"It's best to be levelheaded, of course," agreed Philippa, "but you miss lots of fun. As for Alec and Alonzo, if you knew them you'd understand why it's difficult to choose between them. They're equally nice."

"Then take somebody who is nicer" suggested Aunt Jamesina. "There's that Senior who is so devoted to you—Will Leslie. He has such nice, large, mild eyes."

"They're a little bit too large and too mild—like a cow's," said Phil cruelly.

"What do you say about George Parker?"

"There's nothing to say about him except that he always looks as if he had just been starched and ironed."

"Marr Holworthy then. You can't find a fault with him."

"No, he would do if he wasn't poor. I must marry a rich man, Aunt Jamesina. That—and good looks—is an indispensable qualification. I'd marry Gilbert Blythe if he were rich."

-From Chapter XIX: An Interlude, Anne of the Island


Chapter 1

"Blythe!" shouted a voice, cutting through the noise of the crowded station.

Gilbert instinctively turned towards the direction of the voice, only to face scowls and sniffs of irritation. Every person arriving at this port, even for the first time, immediately understood that the only acceptable direction to face was towards the exit, and the only way to walk was forwards.

"Blythe!" shouted the voice again, and this time the voice was accompanied by a hand that jumped up and waved over the heads of the passengers glaring at Gilbert as they brushed past him. Gilbert would have liked to raise his own hand in return, to indicate where he stood, but his luggage demanded both his hands at present.

"I'm here! Walking to Water Street!" Gilbert shouted back, uncertain of the target, simply hoping his voice would reach the position of the hand he saw a moment ago. Quickly, he turned his head back to match the way his body faced, and fell back into step with the crowd.

"You're an impatient man, Gilbert Blythe," said the voice, suddenly appearing right next to his ear, as the accompanying hand clasped one of his cases and tugged it away from his own hand. Gilbert, who had initially tightened his grip out of a habit formed in reaction to the bumping and jostling of fellow passengers, could now finally see the face that belonged to the voice and hand, as it smiled broadly at him. He grinned in response and yielded his bag.

"Holworthy! I didn't know you were back- did your boat just arrive? How is your mother? Oh, and-" but here Marr Holworthy cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Better not talk here with all this noise! Wait till we reach Water Street!" Marr shouted and disappeared into the crowd in front of him, still carrying one of Gilbert's cases. Gilbert attempted to speed up and keep pace with him, but having the more awkwardly shaped one of his two cases, and less practice than Marr at elbowing his way through crowds (and more of a natural inclination for allowing people to pass ahead of him if they appeared more impatient, or more tired, or more burdened with their luggage, or very young, or very old), it was very likely that Marr reached the road several minutes before Gilbert eventually arrived.

Marr was waiting against the wall, flattening against it in an attempt to stay out of the way of the dispersing travellers. He beamed at Gilbert.

"You look so surprised to see me- I take it you never received my letter telling you I was headed back to Kingsport. I just returned yesterday! My mother is feeling considerably better now, and I needed to return to work. Here, Mrs. Fulton has generously loaned me her buggy today- she's the one who told me you'd be back today. And I had an idea your Avonlea would load you up with treats and presents. I offer my carrying services and carriage in exchange for a suitable share of the snacks filling our room."

Gilbert had many questions for Marr, but there would be time enough to ask them. Tired and grateful, loaded his luggage into the buggy.

"It's before the harvest, so it's awfully presumptuous to expect anyone has sent me with food. You may have helped for nothing in return. Soon all the other Lambs will expect you to show up and carry their things, and I warn you, I travel lighter than most," Gilbert said, comfortable in the knowledge that his mother always packed extra apple butter. ("You'll also need some for sharing," she would say.)

Marr's cheerful grin showed no sign of worry. "No, I've come to know your mother too well, Blythe. A pattern has emerged through all your descriptions. She has certainly been storing up preserves since the last harvest, and just because she gave you all you could carry at Christmastime does not mean she wouldn't have more set aside for you! I trust both your parents are doing well? Were they delighted to see their boy for at least a few days over the summer, although it's a pity it isn't longer, you simply work too hard, etc.?"

"They were both champions about it. I constantly feel guilty that I'm neglecting them, but I can always count on them to make the best of the time we have. I only got there day before, on Saturday, which was the morning of the wedding, and spent the day involved in that. It wasn't until after church yesterday that I properly got to spend time with them at all, but it was good. I am glad we had that time, just the three of us."

In fact, after church, his mother had asked him, gently, "Do you know when you'll be home today? I was going to make a nice supper, but it's quite alright if you'd planned to-" Gilbert had cut her off then and told her that he was walking directly back home with them. He had been looking at Anne standing in the distance when his mother had asked him this, although it had been unconscious, and so he had turned away from Anne then, hoping to make it clear to his mother that he truly had no other plans for the day. His parents had also asked no questions and made no comment the previous night, when he had mentioned walking Anne home. He realised that his behaviour in general was far from clear to them, but it was not in their nature to pry and in was not in his capacity to explain.

Marr's voice intruded on his thoughts, "And what of the wedding? How was that? Tell me, were you indeed the best man there? Or is such a designation too much to live up to?"

Gilbert laughed, and said "No, unfortunately for me, any group that includes Fred always has him as the best man, but I think I made a fair attempt for the best man after Fred. In any case, the ceremony concluded with dignity, and my speech with respectability, and the everyone had a merry time at the wedding! Fred and Diana looked like they could not imagine greater happiness, and I cannot imagine a more deserving pair."

Marr smiled and nodded, but said nothing in response. After a short moment, he asked, "And were all the others there? Anne and Charlie and Moody? Did your small town come together for one big wedding?"

Gilbert understood now that Marr was specifically asking about Anne, and appreciated that he set his question to allow Gilbert a chance to evade answering.

"Yes, they were all there, and while it wasn't quite the whole town, it was probably most of it. The Barry house looked full to bursting. And it lasted quite late into the night, although most of the older folks went home earlier in the evening." After a moment's hesitation, he added, "Anne and I were among the last to leave."

Marr now turned to look squarely at him and asked bluntly, "And was that alright? Was it a merry time for you, as you mentioned it was for others?" The time for evasion was past.

"Yes," replied Gilbert, in a slow, considering tone. "It was. It was pleasant, and it felt- it felt like a return to older times. We were... friends again."

Marr continued to look at him intently. "Friends again? Just for that evening? Or are you still friends again?"

All at once, the weariness of the weekend caught up with Gilbert, and he felt the full force of two long trips in three days, with insufficient rest in between.

"I don't know," he replied honestly, and Marr could hear the sudden tiredness in Gilbert's voice. "I think, perhaps, we're still... but- I don't know."