Ellen spent the next few weeks gathering intel and befriending Carl. She was prepared to do the worst. She had spent years living in comfort making safe decisions, but now it was time for her to pursue passion. If she didn't do it now... there might not be a time for her to do it at all. First, she aimed at finding the girl. It wasn't hard to figure out. Whenever she stepped into the Cafe, Carl would stop everything. He would even stop talking mid-sentence and run to the door like some lovesick puppy. It was harder to like Carly day by day. A Patissier of Carl's level should never act so much like a kid. He was suave and passionate... Even though he looked young he didn't need to run to her with his proverbial tail wagging every single time.
After she found out what was going on, she gathered intel on Carly. She invited her over for some tea and found out the things she cherished most. Her animals were on top of the list. The most specific being her chickens. They were easily scared and finicky when it came to loving the owner. Ellen knew this, but Carly seemed to care more about them than she cared about her own. She wondered if Carly's only passion in life was farming. If only it were that simple. One day, Ellen couldn't wait anymore.
"Do you love Carl?" Ellen blurted. She couldn't help herself. "I mean, you two spend a lot of time together. You talk about him a lot." Carly was caught off guard. She blushed and laughed. "Well... he's my best friend and always brings me things to eat when I'm tired. He brought me soup when I sick and he's always so happy to see me... I guess if I could see myself settling down with anyone here, Carl would be the one."
The answer echoed in her head every single day. "If there's anyone, it's Carl..." Ellen muttered to herself, "She's got so many choices, and she chooses the only guy who could bring me any happiness." Ellen yelled and threw a plate of cookies at the wall. "I won't live this way!" Ellen shouted. Hank peeked into the kitchen. Ellen turned around with wrath in her eyes and Hank quietly went back to his place at the counter. Ellen walked to her cookies and picked them off of the floor. She was about to throw them away, but then she put them in a basket and put them in front of Carly's house.
Without remorse, Ellen took a walk around town. What could she do? They were in love with each other, and there was no way that Ellen was going to get Carl to fall in love with anyone else when his eyes darted towards the door constantly just for a glimpse of Carly. But, maybe there was a chance for the farmer to fall in love with someone else. She had only said that she could only see herself settling down with Carl. But, what if another suitor came her way? Ellen started to hatch a plan. Carefully, she put the idea on the incubator of her mind. Soon, the plan would be set in motion. But first, she needed a few things. A suitor, a partner in crime, and an alibi. So, she got to work.
She figured that her partner in crime could also double as a fake suitor... but it would need to be someone who would be willing to hurt Carly later. So, she would wait to see what her options were. In preliminary elimination, Kurt, Joe, and Alex were all no good. They were all too busy with work to be scheming. Besides, Kurt was too quiet, Joe was too nice, and Alex was not the type to participate in nonsense like this. Basil was too into plants and flowers to see anything that didn't grow out of the ground, and Louis was too shy to say anything to the girl. Dan would probably do it, but he would probably ask for money. Ellen had quite the shortage of money because of all of the cake she had purchased from Carl in the past season. He was a little too into himself to be a convincing actor, anyway. That left Ray, who was more likely to start an affair with a fish than a woman. Ellen was out of options... or maybe she wasn't.
Ellen lifted her head and saw she was walking by Jaime's farm. Jaime was short for James, the most competitive and bitter person that this town held. Ellen wondered if it was too much... but she couldn't think of anyone better. Jaime was competitive... probably not above distracting the farmer in the hopes he would do better. She was shipping a lot more than he was these days. If there was a chance that he could be on top again... would he take it? He seemed to be especially bitter towards Carly lately. Nobody knew why, but his bitterness aimed towards the perky farmer bordered on rage after mid-summer. Now... how could she convince him to do it? Certainly, if it was Jaime, he could make Carly fall in love and also participate in the planning. That would make things go smoothly.
Ellen walked over to the purple house and raised her hand to knock on the door. She hesitated. Jaime was a scary guy. Standing at 6'2'' with the bone structure of the most beautiful angel of wrath she had ever seen, Jaime was the kind of guy you didn't communicate with despite the fact he wore pink and purple most of the time. But, Ellen's eyes steeled over and she gave three loud knocks on the door. If she wasn't willing to try soliciting Jamie's help, she would never get Carl to talk to her when Carly was in the room, let alone get him to fall in love with her. The door opened swiftly, the wind making tendril's of Jaime's hair move gracefully along his face. Cowboy hat tilted to the sky, Jaime looked down on Ellen.
"I have an idea that you might just want to hear." Ellen said. Jaime raised an eyebrow, and let her into his house. He closed the door behind her and walked to his kitchen to finish his lunch. The entire house was rugged. Everything was wooden with the exception of his fireplace, which burned brightly in front of his green sofa. It wasn't cozy, but it was all solid and secure. Ellen noticed a picture of the likeness of the Harvest Goddess on the wall, but asked nothing about it. She left the town myths alone. Jaime leaned against his kitchen counter and Ellen sat down at the table.
"So..." Jaime said, "What is it?" Ellen smiled. "I don't think you've ever been in love. I don't even know if you've had a passion for something. But, if you have, you would know that you would do anything that was in your power to accomplish your goal. No matter what the others say, you need to pursue the passion your way, or leave it as it lie. Nobody just leaves the thing that gives them purpose." Ellen paused and then stood up. "You're the only person I could come to. I need a partner in crime. You're the only person I know that could get Carly to fall in love with you just long enough for me to get to Carl." Jaime chewed on his sandwich, amused. Ellen swallowed nervously.
"So..." Jamie sighed, "You want me to get my worst enemy to fall in love with me. You really think she'll go for that?" Ellen gave an exasperated sigh. "Don't you see this is good for you!?" Ellen walked over to Jaime. "If you distract the farmer by making her fall for you, her work will suffer. Without the encouragement of Carl, she'll forget about her rivalry with you and focus more on you! You could be the top dog in town again, and all you would have to do to her directly is throw a smile her way once in awhile. I'll take care of the rest." Jaime finished the last of his sandwich and stood up to his full height. "And what else is in it for me?" Jaime asked. Ellen looked up at Jaime, and took a shot. "You get to make her feel as miserable as you did." Jaime's eyes lit up, the rage coming to life. It had worked.
"Get out," Jaime said, "give me directions by sticking them to the back of your sign. I'll drop by, pick them up, and give replies that way." Ellen nodded and started for the door. "Oh, and Ellen," Jaime called, "You probably want to think very carefully about using my services. They might not get the reaction that you wanted." Ellen's eyes locked with Jaime's for a moment, and then she left without another word.
Ellen spent the next few days communicating secretly with Jaime. Their first part of the UBP (Ultimate Breakup Plan) would initiate on the first snowy day of winter. Winter would be here in three days, and the snow would come soon after. Meanwhile, Ellen sipped some tea in the Cafe and talked to Carl, pushing the plan into the back of her mind. It was much too late for remorse. For now, she would focus only on gaining the love of her soulmate.
"You know, I'm a pretty good cook!" Ellen said, "Maybe you should come over and I can cook breakfast for you!" Carl smiled. "Alright. I'll hold you to it. How does next Tuesday sound?" Carl waited patiently for an answer. Ellen counted the days in her head and smiled. "Carl, that sounds perfect! I'll come to walk you over to my house at 5:30." Carl blinked, "I'm used to 5:30, but isn't that a little early for you?" Ellen shook her head and laughed. "No! I usually make breakfast for the crew around then, so it's no trouble at all!" Carl nodded. "Okay then! I'm looking forward to it." Ellen beamed and hopped down from her stool. "By the way, the cake I tried was delicious. What's it called?" Ellen asked. Carl smiled and looked out the window. "It's called Carly Cake." Carl blushed, "It's not perfect yet, but I think it will be soon." Ellen faltered just a little bit, catching herself on the counter. 'Carly Cake?' Ellen thought, 'This is more serious than I thought. We might have to come up with a better plan.' Ellen turned to Carl with a smile. "Alright! I'll see you next Tuesday morning then!"
Ellen quickly left the shop. Katie stood up from her table and looked over at Carl. Carl looked lovingly down at his cake and took a slice for himself. "You know she likes you, right?" Katie asked Carl. The cafe was empty, so Katie figured she would take the opportunity. Carl looked up at Katie and then looked at the door. "Yeah..." Carl said, "But as friendly as she is... I don't think I could even begin to like her until Carly said she never wanted to see me again. No.. maybe not even then." Katie sighed and sat down at her table again, doing a crossword puzzle that Joe had given her. "Oh! I get it!" Katie laughed, "The message is, 'I like you'!"
Ellen stood on the other side of the Cafe door. She couldn't believe her ears. Not even if Carly said she never wanted to see him again..? Ellen walked to the beach and stood for a long time. Everything that she had bottled up for the past half an hour came pouring out of her. Ellen yelled angrily through her tears, kicking at the ocean and throwing the spiny coral in as if the ocean could feel it slicing through the water. Jaime leaned against the rock and watched her vent her frustration. It was better not to disturb her. Jaime had been thinking of calling of the whole thing. Despite what the villagers seemed to think, he did have a conscience. But, he knew what it was like to be defeated. He knew what it was like to have no other option. He would help her, even if it lasted an entire year. As Ellen screamed at the ocean, Jamie decided that having one friend was better than none at all.