Wits were exchanged, ideas were passed one to another. Very quickly at queens it was apparent there were three candidates for the Avery. Gilbert Blythe, Anne Shirley and Emily Clay. The three of them struck up an alliance almost immediately in class, though Emily wasn't nearly as social with Anne as she tried to be with Gilbert. Gilbert wasn't deterred, Emily seemed sweet but she wasn't Anne and something was missing from their chumminess for Emily to be anything like Anne in his eyes. he enjoyed spending lots of time with Anne studying and talking together. It was getting close to the end of November and midterms one evening when Anne and Gilbert had been studying in Anne's father's study in his absence, he had a lot of paperwork to sort through, lots of reports to fill out on the progress of each student. It was well pass six by the time Bertha had walked in and found Gilbert and Anne both pouring over Chaucer.
"Gilbert dear are you still here? its well pass six!" Bertha said.
"Oh no!" He said starting to gather his books "I'm so sorry Mrs Shirley..." He started.
"Oh there's no point in rushing away now." She told him. "Your boarding house won't have kept a night time meal for you now am I right?"
Gilbert looked flushed. "No Ma'am." he said quietly.
"Well then that does it you'll just have to stay here for a meal." She said to him.
"Oh no, I don't mean to inconvenience you.." He said going red. "Really.. I'll be fine."
"Oh nonsense." Bertha said kindly. "I can't have a boy go hungry when we always have plenty. Besides you're here so much you're practically part of the family anyway. You're staying." she told him firmly. he stopped in his tracks, he had a funny idea not to argue with Mrs Shirley. She seemed quite determined. The look on her face equated to the one Anne always gave him when she was about to beat him on a test.
"Yes Mrs Shirley. Thank you."
"Anne , papa just called saying he would be home in half an hour, make sure you are all washed up by then." She said to her daughter.
"yes Mama." She said as her mother left the room.
"You two work too hard" Walter had said as they sat for dinner. He started to pass round the food carrots first. "That's your problem. Don't you two like anything other then having your head in the books?" He asked them.
"Oh my parents make sure I don't lift a finger towards my homework on a weekend when I manage to go home, though I must admit I go to bed later then I should so I can sneak some in behind their back, otherwise I would fall behind."
"What do you like to do when you go home?" Bertha asked, now passing him the peas.
"Oh Avonlea is full of woodland and lakes, I'm hoping it'll get cold enough to go ice fishing on Barry's pond before the winter is out, and me and the boys are always making camp fires."
"You like fishing?" Willis asked him.
"Oh yes, My father used to always take me out, I usually go alone now, I can handle most weather terrains." he looked at Willis. "Don't you going fishing?" He asked Willis.
"I'm afraid I never really got into the sport myself." Walter said starting to eat "He's never been out before."
"Really?" Gilbert asked. "well I could take you I always have a spare rod of two... and I'm not going home next weekend my folks are out of town anyway..." He said to Willis. "if your parents say its okay?"
Willis looked wide eyes at his father, "Can I?" he asked his father.
Walter looked to Bertha who was smiling. "Are you sure you can handle him Gilbert?" she asked.
"Oh yes Ma'am, I've taken some of the boys back in Avonlea out on a boat since I was 15 he'll be quite safe. I can take Thomas out too, its always better to go out fishing in at least threes"
Thomas' eyes lit up too.
"If it does get cold enough for ice fishing can you take me too?" Willis put forward.
"We'll see how fishing goes first shall we?" Walter said. "Well that sounds like lots of fun, although maybe we should all go with you, make a family day of it while you are out maybe we can have some fun in a park with the younger ones? Anne you would help wouldn't you?"
Anne nodded her head happily.
"I'm not going to object to that. We can even build a camp fire and cook the fish on it, papa and I used to do that all the time." He answered enthusiastically. Willis looked even more pleased. "If that's okay?" Gilbert added not wanting to seem pushy.
"Sounds like fun." Walter said with a chuckle looking to his wife.
Bertha smiled. "I never thought I'd see any of my sons going fishing, my papa used to go fishing all the time, it just wasn't something he ever got to enjoy with his son in law. Your Grandpa Willis would be pleased."
"Oh, you were named after your Grandpa?" He asked Willis,
"Oh its my maiden name." Bertha told him. "So in a way... yes."
Gilbert nodded in acknowledgement. his plate had got quite full without him realising it, he took a few bites of food. "Mrs Shirley this is really nice, thank you." he said politely.
"Oh your welcome dear." she said.
"How on earth are you so slender Anne if you are eating like this everyday?" he asked her.
"You think I'm slender?" Anne asked with wide eyes.
"You'll be in her good books now Gilbert." Willis said.
Gilbert's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand."
"Anne has always been skinny mini carrots." Willis teased.
"carrots?" he asked newly choking on said vegetable remembering what had happened one of the first days with Josie.
"Slender is so much better then skinny don't you think?" Anne said as she drifted in her imagination. "All the romantic heroine's are slender not skinny and I've only been called skinny before." She said raising her nose to Willis.
"Well I..." he said a bit put off by the fact Anne's parents were right there in front of them, he didn't want to flirt "… I guess, I just choose my vocabulary carefully." he said blushing into his plate. He quickly recovered and started laughing.
" what's so funny?" Anne asked him.
" carrots... I think the closest object to hand would be used as a weapon." He said cautiously.
Anne tried her best to look mad but she simply couldn't keep her face straight. " now you know where my complex about my hair came from" she said, again glaring at Willis.
" well I already told you what I thought of red hair... and I meant it." He said blushing again "carrots."
Anne this time blushed and quite unexpectedly felt a giggle inside her, but she refused to giggle it.
Bertha noticed the blushes, she looked over to her husband whose attention was on Walter Jr. He still seemed to have no idea what was going on. She almost giggled herself but bit her lip to ignore the urge. She really did like the boy and since she met him, his attention wasn't just on Anne, the others seemed to enjoy his company. Willis in particular after Gilbert finally showed him how to make that rocket fly...
And Walter was right, she overheard several of Anne's and Gilbert's conversations over the last few weeks since he had been coming and studying with Anne at home, Their conversations were so in depth. she never thought she would meet someone else like Anne! But he had his own personality as well. Anne's mind could flutter from one thing to another quite quickly, while his remained focused on the task, with his mind focusing their study the work got completed faster and more efficient. Where Anne could sometimes get lost in thought and become quite melancholy, she noted he brought her back with a light smile and a joke making her laugh. Ah if only she were back in her matchmaking days she would have match made these two to a T! Neither one of them seemed aware of anything more than friendship which was just as well really, she wasn't quite ready to let go of her beautiful first born quite yet.
Anne had been ready the next morning so was waiting for Gilbert at the gate when he approached the house, he opened the gate for her "morning carrots" he said lightly winking at her.
Anne wrung a smile trying not to laugh
"you know I could get mad at you if I made up my mind to be." She told him.
"na you couldn't stay mad at me, who would you flirt with Charlie?" he mocked.
Anne laughed. Oh Gilbert Blythe just slotted into her life so perfectly and it was such a light tease. The others had meant it as an insult, he had somehow turned it into a compliment, the tone he said it with was identical to when he had said "I like your hair" two months ago. She knew they were lucky to strike a friendship easily. She'd never clicked with anyone like this before. Instant friends, everyone else she had to work out, figure out what she could and couldn't say in front of them. Not Gilbert he understood her untamed mind, he was a bit more organised in thought but that helped her focus and he had never stopped her to understand... He kept up.
"Charlie is a nice boy but I couldn't imagine liking him like that!"
Liking him like what? Gilbert thought. But then quickly followed up with "well if you couldn't imagine it.." he trailed smiling because she could imagine it, and better yet she did it with him.