Carpe Diem
„Who invented siblings in the first place?" Rilla demanded to know after she and Ken had left Ingleside, "I mean they're of no use for anything, are they?"
"Sometimes they are" said Ken and grinned, clearly amused by Rilla's outburst. She just glared at him and continued to complain about her siblings. Ken listened, watching her at the same time and discovering once again how beautiful she had become.
"You're the sweetest thing, you know. Especially when you're mad" he whispered into her ear.
Rilla turned around, pretending to be offended and declared "I didn't hear that, Kenneth Ford!" He just grinned at her again, causing her to lightly slap him.
Ken pretended to suffer but didn't manage to ban the laughter out of his voice as he said "That's it. I'm mortally wounded and you're to blame for this, Miss Blythe. The only thing that could rescue me now is a kiss."
She laughed and rolled her eyes, partly to hide her unsureness, but leaned in and cast a quick kiss on his lips. Ken refused to let her go and kissed her again, until Rilla managed to free herself from him, looking rather triumphant.
"Peace?" Ken offered and took a step closer. Rilla nodded a bit reluctantly, but came closer as well. He slipped one arm around her waist and look down at her, grinning.
"You were complaining about how Jem, Nan and Di never should've been born, right?" he teased her, earning himself another glare.
He quickly caught her had, which she had raised to slap him again and grinned "A bit violent today, are we now?"
Rilla tried to step back again, but Ken's arm successfully kept her in place. He let go of her hand to put his other arm around her waist, too, so that they were now facing each other.
Rilla's face softened as she raised her hand to follow the scar on his cheek. Her touch was so gentle that Ken almost didn't feel it.
"Where did you get this?" she asked softly, avoiding his more than intense gaze.
"Shrapnel, Battle of the Somme" Ken responded curtly. His face had turned hard.
Rilla's finger gently touched another scar, on his neck this time and much smaller, and came to rest just above his decorations.
"Victoria Cross?" she asked, "what for?" "Killing", Ken's voice sounded bitter.
"When?" Rilla asked very cautiously. "Vimy" was his answer.
His mind seemed far away, somewhere in the past, on the battlefields in Europe. His expression was hard and bitter. Rilla looked at him, unsure of what to do next.
"Ken... I... I'm sor-" she began, but Ken silenced her by gently laying a finger on her lips.
"No need to apologise, Honey" he murmured and drew her closer, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't talk like that. Just forget about it." Rilla nodded and nestled against his chest. But silently she asked herself, if the soldiers would ever get over this war. Somehow she doubted it.
"What do you think of coming over for supper tonight?" Rilla asked after a while and looked up at him.
"I can do that" Ken responded and grinned. "Why so enthusiastic?" Rilla asked sarcastically, whereupon Ken leaned down and kissed her again.
"Willa! Willa!" cried a voice, that quickly made them let go of each other. Jims raced up to them, as fast as his legs would carry him, all the while shouting his nickname for Rilla. It wasn't that he couldn't pronounce her real name by now, as he was four and a half years old, but he had decided to call her 'Willa' and had stuck to it.
As he reached them Rilla bend down to her 'war-child' and hugged him close to her. "Hello Willa" Jims smiled up at her, then cast a look towards Ken, who was watching the encounter.
Rilla turned to him as well "You remember Jims?"
"Sure thing" Ken nodded, but was drown out by Jims, who cried "Who's that, Willa?"
"You can ask him that himself" Rilla responded, "he won't bite you." Jims didn't seem to sure of it, but did as he was told to.
Ken kneeled down, so that he was at eye-level with the boy, and answered "Kenneth Ford. And who are you?"
"James Kit- Kit- Kit-..." Jims frowned as he tried to pronounce his middle-name correctly.
"James Kitchener Anderson" Rilla helped and looked at Jims with a gentle smile. "Yes, that" Jims nodded, "but you can call me Jims."
"So Jims it is. And whom did you ran away from, Jims?"
Before Jims could answer Ken's question, the three heard the voice of the boy's step-mother "There you are, James Anderson! Running away like that. Don't you do that again! I was worried."
"Sorry" Jims didn't sound as if he meant it. "I hope he didn't bother you" apologised Mrs. Anderson.
"Oh no" Rilla laughed, "it was quite all right. Mrs. Anderson, may I introduce you to Kenneth Ford? Ken, Mrs. Anderson, the second wife of Jim Anderson."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Anderson" Ken extended one hand.
"You as well" Mrs. Anderson shook his hand, "but unfortunately we have to go. I have to buy a few things at Carter Flagg's. Jims, say goodbye to Miss Blythe and Mr. Ford."
"Bye Willa, bye..." Jims trailed off, unsure of how to address the man. Ken bent down and whispered something into Jims' ear, whereupon the boy smiled proudly. Rilla and Mrs. Anderson shared an amused look.
"Bye Ken" Jims waved and ran already into another direction. "Such a whirlwind..." Mrs. Anderson shook her head, but smiled lovingly as well, "goodbye, then."
"Goodbye" both Rilla and Ken responded and just after Mrs. Anderson had left, Ken turned to Rilla and asked grinning "So, where did we left off?"
Rilla rolled her eyes and changed the subject "How does it come, that you have such a hand with children?"
"I like them" Ken answered, "and most of my cousins are older than me and already have several children. I used to play with them sometimes."
Rilla smiled, then looked at her watch. "I have to go" she said regretful, "can you come around 7 tonight? You can surely bring your parents and Persis, too." Ken agreed and they said their goodbyes.
"How was your walk with Kenneth?" asked Di smirked, just as Rilla entered the living-room of Ingleside.
After seeing her sisters she turned on her heel and was already halfway through the door, as Nan called after her "Rilla? I wanted to apologise for my behaviour yesterday night. It was uncalled-for. I'm sorry."
"Me too" confirmed Di and both looked expectantly towards the door, through which Rilla just entered the room again.
"Accepted" she grinned again and sat down in one of the arm-chairs. "And?" Nan was equally curious about Rilla and Ken as Di.
"He comes for supper tonight. With his parents and Persis" Rilla declared and the twins shared a meaningful look.
"You are horrible, you know?" Rilla complained and threw a cushion at Di, who easily dodged it.
"Nan?" called Jem and entered the room, "I just came back from the Merediths' and Carl said, that Jerry asks if you want to meet him in Rainbow Valley later on."
"Jerry?" Nan stood there as if electrified. "Yes, Jerry-darling" teased Di and Rilla grinned meaningful, whereupon Nan cast death-glares at her sister.
She turned to Jem, asking hopefully "Really?" He nodded, then smirked, but nothing, not even her siblings' teasing, could make Nan stop smiling.
"Did you two make a match of it or not?" asked Rilla after a few moments.
"Well..." Nan squirmed, but Di was quick to interfere. "Come on, tell them!" she turned to Rilla and Jem, "after all he did kiss her, before he went to war."
"And he never once implied, neither in his letters nor since he is back, that he feels more for me than friendship" Nan sighed.
Rilla smiled sympathetically "It doesn't have to mean anything at all." Her siblings looked at her, Nan hopefully, Di sceptically and Jem amused.
"Ken did the same thing with me" Rillas shrugged, "firstly at the dance in Four Wings he didn't only dance with me, but took my down to the beach, then for a year I only got a few letters and a book for Christmas, until sometime we got the message of him signing up. And shortly before he went overseas he came to the Glen and visited us – me."
"I never knew that" Nan exclaimed.
"I don't think that anyone knew, besides Mum and Susan" responded Rilla, "he phoned in the afternoon and asked, if he could come over and if I could – and I quote – 'arrange that there won't be more than a few dozen people round'. I could.
Everything went fine, until Jims woke up and began to cry. Naturally he didn't stop and I had to go upstairs to look after him. He wouldn't go back to sleep, so after about half an hour I had to go downstairs WITH him."
"These things really only happen to you, Rilla" Jem teased her, whereupon Rilla replied rather saucily "Do you want to hear it or not? Anyway, I sat there with Jims and was more humiliated than ever before in my life – safe the dried codfish-incident, of course. The only good thing was, that Jims said his first word that night: 'Will-Will' for Rilla.
He fell asleep after a while and Ken was so quiet, that I thought he had to be completely disgusted. He didn't think that, after all, but... well, that's not for you to know.
Anyway, like I said, Jims fell asleep and I went to put him in the living-room. And when I came back, Susan was making herself comfortable on the veranda."
Upon hearing this, Jem burst out laughing and the twins couldn't hide their grins either.
"Ah, you're laughing, but I didn't think it to be extremely funny back then" Rilla said, but smiled nonetheless, "Susan dug up a few childhood-stories about Ken, me and some other children as well and after a while said something along the lines, that I was almost fifteen. I was sixteen and a whole month back then and outraged, of course.
Ken was very stiff the whole time and tried to contain his laughter, but I misinterpreted his behaviour completely. After a while he had to go and I walked him to the gate. I was so angry with Susan!
But then Ken kissed me and asked me to save my lips for him and I couldn't be angry with anyone anymore. So Ken said his goodbyes and I was somewhere on cloud nine.
A feeling, that didn't last for long, because Ken kept all of his letters, safe the first, perfectly neutral. Well, in the end he did come back and I guess he made his intentions clear. By the way, he and his parents will come for supper tonight."
"And that means, that little Rilla will be engaged before this day is over" Jem concluded. Rilla just smiled.
