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But she would never say that.
Chalmer grinned. “Guess you get the pleasure of my company after all,” he said with a smile that Ellen supposed could have been called charming, but it just looked sinister to her.
“I guess I do,” she said, knowing she sounded lame but not knowing what else to say. It wasn’t like she was excited about it, or happy. It was one of those things in life that she was going to have to endure, and she also made a mental note to pack a spare bucket the next time she came to one of these things. Of course, he was just as likely to spill two as he was to spill one.
“Come on, we’ll go outside. It’s less crowded out there, and we’ll have more privacy.”
“You gotta feed the girl,” someone called out as he grabbed a hold of Ellen’s elbow. She didn’t pull it out of his hand; she didn’t want to be rude. But this was not the way she had expected her evening to go. Being bought was one thing, then being led away from everyone else while they all laughed and enjoyed each other’s company around the tables that had been set up inside for that very purpose was something completely different.
It wasn’t like she desired to have any kind of time alone with Chalmer.
But when Mr. Higginbotham had offered her, it was her giving her time for someone else. She wasn’t supposed to be demanding her way.
Trying to play along with the spirit of things, Ellen walked beside Chalmer as he called over his shoulder, “That’s fine, I got us some hot wings and some of Lucinda’s mincemeat. That will tide us over.”
Ellen tried not to groan. Mrs. Bothim had made the hot wings, and they were extremely hot. If she wanted to have pain while she ate, she supposed spicy food would hit the spot, but she didn’t deliberately seek out pain on purpose and had a hard time understanding people who did. Not that she would judge, just a personal preference on her part. And mincemeat was her absolute least favorite kind of pie. She didn’t even really consider it pie. It was more like...she wasn’t even sure.
But she’d been raised to be thankful for what she had, and laughing a little to herself at the way her evening had gone completely off the rails, she allowed Chalmer to lead her by the elbow to the door.
He opened it, and they walked out into the dusty twilight. Ellen tried not to show the longing she felt to stay inside, especially as she heard Mr. Higginbotham say, “Oh, look at this. We found a couple more buckets that need to be auctioned off. All right, if you put your big checkbook away, you need to get it back out.”
Chapter 6
“Travis!” Mr. Higginbotham said as Travis walked in the community center door. Travis turned his head to the stage where Mr. Higginbotham stood with a makeshift microphone, which always made his voice sound tinny, holding up a pail that had been beautifully decorated with loads of flowers and material and other knickknacks. “You’re here just in time. This is our last meal. If you want something to eat, you better pony up.”
“Is it Ellen’s?” he called back, grinning so that everyone would know that he was mostly joking.
He wasn’t, actually. He really wanted to know if it was Ellen’s, because he’d come as fast as he could, hoping that he’d be able to make it in time to bid on her bucket. He hadn’t thought he was going to make it, and he had told her so, not wanting her to have her hopes up and to let her down.
It had been five years since he’d seen her, and while they spent some time texting and facetiming, it wasn’t like seeing someone in person.
He couldn’t wait.
But his chest deflated when Mr. Higginbotham shook his head. “Beggars can’t be choosy. The bid’s at ten bucks. Give me eleven, Travis. And we’ll welcome you back.”
He grinned and lifted his shoulder. If it was the last bucket, he wasn’t going to get to eat with Ellen. She was already eating with someone else, and his eyes swept the room, trying to figure out where she was. He looked up and down the tables but didn’t see her distinctive auburn hair.
No one else bid on the bucket, and he got it for the eleven dollars. It was a good thing, he supposed, since he hadn’t been paying attention to the auction and had no thought to bid again if he needed to.
“All right, Travis, come on up here, pay for your food, and get your girl.”
Travis turned, pulling his eyes away from the tables, still not seeing Ellen, and took one step toward the stage when his heart quit beating.
Shanna. She stood on stage, taking her bucket from Mr. Higginbotham with a happy smile as her two children stood around her legs, and Mr. Higginbotham handed it to her and nodded at Travis.
Shanna sent a knowing look in his direction, and Travis tried to return her smile. He’d avoided her as much as he could since he figured out exactly what was going on with her in high school. She was just using him. But high school was a long time ago, and surely he could have a civil meal with her now. Even if he would have preferred to be with Ellen.
Sometimes things just didn’t work out the way a person wanted them to, and this was one of those times, he thought as he pulled eleven bucks out of his wallet and gave it to the lady at the table who was collecting the money.
Why couldn’t Ellen’s bucket have been last?
She probably would have made sure that it would have been if she had known that he was coming, if he hadn’t sent that text that said that he wasn’t going to make it, because he didn’t want to disappoint her.
It was always easier to see what a person should have done than what a person should do.
Regardless, he turned toward Shanna, who stood at his elbow, and then looked down at the two small children beside her.
“I’ve heard you had some kids,” he said by way of greeting.
