Its funny I called these "Shorter follow ups" Well it doesn't seem like they are! Its fun all the same!

P

Anne sighed as she looked herself in the mirror. She was now weeks away from graduating, she should have been ecstatic. At last she would have the things she sought for the moment she heard about the scholarship at Queens.

Instead she felt decisively deflated.

Gilbert had become increasingly distant of late. Anne couldn't remember the last time they had fallen asleep together. He was out late and out early. He claimed to be in classes she knew he didn't have and then after football games instead of running over and lifting her onto the pitch with him and peppering her with kisses, he would fall back go into the changing rooms, Anne had at first waited a good hour for him to reappear the first three times.

Anne hadn't believed it herself at first, maybe he was just busy and had other things on his mind, she remembered her sophomore year had been so much harder than the first, she had justified he was working hard exercising hard, studying hard.

But then the little things were dropped. The way he'd cuddle into her back as she was cutting vegetables, or the way they'd meet under the bedcovers to share their burdens or even holding her as she slept.

So she had tried harder.

Maybe it had been her? Maybe she had been the distant one? So one night while they studied at the table she had reached for his higher inner thigh, just to hold as they were studying, they used to often. It had stayed there for a second before he told her "I've got to get this done Anne." So, she tried again the next day, she stayed up waiting for him to come home, finally at eleven he walked in the bedroom took off his shirt shoes and trousers when Anne had tried to cuddle him he simply turned on his side "Not tonight Anne, I'm exhausted!" he told her.

That's when she knew.

He was having an affair.

She pulled herself up from in front of the mirror and went into the living area to prepare dinner for that night.

Getting married had been a horrible mistake.

She should have seen it coming. The other wives warned her of it, but their heeding's had fell on deaf ears.

"He's in how many clubs?"

"Oh that's way too many."

"I'd be reeling those in if were you."

"Why?" She had asked thinking they were being strange.

"The more clubs he goes to, the more likely he is to cheat."

"You should make him drop the football, they all kiss their girlfriends on the side-line."

"Or the lambs, what some girls would do to be with a lamb."

"Gilbert wouldn't cheat on me." Anne had said.

They had laughed at her.

Physically laughed.

And now she knew why.

It was then Gilbert entered the house. He lay on the sofa and said "I finished Walder's essay on Chaucer's The wife of Bath's tale." He sighed.

Anne sighed heavily which made Gilbert question her "Are you alright Anne?"

She paused and looked at him, she didn't know what to say, or even how to approach the subject "Where were you last night?" she asked him.

The tips of his ears turned red as he said "I told you I was at work."

"Until 10:30 at night? At a newspaper?" she questioned. He looked at her wide eyed and she shook her head. "Stop lying to me Gil." She whispered. She steadied her breathing then in a continued whisper asked "who is she Gil?"

Gilbert looked at her perplexed. "You think I'm having an affair?" he asked her.

"What am I supposed to think?!" she finally snapped. "You're never here and when you are you might as well not be your so absent." She started crying "No newspaper is open until ten half ten eleven at night…"

"That's because I'm not at the newspaper!" he shouted.

"Then you admit it!" she cried.

"That I'm not at the newspaper yes." He said. "But not to an affair."

"Then where are you then?" Anne wailed.

"I got another job!" he shouted.

There was a blind silence in the room between them. "You what?" she questioned.

He took a deep breath and sat back on the sofa. "I have another job." He said again.

She moved round next to him and sat beside him. "Another job? Other than the newspaper?" she asked him.

"Yes." He said taking a sigh.

"but why?" she asked him.

He stood again and paced the room for a moment before he stood still and look at Anne "because I wanted to provide!" he exclaimed in a frustrated shout.

Anne looked at him perplexed for a moment "but we do provide, we work together…" she started.

"No, you and your ma do!" he cried before is hand went to his face then through his hair. His body exhausted sat in the rocking chair behind him, his head in his hands.

"Sweetheart…" Anne started moving towards him sitting in front of the chair putting her hand on his knee.

"Do you know what it's like?" he asked her. "Being a kept man." He sighed letting a sob out "I might as well not be a man at all." He whispered.

"Who told you that?" Anne asked him.

"The boys on the football team, in the lambs, in class, the milkman." He listed in dismay. "You make more money with one of your stories in the newspaper then I do in a month!"

Anne sighed "But I don't get published every month, we need a steady income too."

"Which your ma is providing…"

"And you…"

"Pennies, even compared to your mother's wage! Don't you get it! I was a teacher I made enough to provide even a little and now…" he sighed and took her hands "The newspaper is fine, its not a lot I certainly couldn't provide for…" he blushed and looked at Anne bringing her to sit on his knee as they rocked back and forward on the chair and he brought his hand to her stomach and gazed at her lovingly. "What if a family comes along?" he asked her.

She smiled and looked at his hand on her stomach. "One day Gilbert…" she whispered. For the first time in months she kissed into his hair smelling the fresh manly scent of him. "You should have told me about the second job." She said quietly.

"I didn't want to after I almost forced you to choose sides the last time and I didn't want that look on your mother's face." He sighed.

Anne giggled then looked at him "it would only be a look of concern." She whispered. "She loves you Gil, she's worried about you..." Anne sighed and looked at him "As am I." she said.

"I know." He replied quietly.

"So…" she started "So what's the job?" she asked him.

He smiled for a moment "A waiter." He said quietly she looked at him surprised before she cuddled back into him. "Did you really think I was having an affair?" he asked her.

"You were gone hours at a time, too tired to talk to even…" she blushed before she whispered "…play."

He looked sadly before he whispered "I wanted to get you a fancy dress for your convocation." He told her, she looked at him amazed for a moment before he said "the pretty green one in the window of Clarke's." he whispered.

Anne smiled "That's a pretty dress." She agreed.

"Would look even prettier on you." He whispered. "Or even… off you." He flirted.

"Is this really about being a kept man?" she asked him. He looked at her for a moment and blushed away. "I didn't know it bothered you." She said. "So much for being a feminist." She teased.

"I am a feminist!" he defended. "I want to provide for my women, is that so bad?" he asked her.

Anne giggle and looked him in the eyes. "No love, it's a sign of the man who you will be when you've gone through medical school and you set up a practice, that you will work hard for your family to provide for us." She admitted. "But in order to get that far, we have to go through this period of time when it's not you solely providing for us."

"Seven years." He muttered. "It's a long time."

"And when we come out of the other side and you're a doctor and you've been practicing for seven years you'll look back and think 'really? That's short time was seven years?' And you'll wonder where the time has gone." She looked at him lovingly and whispered "and then when you're old and grey and all our children have grown you'll realise it was just temporary, all of this, living here like this is only temporary." She hugged into him closer and whispered in his ear "and you'll be the big strong handsome provider for our family." She flirted with him.

He chuckled at her flirt feeling his Nan in his arms again, being playful. "I've missed this." He admitted quietly. His mouth lay near her ear so he kissed her there before he let his teeth nibble at her earlobe. She giggled happily there before he whispered "I would never cheat on you Nan." He told her gently. "I'm so sorry I shut you out so far that you thought I had."

She kissed him then, like she hadn't for months, it reassured her that his reactions were as they always had been as she snuggled more into him. "We have some time now." She whispered to him. "Wanna play?" she asked him.

He didn't miss a beat. He immediately swooped her up playfully as she giggled for him, the game they played took them to their bedroom and their clothes lay on the floor. It had taken for Bertha to come back in from work that evening to distract them from their play. They hurriedly got some clothes on and had some food before they went and had a much longed for early night.