Chapter 3

              The next morning, Elynne ate waffles that were burnt and under cooked at the same time..  Hopefully one of these days she’d figure out how to properly cook waffles.  After gagging on her breakfast, she peered out her window to check out her plants.

Uhm… What?  Nobody said anything about weeds.  Other than that though, everything seemed to be growing just fine.  She attempted to pull the weeds, but she was afraid she was going to pull out the plant itself too so she left it alone.  She figured she would just water it extra.

The next few days she spent gardening and painting, and she eventually got the hang of gardening, but her painting needed a lot of work.  She was also really lonely.  The town only had one hangout, so she headed out to the Watering Hole that night.

Elynne met a dorky celebrity named Kenji, and immediately the paparazzi started paying attention to her.  She could just imagine the headlines for page six tomorrow.  D list celebrity takes home a charity case.  Sheesh!  It was one drink!

She was just leaving when she spotted a gruff looking cowboy at the door.  Had he been there all along?  Elynne got jittery, but she decided to introduce herself.

“You look awfully lonely over here,” Elynne batted her eyelashes.

“Not anymore!  I’m Gussie.” His face immediately softened, and the two got lost in conversation.

There were a few times when he had to run over to the door and look mean because someone was approaching the door, but once they were gone, he walked back over to Elynne.  They even had a common interest: gardening!

She didn’t get home until the sun was nearly up.  Needless to say, it took her a few days to recover.  For nearly a week she had butterflies in her stomach, but she was determined not to come on too strong.  After all, she was a hopeless romantic.  Elynne tended to get carried away when it came to dealings of the heart.

Elynne threw herself into her gardening, and eventually got some pretty nice looking plants.  She didn’t get a lot of money for the produce, but she at least got enough to spend another night out at the Watering Hole.  Gussie was sure to be there.

Elynne’s stomach dropped.  She couldn’t go meet up with Gussie in the same old jeans and t-shirt that she had seen him in the night before!  She wasn’t really a dressy girl anyway, but she needed to splurge on something at least halfway decent.   She decided to buy a mirror and pay more attention to her appearance.  Elynne almost wished she hadn’t.

                Elynne’s eyebrows were definitely in desperate need of an eyebrow wax, and a facial wouldn’t hurt.  Oh gosh, and that hair.  Did she own a brush?  That was that.  Tonight, Elynne was going to get a makeover.

                The stylists all fought to get their hands on her.  Clearly she was a good candidate for a makeover.  One of the stylists tried to stick her in six inch heels, but Elynne opted for the cowboy boots.  She was sure Gussie would appreciate them.

                When they were finished, the stylists gasped.  They said she was totally pulling off the whole girl next door look.  Elynne rolled her eyes.  She had never really been the type of girl that went for a "look."

                The stylists had done a fine job.  They gave her a fresh new look for her fresh new start.  Elynne was feeling so empowered that she almost got a tattoo, but she chickened out at the last minute.  She was way too nervous.

                When she approached the door, she had to laugh at his gruff expression.  It didn’t really suit him.  How could he hope to scare anyone looking like that.

                She took a deep breath, but that didn’t help.  Had she mistaken the signals she had gotten oh so many nights before?  Would he recognize her now?  Had he forgotten about her?  Elynne almost turned and ran, but she was sure he had already seen her so she kept on going.

                “Nice to see you again, Elynne,” he winked at her while holding his position at the door.

                “Likewise,” Elynne curtsied.  Wait… did she really just curtsy?  Had she ever curtsied before in her life?  Good grief!  She was acting like a nut!

                “I hope you enjoy yourself in there,”

                “Actually… I was here to see you,” Elynne blushed and Gussie smiled.  Again they got lost in conversation, and actually became friends.

                “Hey Elynne!  Wow!  You look very nice!” Shawnee’s unmistakable voice floated over her shoulder.  Gussie immediately stiffened.

                “Enjoy your night, Mr. Fox,” Gussie nodded politely.

                “You too, Gussie.”  Shawnee turned to face Elynne.  “Maybe we’ll see you inside and I’ll buy you a drink so you can tell me how everything is going.”

                “Alright!  I’ll see you guys in side!” Elynne beamed and waved before turning her attention back to Gussie.

                Elynne tried to continue their conversation, but Gussie was just not as into it as before.  Had she done something wrong?  She was just about to leave when Gussie spoke up.

                “You know, news travels fast around town,” Gussie said evenly, “Cheyenne told everyone about you and Shawnee.”

                “Gussie, I promise nothing happened.  Shawnee is a really nice guy, and honestly I think it is all in Cheyenne’s head,” Elynne blurted out.  “You’re awesome, and I would really like to get to know you without worrying about what everyone is saying behind my back.”

                “Alright, alright.” Gussie said dismissively.  “It’s my fault for taking her too seriously, but rumors fly around here.  It’s a small town, y’know.  Come back tomorrow and we’ll start over.”

                Elynne walked away disappointed because all the progress she had made was erased.  They weren’t even friends anymore.

                The next day, Elynne took her time going about her chores.  She was in a terrible mood, but spending time outside in her garden cheered her up.

                When she finished her gardening, she painted for a while.  Rumors sure did fly around this town, and she had a local gossip named Gloria following her around all morning.

“Someone saw you at The Watering Hole with Kenji.  There are rumors all over town of a fledgling romance.  Would you like to confirm or deny?"

                Gussie had told her plenty of funny stories about Gloria the previous night.  Gloria wasn’t just a local gossip.  She had a column in the local newspaper and a blog.  Gussie made sure to emphasize it was always a good idea to keep your mouth shut around Gloria.  So no matter what Gloria said, she was determined to stay silent.

                “You know, I heard you were talking to Gussie at the door last night.  He is quite a catch you know.”  Gloria purred.

                “You think so?”  Elynne blushed putting her hand to her face.  Elynne turned around to face Gloria and gasped.  Gloria held a tape recorder in her right hand, and the little red light was blinking.  Elynne stormed inside.  She was going to have to do something about this privacy issue.  She hadn’t said anything wrong, but you really just never know how people will misconstrue things.

                Even while she was cooking dinner she got calls about what brand she had been wearing the other night and where she had gotten her hair done.  Someone even had the nerve to ask her some very intimate questions about Kenji that made Elynne gag.  She didn't even finish making her meal after that conversation.

                

                If only she could take back the drink she shared with Kenji.  It wasn’t worth all of this trouble.  She was having enough problems fitting in.