"What are you thinking, Rilla-my-Rilla?" Walter Blythe asked his youngest sister one enchanted spring evening as he came upon her in an enchanted little dell of Rainbow Valley.
Her still young and demure face seemed to have scooped the stars from the heavens and deposited their shining light into the beauty of her hazel eyes. The wind slightly lifted her brownish red hair from her shoulders, letting out a contented, heartfelt laugh. Time had been kind to her, and from looking at her, you couldn't really tell that she was the mother of five rambunctious children.
She smiled as her brother sat next to her, It had been nearly three years since he returned to them, but now and then, she still had to remind herself that hadn't really died at Courcelette during The Great War. Not only was he very much alive, though he couldn't remember who he was, he had married and had two children. His wife had died as a result of injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. That accident had taken away his wife, but brought back the memories that had eluded him for nine years. He returned to Glen St. Mary with his children, and with the love of their family, they began to heal after the loss of their wife and mother.
Almost a year ago, he married Una Meredith and the two of them were very happy together, raising Hope and Tenny in an enchanted house called Hope's Cove. Rilla felt that finally everything was as it should be, and couldn't have been happier than she was when Walter found her.
"Hello Walter. I was thinking of how wonderful spring is here in the Glen and on P.E.I. as a whole. We wait from November to April through months of constant cold and dreariness just to see the rebirth of nature. I guess that it's like a mother waiting for her baby to be born," she told him.
Walter laughed, but felt the cool, damp air chill him to his bones, "This year it seems more like the baby is overdue. Tell me, how did you manage to get away from home, especially on such a chilly evening as this?"
Rilla smiled, showing a bit of her father's dimple, "Well, speaking of babies, Persis and Carl are home from their extended honeymoon, traveling through the wilds of Africa, and have some expectant news of their own. They asked to watch the triplets tonight while Ken is working at the newspaper so that they can get a little practice. Gilly and Grace came with me, and are already up at Ingleside playing with Walt, John, and Charity."
"They do know that taking care of one newborn is a great deal different than taking care of three sixteen month old triplets, don't they?"
"Yes, but my trio are the youngest babies in our clan that live in the Glen. Persis and Carl don't have time to go all the way to Avonlea to visit the younger ones before they are to go home to Montreal. Tell me, brother of mine, where are your children and your wife?"
"Oh they are home at Hope's Cove. I was just at Ingleside myself because Mother has a new book for Hope to read. That little girl is so much like our mother that it's almost frightening, especially the way that she devours books," he said, waving a book in the air,
"Her imagination is like Mother's as well. I can't tell you the fright she and Grace gave me last week when they convinced themselves that a ghost lives at the old Moore homestead. Having those two girls run into my kitchen, screaming bloody murder will give me a stroke one of these days."
"It is beautiful evening, isn't it? What other thought have danced across your mind tonight, Rila-my-Rilla"
A somewhat devilish grin cam upon Rilla's face as she admitted to Walter, "I've been thinking about this a lot since Miss Cornelia passed away last month, and it's terribly irreverent. I couldn't admit it to anyone save Ken and you," she told him.
"What has been on your mind?" he asked as his curiosity grew.
"Well, I have wondered what Susan must have wondered when she got to Heaven, expecting you to be there, and you weren't."
This caused Walter to choke as he tried to stifle a fit of laughter. "No doubt she assumed that all that 'poetry trash' kept me from being one of the elect."
"Maybe, but you don't know how she cherished each of your writings when we thought you were dead, Walter."
Walter nodded his head, understanding what Rilla was telling him. "Poor old, Susan, and poor old Miss Cornelia. Actually, poor us; the Glen seems somewhat empty now without them. Mary says that Mr. Elliot just haunts the store all the time, playing with the children. It seems he doesn't know exactly what to do without Miss Cornelia."
He looked at his watch. "Well, I must hie my way back to the Cove. I promised my bride that I wouldn't be away too long, and too long was probably ten minutes ago. You should go on up and get warm. It wouldn't do to have you catch pneumonia. Ken would have to be institutionalized trying to raise all five alone," he instructed as he kissed her goodbye on the cheek, and headed off in the direction of his home.
He saw the home light burning from inside his house when he made it back to Hope's Cove. Seeing the beautiful old Victorian home all lit up against the dark night sky, and with the knowledge that inside awaited a sweet, imaginative daughter, a kind-hearted, intelligent son, a faithful black dog sitting by the crackling fire, and most importantly, a beautiful, loving wife, made him stop and take in the wondrousness of it all. He didn't tarry too long though, because what was the use of having such a family and such a home, if a man didn't appreciate it?
They had heard his footsteps on the wooden porch, and all were waiting to greet him. Hope greeted him first with a kiss before taking her new book to read. Tenny shook his father's hand before taking Noel out one last time before heading to bed. Even Noel licked his hand before making her way outside. Lastly, but never least, Una met him with a kiss, reminding him all over again why it was so good to be home.
He sat down on the sofa, pulling her close to him, and told her, "See, dearest Una? I wasn't away too long at all. I managed to get Hope's book from Mother and even visit with Rilla in Rainbow Valley before the children had to be in bed."
"How is Rilla, dear?" Una asked. I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks. It seems that one or the other of us has had an ill child the past two Sundays and has missed church and Sunday dinner, and I haven't been able to get away to the House of Dreams in ages."
"She is well. Ken is of course printing the paper tonight, and Gilly and Grace went with her to Ingleside while Carl and Persis kept the triplets."
"Oh, they're back! I'll have to scold Carl for not letting me know that they were back."
"Well," Walter said, mulling about whether or not he should tell her the rest of the news, unsure whether or not it would upset her. "That's not all of the news. It seems that you're to have another new niece or nephew. That is why they're watching the triplets. They think that they need practice with babies."
"Oh," Una replied much less excited than most would have thought she should be. "That's wonderful. We'll all have to start knitting booties and blankets soon. Montreal is very cold in the winter."
He took her slender white hand and asked, "So you are okay with this news?"
"Why shouldn't I be?" she asked, knowing he knew the answer.
"Una, I know how much you want to have our baby. It must be painful to see your brother already having one when they've not been married as long as us."
She leaned her head on his chest, letting him run his hand though her dark hair. "I must admit it is somewhat disheartening to learn that they are expecting already, and we have yet to be so blessed, but I am happy for my brother and Persis. I don't begrudge them this happiness."
He smiled then kissed her. There was no one on Earth as selfless as his wife, and he loved her all the more for it. "Our time will come when God feels it is right, and even if it never happens, I love you the same, and will be just as happy with only the four of us instead of five or more."
"You're right Walter, you're always right. We've our own happy family here already. Not having a baby won't make me less happy, but I still hope to someday hold another child in my arms."
"As I hope to see you doing so, dearest. Goodness," he said, trying to lighten the subject before one of the children heard what they were talking of, "can you imagine yet another member of the ever burgeoning Blythe-Meredith-Ford clan?"
Una Blythe laughed, then said in a gypsy voice. "Oh yes I can. I can see a passel of Blythes, Merediths, and Fords growing up, getting into scrapes, dreaming dreams, falling in love, and pursuing ambitions while making their parents and grandparents very proud."
Walter hugged Una even closer to him before saying, "I can't wait to see it happen, but Hope had better be thirty before she thinks of falling in love."
Well, here it is: the asked for sequel to "Once of Ingleside." I hope everone likes it, so please read and review. I'm not abandoning my other two fics-in-progress, I'm just sort of stuck for the moment on them and can't quit thinking about this one and the one I plan for after it.