Anne watched with interest the next morning as her parents busied in the morning. It was something she was well familiar with, sounds of bounding children in the house were now her own but it didn't take away from the essence of what was so clearly routine in front of her.
Jane sat quietly at the kitchen table watching the events unfold in front of her. Her father, striding around her mother with a cup of tea in hand. Anne stood to one side of the kitchen watching, careful not to interfere.
"I must be off to catch the train." Walter said with a peak on the cheek to his wife. "Are you sure you'll be okay while I'm gone?" he asked her.
"It's only three days." Bertha said with a smile. "Though I won't pretend I won't miss you." Bertha said with a flirty kiss to her husband. With a peck on his wife cheek, he picked up his bag and walked out the door.
Anne could feel what was missing there and then and needed not to look at Jane for a reaction, the lack of 'love you all' was obvious. Anne still looked to Jane whose eyes lingered hurtfully at the door as if it had done her some wrong. Jane sighed heavily, her eyes diverted to her breakfast as she seemed to unusually concentrate on the oats therein. Anne placed her mug on the counter and said "I think I left the fire on in the cottage, I'll just be a moment." She said. She hastily left the kitchen leaving by the door on the other side of the house (it being the closest to the cottage) but it wasn't there she was going. She knew fine well she had snuffed the fire in the cottage, but she rounded the house and ran down the garden and half way down the street before she called. "Papa!"
Walter turned on his foot and looked at his daughter running towards him. "Anne?" he questioned. "What's wrong?" he asked.
She caught up to him took him by the arm and started walking them back towards the house. "I was going to ask you the same thing." She said to him catching her breath.
He looked to Anne confused. "I'm afraid I don't follow." He told her.
"How long has it been since you called into the house that you loved everyone?" She asked her father.
"Sorry?" He asked.
"When Jane was at our house, Gilbert went through the morning ritual of tell us all he loved us. Something I suppose he must have picked up here, at home, or maybe even to some extent in his own house." She said talking to her father. "But then, you just walked out of the house without a word of 'I love you' to anyone." She told her father.
"Oh?" He asked, he seemed genuinely astonished. "Did I?"
She nodded her head. "You see, there's a little girl or two… maybe a son…" Anne trailed thinking of her two other siblings who were still living in the house full time "Not to mention a few sons who have come back from college…" she said with a grin, "who I think might still need to hear that their papa, loves them."
Walter held his breath for a moment as they stopped for a moment in the street. "Jane?" he asked.
Anne smiled and straightened her father's cravat "Needs to hear her papa say it." Anne said with a tear in her eye and a smile to her father, "Just like I needed to hear it at 15 years old." She said quietly. "Now I know you always leave ten minutes early for everything so just take the time to make up an excuse as to why you came back and remember to revive an old habit." Anne told him in her best school teachery voice.
It did make Walter smile. "Yes Mrs Blythe." He said with a chuckle to his daughter.
"Give me a minute," Anne said to him "I don't want it to seem like I had to run after you to tell you." She said. With that, she ran up the path and round the side of the house. She caught her breath and walked into the house. She picked up her tea cup and sat at the table with Jane. "Good job I checked." She said "One day I'll burn the place to a crisp." She said to Jane. "What are your plans for today?" She asked her sister.
"Andy is coming around to help with my studies, you know yesterday we sat and he planned out a study 'timetable' for me to get me caught up so I could enter for the Queen's exams next year." She chuckled for a moment. "He's sooo organised, I've never met anyone more orderly." She laughed "certainly the most polar opposite to me!" she exclaimed as her father came back in the door.
"I forgot those forsaken books I said I needed last night!" he exclaimed as he walked through the kitchen, through into his study for a moment and indeed came out with some books in hand, Anne was silently impressed at the impromptu props It really didn't seem as though she had ran after him at all. He walked around the table to Bertha who he promptly gave a quick kiss to, "I love you." He said quietly. Anne looked to her mother, who herself looked amazed at her husband.
"I love you too sweetheart." She said before he crossed the room picked up his bag again and kissed into Jane's hair. "I love you baby Jane." He said before he left the house again. It took Jane a few seconds to recover from the daze on her face before she realised her father had left the books on the table beside her.
"Oh Papa!" Jane said outloud before she grabbed the books and went running out the house after him. Anne walked to the door and peered out to Jane catching him at the edge of the fence. She saw as her father rolled his eyes and thanked his daughter before she physically hurled herself into her father's arms. Walter like his son took a moment to recover from the shock but put his arms round his daughter and whispered something to her. Anne smiled at the encounter, she didn't even see her mother come from behind.
"He hasn't said it for so long." Bertha said with a smile. "Thank you." She whispered to Anne.
"What on earth for?" Anne asked innocently.
"You needed to check if you snuffled out the fire?" Her mother said with a hint of sceptic to her voice. "He needs reminding sometimes."
"He needs reminded to say it perhaps." Anne said wistfully. "Never to feel it though."
"Hey Mary." Jane said as her sister walked up the path. "Have you walked all the way from town?" She asked her sister.
"Yes." Mary said sitting beside her sister on the veranda swing "and don't tell me I shouldn't do it, I got enough of that from Alex this morning."
Jane smiled. "Actually I think you're glowing from the walk." She said with a smile to her sister.
Mary laughed, "Just like you to have the opposite opinion to everyone else."
"Not everyone." Jane remarked. "Gilbert said that a gentle walk can do a pregnant woman all the good in the world and make her baby healthier, that sounds good to me."
"You doing some cross stitch there little sis?" she asked her.
"Mmm" Jane said dreamily looking at her work. "Its been a while and I wanted to make something pretty." Jane admitted.
"You were always best with the needle." Mary remarked.
There was a soft silence between the sister before Jane spoke. "Mary, was Alex your first kiss?" she asked her sister.
"Oh." Mary said her face blushing shyly. "Um, yes." She said even quieter.
"Do you think, he would have minded if he wasn't your first kiss?" she asked her.
Mary looked at her seriously for a moment wondering what she was thinking. "I think, the right man recognises that no one is perfect, that we all make mistakes." Mary admitted. "Some men might even tell you how wonderful you are and try and build you up rather than knock you down." Mary paused and looked up at her sister. "But, those are part of a very special breed of mankind."
Jane sighed. "Anne said it was lovely sharing your first kiss with 'the one' she said it was a shame I didn't get to share it with him, whoever he is." Jane continued.
"I don't think it'll make your first kiss with 'the one' any less special Jane." Mary shared with her.
"How would you know?" Jane asked without malice but unbelievingly. "You were engaged!"
Mary laughed. "I never said we were engaged." Mary sighed. "We weren't even courting yet."
Jane looked at her sister shocked "Mary!" She exclaimed. "When!?"
Mary laughed. "You'll think it stupid." She said honestly. "It was at Anne and Gilbert's wedding."
"What!?" Jane practically roared so loud it was a wonder no one came out to check all was okay. Mary immediately shushed her sister as the pair went into fits of giggles. "Now you have to tell me! You were only twelve!"
Mary smiled. "Alex pulled me to one side while everyone was focused on Anne and Gilbert right after they cut the cake." Mary blushed slightly. "He told me he had stolen something from the future and it was precious and wonderful and I must not tell anyone and I would need to guess when the day came, what day it was he stole it from." Mary was smiling full beam. "I asked him what on earth he could have stolen from the future and that's when he held me round the waist took my cheek in the palm of his hand and he kissed me, quite boldly I might add."
Jane looked in amazement for a moment before she responded. "Well of course it was bold he stole it from the future where he could." Jane replied to which Mary raised her eyebrows in agreement. "That is the cutest story of a first kiss I've ever heard!" she cooed. Jane looked at her sister suspiciously "did he ever steal anymore kisses from the future?" Jane asked.
"Maybe." Mary admitted. "Once or twice."
Jane laughed "I didn't think you had it in you Mary!" Jane teased.
"Alex was a bad influence I think." Mary smiled.
"So, you didn't know then? When he kissed you, you didn't know he was the one?"
"I thought, he might be, one day, maybe possibly, it was a crush you know, but the moment his lips touched mine, that was it, I was no one elses." Mary looked at her sister who sat quietly. "Don't judge yourself to hard Jane." She said quietly. "One day, you'll know its him, because he will love you all the same, he'll be the one who never lost hope in you and gives you the faith in yourself you never thought you had."
Jane was smiling for a moment before she said "have you guessed the right day yet?" she asked Mary.
Mary smiled almost smugly "I think he keeps saying no so I stay with him longer." She told her. "He still hasn't seemed to grasp the fact that I love him."
Jane smiled "ah keep them guessing! Nice going Alex!" she teased.
Mary shrugged then burst into laughter. Jane finally looked at her sister and kissed her on her cheek quickly before she silently went back to her cross stitch pattern.