I've been hinting in other stories of what Gilbert was like when he was very young... I think it explains why he liked Anne so much in the normal universe... but I think it's significant he remembers it fully in this story first... (you'll see)... again this is a scene I've had written for a good while... it's nice to say it's done... as always feel free to review!
The weekend came and they all went up to a lake which had a park closely attached. The children plus Gilbert all in the back as Walter and Bertha rode up front.
Gilbert's mind was buzzing! So many people and so many voices! Anne was right you quickly got used to the sounds of other people in a house he understood what it would be like, but to have this many people all around, well that was a new experience. They really all did have their own personalities, no not two were exactly alike. Anne lit up around her family. She was more beautiful as she paid them attention and spoke to her siblings. Gilbert quite enjoyed having Jane on his knee now and felt quite relaxed around the smaller children. He was wondering if Willis really did like him, he was 4 ½ years younger then Gilbert after all...although he could remember being 14 himself. He chuckled and wondered what 14 yr old Gilbert would of made if Anne, and what 12 yr old Anne would of made if him. He probably would have teased her on first meeting. And he didn't think Anne would of liked it, he shuddered at the thought of Anne not liking him. Oh that would have hurt. Although maybe he would have matured a little faster... still he would rather have been a tease for a couple of extra years then have Anne not like him, yes he thought things had worked out for the best.
He had never felt so comfortable around another family before. Even back home although he wanted people to like him, not even his own aunt and uncle could make him comfortable there was always awkwardness but the Shirley's were different. If there was ever any awkwardness it was swept away in a moment... no wonder Anne believed anything was possible.
Gilbert, Thomas and Willis headed out on a row boat. Gilbert taught them everything from guttering the worms and hooking them to reeling the fish in. He even showed Willis how to scale and gut once they were back on dry land something Willis took a delight in. Gilbert then orchestrated the remaining Shirley's collecting wood for the fire even the toddlers retrieved little sticks and came back in delight carrying as many as their tiny bodies could carry. He taught them different ways of building a camp fire then he Willis and Anne built spits and start fires with sticks. It was about 5pm before the fish were cooking with the spit a turning Willis was happy to be cooking, Bertha was impressed that her son was taking his first interest in cooking. Bertha was also impressed with Gilbert's ability to teach he seemed a natural at it. She made her way to her husband to see what he thought.
"Well we seem to have inherited another child." Bertha said.
Walter smiled "Not too bad though, Who would have thought someone so intellectual could also understand fishing! He's one step ahead of me already!"
"Is that all you see?" Bertha asked. She paused long enough for her husband to look at her. "Look at the way he's taken the rest of the children under his wing, he's going to be a fantastic teacher one day."
"Emmm, if he doesn't win that scholarship." Walter said to Bertha.
"Are you actually admitting he could win your little girl outright?" Bertha asked him surprised
"Oh yes, he's quite capable." Walter admitted. "I think Anne has found her match." Bertha looked at him a bit shocked then realised he only meant academically. "You know he and Anne are intellectual equals and they had the most beautiful minds I have ever came across."
" isn't there a little hint of favouritism going on?" Bertha teased.
" there would be if her grades didn't speak for themselves. I don't think they can decided between them whose the cleverest." He laughed
Anne finally got to sit down next to Gilbert, she had been playing with the younger children in the play park and woods helping her mother and father take care of them. She was really surprised when her father had initially said to make it a whole family day, they often went out for picnics which extended into whole days out so she didn't know why it surprised her. Maybe the surprise was just how well Gilbert fitted into her family. He was intellectual enough to satisfy her own wants boyish enough for Willis and Thomas yet gentle enough to be careful with the younger children... and you didn't need to get Anne started on Janey's opinion of Gilbert! She adored him, every morning much like the first and when they had been studying late and Jane had come in for a kiss night from Anne she would hug into Gilbert.
"my brothers really have enjoyed your company today." She told him.
"I'm glad they are fun to be around, easier to teach then the boys back home."
"you're really a mans man under that bookworm stuff aren't you?"
He could tell she was teasing "I think I'm a bit of both. I had a lot of time to myself when my papa was sick, I guess it put a lot of things in perspective... except maybe my teasing." He said chuckling. Thomas Willis and Robert came to join Anne and Gilbert when Robert asked "what was the water like?"
What a strange question Gilbert had thought, water was water, it rippled didn't it?
"Oh the water sprites were dancing!" Thomas replied.
What did he just say... there was something familiar about that. Water sprites... dancing...
*memory*
" if your son took his head out of the clouds and put his head down and worked he might be able to make it through a grade before he finishes school"
That was the first assessment Gilbert had ever received as a child from his first teacher.
He had turned 6 when he started school. The first school teacher he had was old maid Miss Robinson. Her sharp features were emphasized further by the tight bun which pulled back her face. Gilbert thought her about 60 years old and the old fashioned type teacher who ruled by fear and a cane. Silence ruled the classroom, which was fine by a little boy of six, he'd look out to sprites lake (what kind of name was ' Barry's pond' anyway) and imagine the cheeky water fairies jumping ripple to ripple across the shining lake.
" he's an only child isn't he?" the school teacher has almost accused his parents. " I'm not surprised he goes wandered off with his imagination he has friends in there! He ignores the real ones! You must put a stop to it and now!"
"I don't like the other boys ma" he told her straight when they got home " they don't have any imagination."
" but Gilbert that is the point. Your teacher said you live too much in that imagination of yours, don't you want people to like you?"
Well yes he did.
"What does Miss Robinson know anyway, she's an old windbag?" he'd objected.
Mrs Blythe in truth agreed with her almost seven year old but didn't show it " Gilbert that was really unkind you shouldn't be so judgemental." She had scorned "don't you want to do well in school?" When he didn't reply she had taken it as a yes. " you need to put your head down and use some of that energy you use to fire imagining towards working, and no more tree dryads or water sprites or any other imaginary people, go and discover friends in the real world."
He'd gone to bed they that night sorely disappointed. He would need to start tomorrow, and he knew it. He didn't even have the chance to say goodbye. He looked outside his bedroom window it had started to rain perhaps it meant the water sprites were now dancing on sprite's lake jumping up and down on the water making the ripples appear on the water... oh and he was missing it.. it always was his favourite to watch them dance maybe if he climbed out the window...no! He objected to himself you can't think like that... not anymore. He looked at his reflection in the window and whispered
" you'll tell them won't you?" he asked the reflection " you'll tell them why I can't come and play no more had to let go and fit in... play football, talk to the boring boys and concentrate on my work.. well I bet I will be the top of the class one day that would show Miss Robinson who wasn't smart, because there's no such thing as a stupid child... but I have to stay away from your world they're telling me, so you'll tell them all won't you? Why I won't come and play anymore, why I have to ignore them from now on. Tell them I'll miss them, maybe one day I'll meet someone who'll understand and I can come and visit you all." He sighed. "I'm sorry. Now go and tell them." He stood up and went to bed early.
He spent the next two years concentrating every time he felt his mind slip he blocked it, he became highly efficient. He immediately acquainted himself with the other boys and even got quite good at football. By the time his father got sick and they left Avonlea for those three years no one would have guessed top of the class liked by everyone Gilbert Blythe had once been socially reclusive and behind in class. everyone loved Gilbert. He would come back to Avonlea on occasion. But mostly those three years he had no school work and no friends, he had tried in the first month to reawaken his imagination, he had missed the water sprites and fairies... but they wouldn't come back. He sighed and looked at a bookshelf, well there was nothing else to do, he picked up a book and just started to read. When he was in the books his imagination ran wild! He could see the colours and characters he felt it! He did! But that was the only time his mind was free to imagine... so between helping his mama with papa and sitting with papa he had forgotten by the time he turned twelve all about the reason why he loved to read and had repressed any memory associated with his child like imagination and had developed a more grown up one.
* memory end*
Those words out of Thomas's mouth had brought it all back, all at once! He quietly excused himself for a minute and walked towards the wood alone.
Anne looked confused when she looked up from Thomas's tale to see Gilbert was no longer sitting beside her, she looked around and saw Gilbert disappearing into some woodland, she stood up and ran after him. It wasn't long before she had caught up.
"Gil? Are you okay?" she asked him. Finding him on a fallen tree trunk
"yes, just something Thomas said reminded me of something that's all I just needed a minute." He said with a sigh.
"oh? What was it?" Anne asked.
Gilbert gave the outline to the story. Telling her what he had remembered. As he reached the end of it Anne had tears in her eyes.
"oh how awful!" she said to him. "what a horrible teacher!" she exclaimed "I could never never tell my students such a thing!"
"I wish I had known you earlier Anne and your family... I bet your mamma would never suggest a child letting go of their imagination."
"definitely not." Anne agreed Gilbert stood up so Anne took the opportunity to spring forward and hugged into his chest wrapping her arms around his middle as she went. "you can visit them with me if you like?" she told him.
He held back a laugh but wrapped his arms around her holding her for the first time fully to him. "thank you Carrots." He whispered to her.
She smiled and looked up at him she couldn't help it she kissed him on the cheek. " you deserved better then that." She told a flushing Gilbert.
"thank you." He replied and in returned kissed her hair. He filled with dread as soon as he noticed what he had done! Oh no no no! He worried. That was ridiculously forward... Oh no no no! He looked at Anne who flushed about as much as he did but didn't (as he expected her to) object to the kiss. He prayed a silent thankful prayer she hasn't thought him forward. As their arms dropped from the others she clasped his hand which once he realised her hand was in his he squeezed a little tighter.
"I got it wrong didn't I? You're like me, all imagination, You're all imagination under the manly mans stuff not the other way round." They started to walk back out the woods together they didn't notice hand in hand.. "Ooh we would have been such good friends as children wouldn't we? We could have watched your sprites lake together... Why did we have to meet so late on?" she smiled as his smiled widen he had often thought the same thing himself
" what else would we find together?" he asked her. The very insecure 6 year old boy excited that someone else was interested in playing pretend, yes a little four year old Anne would have done the trick as she described some forest people they would find he was almost back there, his imagination just as it was he could almost picture it.. They came clearing where the rest of the Shirley had barely missed them... where upon they realised their hands were still intertwined and gently let go.
Walter and Bertha came to them as they rejoined the group
" thank you for suggesting today Gilbert." Bertha told him.
" oh that's okay, it's been fun, I was just telling Anne how much easier Willis and Thomas were to teach about fishing compared to the boys back in Avonlea."
" and you seem a natural at teaching them." Bertha said. " what are you doing for Sunday lunch tomorrow Gilbert?" Bertha asked him.
" oh the boarding house with do something after church I'm sure." He said
" well come home and have something with us then." Bertha suggested,
" in fact you are Presbyterian aren't you?" Walter asked
" yes sir, through and through" He confirmed.
" then we'll come and get you for church" he said. " spend the day with us." Walter said.
" are you sure?" he asked "I don't mean to keep on inconveniencing you..."
" it's no inconvenience Gilbert." Bertha said kindly. " besides you're practically an adopted Shirley anyway."
" Thank you." He said quietly.
" was Gilbert okay earlier Anne? He looked upset for a moment before he disappeared?" Bertha asked her daughter later when they had got home and Gilbert had gone back to his lodging and they had just finished putting the twins to bed
" he just remembered something ma, it bothered him for few minutes he just needed someone to talk to and he was fine."
She smiled. " can I ask what was wrong?" she asked her.
" it's not my place to say really, just something a bad teacher ingrained in him that they shouldn't have." She turned and hugged her mother " thank you for... thank you mama for being you, thank you for not limiting us." She paused "I love you mama."
"I love you too baby girl." She says hugging her back then letting go " if you're not a baby anymore are you? Turning into a young lady." She smiled " with young men as friends." She hinted.
"ma..." Anne trailed. Looking away.
" Gilbert." Her mother said. " he's more than just a friend. Isn't he?"
" yes." She replied " no" she continued. "I don't know." She said truthfully. " he's my best friend." She looked at her mother. " no one else my own age has connected like he has and he gets it he really really gets it and he's so easy to talk to." She paused and looked at her mother.
" from what I understand you both keep up with each other in classes?" she asked
" oh yes, he really has of focus when he gets down to work."
" and he's a gentlemen, even when we aren't looking?" Bertha asked her.
" every second of every day ma, honestly." Anne assured her.
" your younger siblings seem to like him too." Bertha commented.
"oh that's okay, I don't mind sharing. I don't think Janie would talk to me ever again if I did start to mind." She laughed.
" yes he certainly has a way with the Shirley's." Bertha agreed.
" and the Shirley who wasn't born a Shirley?" she asked her mother with wide eye.
Her mother laughed " how could I not like him?" she looked to Anne, " if you ever need someone to talk to about how you feel Anne, I know I'm your mother but I know a thing or two about... I'm here if you need me."
" thank you mamma." She said hugging her mother, not daring saying how she really felt inside. Yes Gilbert was her best friend, she didn't lie, she just omitted the flirting and the way she felt when she hugged him, kissed his cheek, when he kissed into her hair and held hands. She wasn't entirely sure she had admitted it herself yet what was happening between them but one thing was for sure, Gilbert Blythe was definitely more than a friend.
