we delivered all these goods?” The man
asked as he drank his coffee.

“I live in town, sir. I
know nothing of this Village you speak of.” Gertie said. The man
took another drink of his coffee before saying. “Good thing I saw
you on the road and stopped, it is a long walk to the
town.”

“Yes, and I appreciate
it.” Gertie smiled. “You can let me off right on Main Street, if
you would be so kind.”

The truck driver did as
Gertie requested and she hopped down onto the cement sidewalk right
in the middle of the town. She walked over to the building where
she and John had spent time together and walked in. She looked
around, but did not see him. The inside of the building looked much
different to her without all of the white smoke in the
air.

“Excuse me, sir.” Gertie
said, walking up to the gentlemen who was standing behind the tall
narrow table with the high set chairs. “I am looking for a friend
of mine. I was here the other day, do you remember me at all?” She
asked.

The man smiled at her and
said “Of course, Miss. A rare beauty such as yourself would be
impossible to forget. You were sitting at a table with Ellis. Is
that who you are looking for? He should be coming in shortly, he
has been coming around more often since the day I saw him with
you.”

Gertie was disappointed.
She had not met anyone named Ellis when she was here last time, the
man behind the bar obviously had her confused with someone else.
The man handed her a glass of tea with sugar and ice in it and
Gertie sat at one of the tables to think about what she could do
next. She did not know where the building was where John and his
friends said they were from. He called it a military base. Gertie
tried to remember more of John’s words about this place, but she
had been so smitten with him that she missed much of what he said.
The loud music that day did not help either. He had said something
about a fort and Campbell, but Gertie could not understand what he
had been talking about.

Gertie was just finishing
up her ice tea, ready to give up and start on the long walk back to
the mountain when the door opened and John walked in. Gertie was so
happy to see him that she jumped up and into his arms.

“Gertie! What a wonderful
surprise! I am so happy to see you again!” John said. The man
behind the bar yelled out “Hey Ellis, want a beer?”

“Just coffee, Joe.
Thanks!” John replied. “Would you like something to drink,
Gertie?”

Gertie was confused. “No
thank you. Why does that man call you Ellis when you told me that
your name is John?” She asked her handsome new friend.

“My full name is John
Ellis, Gertie. I don’t think I asked you before, what is your last
name?”

Gertie had to think
quickly. She started to say Enchanted, but then thought better of
mentioning her Village’s name. She looked up into John’s beautiful
eyes and knew she had to come up with something or he would think
she was batty. But try as she might, she could not come up with a
suitable full name for John Ellis to call her. “Enchanter. My full
name is Gertrude Enchanter.” She told him.

“Perfect! I am glad you
are here today. It was hard to hear you over all of the noise the
last time we met. I went to the bathroom and when I came out, you
had left already. I must say, I was quite disappointed. I have come
by here every day since hoping to run into you again. Where did you
go and why couldn’t you at least wait until I came back to the
table? I did not get a chance to tell you goodbye and I could have
walked you home.” John Ellis told her.

Gertie felt a moment of
panic again. “I had to leave right away. I had to get back home.
You never have to think about walking me home. I am quite capable
of finding my own way, but thank you.” Gertie said, praying that
her words would not anger him.

Gertie and John spent the
next several hours talking. Gertie asked him several questions,
while managing to side step the ones John was asking her. John took
Gertie’s hands in his own and said there was something important
that she had to know about him. Gertie was thrilled that he was
holding her hands and she felt all warm and tingly
inside.

“I have a son, Gertie. His
name is Donald. His mother and I were married, but she died in
childbirth. He is only a year old.”

Before Gertie could think
twice about it, she offered “I have a daughter named Ophelia!
Perhaps Donald and Ophelia could become friends like we are!” She
said.

John was stunned. “You
have a daughter? Ophelia is a very old fashioned name, I don’t
think I have ever met anyone with that name before. Gertie, are you
telling me that you are married? Where is Ophelia’s
father?”

Uh hum, now I have gone and
done it!
“Ophelia was named after my
sister. Ophelia’s father is no longer living.” She said, choosing
her words more carefully this time.

“You poor thing, you are a
widow!”

Gertie had never heard that
word before. Not wanting to show her ignorance at this new word,
she took that time to ask the man at the bar for another sweetened
cold tea.

Gertie Enchanter and John
Ellis made it a regular date to meet three times a week in the
building, which now Gertie knew to be a bar. She listened to his
life story in fascination and learned many things about her new
country. She was very careful to avoid talking about her own life
too much. This frustrated John, but he thought it was probably
Gertie’s way of protecting her daughter, so he did not press her.
They walked the streets of the town and had meals together in the
restaurants nearby. Gertie had fallen totally in love for the first
time in her life. She was both thrilled and afraid.

Gertie would always arrive
early for their dates so that she could shop in the stores in town
and buy beautiful clothes. She wanted to look her best for John.
She purchased several pairs of shoes in all different colors, red,
white, even blue. Her favorite purchase was a bright red dress with
diamond straps. Gertie had been shocked that anyone would sew
diamonds into a dress. She was very surprised when the saleslady
informed her that they were something called rime stones and not
diamonds at all. Gertie marveled at how much she learned and was
always eager to share the news with Cindy.

One day several months
later, Gertie brought her daughter Ophelia with her to meet John.
John took to the little girl immediately and the three of them had
a nice day at a park. When Gertie said that they had to start back
for home, John decided to speak his mind.

“Gertie, what are you
hiding from me? You never let me walk you home and in fact you
insist that I be the first one to leave, which is not very
gentlemanly. I hate waving goodbye to you from the bus, not knowing
if you will make it back home safely. You will not give me a phone
number, nor even an indication of where you live. Tell me the
truth, do you have a husband or boyfriend waiting for you at
home?”

“No, of course not, John.
You have to trust me on that. You mean the world to me and you are
the only man in my life.”

“Marry me, Gertie!” John
shouted out before he could think about it. Then, looking down into
her beautiful face, he took her hands in his and got down on one
knee. He took out the box that he had been carrying around with him
for the past several weeks and opened it to show what was
inside.

“Gertie Enchanter, will
you do me the great honor of becoming Mrs. John Ellis? I love you,
please say yes.”

Gertie looked at the
beautiful diamond ring in the box and her heart and face felt as if
they were on fire. She did not know what to say. She could not
marry him, no matter how much she loved him. It just could never
be.
Could it?
Gertie decided to take a big leap of fate. “Yes, John, I will
marry you. I love you too!” She squealed.

John picked her up and
swirled her around in a circle. Then he picked up Ophelia and did
the same. He put the ring on Gertie’s finger and Gertie had thought
she had never seen anything more beautiful than this ring. She
wondered what special powers it had. With that thought, along with
John’s next words, her world came tumbling down.

Chapter 11

“What did you just say,
John?” Gertie asked, her hands trembling. “

“I said we can go today to
get our blood tests and then I would very much like to meet your
family and ask your parents for your hand in marriage. We will need
to get your birth certificate as well.” John said, still smiling so
wide that he did not see the look on his would-be future bride’s
face. “We can marry right away. You have made me so
happy!”

Little Ophelia started
tugging on her mother’s skirt as if telling her that she wanted to
go home. Gertie took her daughter’s hand and they walked to a park
bench and sat down. John studied the look on Gertie’s face. “You
looked so happy and now you look sad. Tell me what I can do to put
that smile back on your face? I would have asked you much sooner to
be my bride, only I did not know how you would react to the news
about my son Donald. But knowing you have this beautiful little
girl makes everything perfect. We are a ready-made family, Gertie.
What is your hesitation?”

So many emotions were
playing out inside Gertie’s head that she did not know what to tell
him. Just last month the Sometimes Pass was opened in part to allow
visitors to The Spa and the bakery, restaurant and department
store. The hill and the beyond were totally shut off from anyone’s
vision. Janet had been helping at The Spa, in fact, she was doing
almost all of the work since Gertie had been spending so much time
with John. She loved John and did not want to lose him, but she had
many obligations and many secretes.

She could not tell him
about her true self. Janet had warned her many times that the
military in this world could be compared to the hunters in the old
country. Not evil, but seeking out to dissect or destroy what they
did not understand. Gertie knew that the government on this side of
the mountain was more powerful than any king had been in the old
country in her time there. She was just about to burst into tears
when John spoke.

“You do not have to answer
me today, Gertie. I know that I surprised you with my request and
that you need time to process that. I know how hard it must be for
you to be raising your daughter alone and now I am asking you to
add another child to raise. But I can help you, we can do this
together.” John said.

“We don’t need him,
mother.” Ophelia said, shocking John. “Did Ophelia just speak?” He
asked, staring at the child who looked to be not more than a year
old.

Oh great!
“No, I do not believe so, she is very young and
has not formed words yet.” Gertie answered. “You have given me a
great deal to think about, John Ellis. Would you mind very much if
I request you take your leave now so that my daughter and I can
have some time alone?”

John was hurt and confused,
but he nodded and bent down to kiss Gertie on her cheek. When he
did, Ophelia let out a howl. “Until next time then.” John
said.

Gertie sat for a long time
watching John until she could no longer see him. She then looked
down at her daughter. “Do I have to ask you what you think about
all of this my sweet daughter?”

“No! No John Ellis and no
Donald!” Ophelia said. ”I want to go back home now mommy!” Gertie
looked down the long street towards the mountains. She suddenly
felt drained of any energy she might have had before their
conversation with John. She took Ophelia’s hand and they walked
deeper into the park. Making sure no one was around, Gertie picked
up her daughter and spun around while chanting and if anyone had
been walking by that area of the park, they might have wondered
where the blue fog came from.

Ophelia ran up the steps to
the swing that Thelma and Luna were sitting on. “That John Ellis
man asked mommy to leave here and come live with him and marry
her!” Ophelia said angrily.

Thelma and Luna both
stopped playing with the ball and jacks that Gertie had purchased
for them on the other side of the mountain. “Don’t be silly,
Ophelia, that can’t be true.” Thelma said.

“Can it?” This from Janet
who had stepped onto the porch when she heard Ophelia’s voice.
“What is your daughter talking about, Gertie?”

“Kids, please go inside and
play with your jacks so Janet and I can talk.” She said. Janet
turned and called into the kitchen for Cindy to join them on the
porch swing.

Gertie wasn’t sure where to
begin. “You know I have been seeing a man from over the mountain
named John Ellis. He and I have become very close and today he
asked me to marry him and I said yes.” Gertie said, showing them
her ring.

“It is a very pretty ring,
Gertie. Does he know about you? About us?”

“No. Nothing.”

“Please explain how you
think such a marriage could work then. Would he come here and give
up the army and his life as he knows it now? What about his family?
There are such so many variables.” Janet said.