A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility: An Adaptation of Jane Austen's Classic by Kaitlin Saunders Page B

of him popped up on the screen as well as a few of his photography stills which had been featured in
National Geographic
.She studied an image of him from a charity event and sighed wistfully—Edward looked so debonair and handsome.
    Hearing her bedroom door open, Ellie quickly hit the minimize button as Marianne entered the kitchen to fill up her water glass. Marianne looked over at her, but didn’t seem suspicious as Ellie pretended to be checking her email. When Marianne finally returned to their room, Ellie let out a sigh of relief.
    The coast now clear again, Ellie turned her attention back to the web page, her eyes trailing down the list of results which included a Tumblr account and a Photoblog. She’d have to create new accounts with each site to access his photos. What if he was able to keep tabs on who was viewing his work? Ellie would be humiliated if he thought she was stalking him. Deciding not to take the chance, Ellie sat back in the computer chair, letting her mind wander. Wouldn’t that be something if Edward was thinking about her at that very moment? But Ellie pushed the thought aside. She was just being whimsical and needed to grow up. Closing down the computer and heading to bed downtrodden, Ellie climbed in next to Marianne. It was odd how she could feel both relieved and disappointed at finding nothing substantial about Edward online. Relief because that meant he wasn’t gallivanting across the world with some unknown woman; disappointment because she longed so badly to hear news of him. Ellie fell asleep that night promising herself she would try her best to be patient, while also issuing an order to her heart that it start slowly letting go.
    Fortunately, there to take her mind off matters of the heart were family and work. With the interior improvements almost done, the girls’ efforts of late were spent mostly on the apartments’ grounds maintenance. That morning, they’d been assigned detailing the complex’s entrance sign. It had accumulated years of grime from the mud which was splashed up by the ever-constant rain—so much so that one could barely make out the title of the apartments. Althoughthe most artistic, and, as Ellie reasoned, best suited for detailing, Marianne opted to tend the shrubs surrounding the sign while Ellie had to scrub the ceramic tiling. It was a nasty job, and Ellie was thankful for the gloves Mrs. Jennings had offered her as the three set out to begin working. Margaret, a few feet from her older sisters, was joyfully watering the flowers.
    Passing by at that moment, Mrs. Jennings waved cheerfully at the girls as she proceeded toward their apartment to visit with Diane. Eager to wave back, Margaret turned to greet the elderly woman. In doing so, however, she’d forgotten that in her other hand was an active hose. The screams of her older sisters came as a shocking surprise, and wide-eyed the young girl realized what she had mistakenly done. Soaked and irritated, Marianne stomped to her feet and while marching past Margaret, promised revenge. Usually Margaret would have quivered at such a threat, but she knew Marianne was all talk and no action. She was safe, at least for the time being.

One Saturday evening after Brandon had finished visiting Mr. Middleton and Mrs. Jennings, Diane could tell he wasn’t ready to go home and invited him to stay for dinner. Ellie had prepared a delicious-smelling pot roast in the crock pot and Diane knew there would be more than enough to go around. Once all of them had their fill of the savory dish, Brandon offered to help Diane with the dishes while the sisters headed outdoors with enthusiasm. They were eager to assemble the new hammock Margaret had uncovered while helping Mrs. Jennings clean out her garage. Since the elderly woman had no more use for it, she had graciously donated it to the excited youngster.
    While the girls pulled the hammock out of its package and began trying to translate the assembly directions (the only