Disclaimer: I own nothing of L.M. Montgomery's. How many times must I
tell people this?
A/N: Hey, I told you I'd get a new chapter up soon. Hope this is soon enough.
Just I: I'm afraid I'll have to keep you in suspense about Joseph for a while, but this chapter will still be dealing with Leslie. And you have been following the story perfectly, my friend. I just introduced Debra in the last chapter and will go into more detail on her in this chapter. I think you'll like her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~April 10, 1941
"I'm glad you suggested this, Alex," said Leslie, smiling at her cousin. "I think it was just what I needed. And the others are certainly enjoying themselves."
Uncle Shirley and Aunt Aurelie had gone away for the weekend, leaving Leslie and Alex in charge of the household for a few days. It was Saturday and the morning had been very trying for Leslie. It seemed that everyone in the house was in a bad mood. Gilbert was in a bad mood because Leslie had punished him Friday night for something he still clamed he 'didn't do'. Twelve year old Gabriella was upset over the fight she had had with her best friend at school. Susan was irritated because, after gaining permission to use Susan's colored pencils for her drawing of Joseph, Elise had assumed the permission was a free pass to any of her sister's art supplies. The results were two broken pencils and a ruined paintbrush. Elise was cranky because Susan hadn't spoken to her in three days. And Leslie was, by now, beside herself with worry over Joseph.
Alex, the only one in the house who was in a reasonable mood, had suggested an afternoon sojourn to Stanley Park. Leslie readily agreed and the others seemed to think it a good idea. Debra was also invited and now Leslie found that she was enjoying herself immensely for the first time in quite a while.
"It seemed to be the most reasonable solution for everyone's moods," Alex explained as they walked down the path, arms linked. "We used to come here every weekend, weather permitting, for picnics. I guess it got harder for everyone as all of us got older. Schedules and things like that. I know Mother still comes here quite a bit with Elise."
Leslie's smile grew bigger as her eyes fell on little Elise, who was walking a little ways ahead of them, holding Debra's hand.
"She is so sweet. And she seems especially fond of Debra," Leslie observed.
"Oh, no one could help liking Debra. Unless they hated her, of course."
"Alex!"
"What? Debra is just that type of person. You either love her fiercely or you hate her with a passion. There's no 'middle of the road' when it comes to how someone feels about Debra. There never has been. I'm glad you liked her. It would have made my life rather difficult if you hadn't."
"I'm sure it would've. You two seem awfully close, despite the age difference."
"Well, her parents were the first couple that Mother and Dad became friends with when they moved out here. Our families always spent a lot of time together. Debra was the oldest in her family and I was the oldest in mine. I suppose that's how we got thrown together so much."
"What's her husband like, Alex? I can't get her to talk about him too much."
"Rick? He's a great guy. And he loves Debra very much. I suppose you know how fast it was with them."
"She did tell me that it all happened rather quickly."
"It figures she wouldn't talk about him in great detail. That's how she hides her worry over him and how much she misses him. She just avoids discussing him. But that's off the subject. She met Rick just before her eighteenth birthday. He had come up to Vancouver to visit his aunt. His aunt happened to be a particular friend of Debra's parents and had the whole family over one night for dinner. Debra told me that she knew he was for her the moment she laid eyes on him.
Well, they only had a week to get acquainted. Rick had to report back to his base in California. But they wrote a steady stream of letters. I think Rick even called her a couple of times. Four months after they met, he managed to get five days leave. He hopped on a train to Canada and the first place he went after arriving in Vancouver was Debra's house. Debra told me that she was washing dishes when he just seemed to materialize in the kitchen. He proposed on the spot, she accepted just as quickly and they were married two days later."
Leslie's eyes widened.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that. Of course, Debra stayed in Vancouver for a couple of months until Rick had a place for them. I don't think I'd ever seen her as happy as she was on her wedding day. Most girls would cry about not having a big wedding with lots of flowers and bridesmaids and all that. Rick and Debra actually got married in her parents' backyard. I was in attendance, of course. My whole family was there. Debra wore a pale blue dress that I'd seen her in a hundred times before and Rick was in his uniform. All of it was very informal, really. But it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to, Leslie. Because you could see how much they truly loved each other."
"How old is he, Alex?"
"She didn't tell you? She must miss him more than I thought. Let's see. Rick was twenty-four when they got married, so I guess that makes him around twenty-seven now. I think you'd like him if you ever met him, Leslie. I imagine he's like an older version of Walter."
"In that case, I'm sure I'd like him."
"You know, I think I keep hearing my name, so I've decided that Elise and I should join the two of you for a while."
Debra had fallen back to where Alex and Leslie were, bringing Elise with her. The two older cousins exchanged sly glances, but made no attempt to defend themselves. Debra grinned.
"That's what I thought," she said triumphantly.
"This certainly is a beautiful place," Leslie remarked. It was the first time since coming to Vancouver that she had been to Stanley Park.
"If you think this is beautiful, wait until you come here when all the flowers are in bloom," Debra replied. "That's my favorite time of year to come to Stanley Park."
"It is beautiful then," agreed Alex. "But I like the fall better. When all the leaves on the trees are gold and red. Everything is so vibrant then."
"I like it now," Elise piped up. She squealed with delight when Alex suddenly swung her up and set her on his shoulders.
"As long as you're up there, munchkin," he said, "can you see any of the others?"
"I see Susan over there," Elise answered, pointing to a spot off to their right. "She's sitting against a tree, drawing something. Gabriella's over there," pointing to the left, "talking to some other girls. And Gilbert..."
She trailed off here, obviously unable to pinpoint her brother. Leslie grew slightly alarmed, but reasoned that she shouldn't worry about Gilbert.
"There he is!" Elise cried, pointing straight ahead of her. Alex followed her finger until his eyes came to rest on a figure that looked like his brother. He had already picked out Susan and Gabriella. Neither of them were too far away. But Gilbert was much farther away than Alex liked him to be and so he set Elise back down on the ground, ignoring her protests.
"Gil's a little too far away for my liking," he told Leslie. "I'm going to get him and bring him back to be with us."
Leslie nodded and Alex took off like a shot. She watched him for a while and then turned her attention to the sky.
"It's starting to get late. I've still got to get supper ready for everyone. Do you suppose we should head home?"
The question was a reluctant one and Debra answered it just as reluctantly. She had really enjoyed herself today. This afternoon she had almost been able to forget how far she was from her husband. Almost. It was the closest she had come in a long time.
"I suppose we should get home. Do you need help with the meal?"
"That would be great," Leslie answered, always ready for an excuse to spend more time with Debra. Sometimes she thought that Debra and Alex had been her salvation these past few months.
"I'll go get Gabriella," she continued. "Why don't you go get Susan and we'll meet back here."
Soon, everyone was in the car headed back for Uncle Shirley's house. Upon arriving at home, Leslie sent the rather dirty Gilbert upstairs to get a bath and convinced a sleepy-eyed Elise that she needed a small nap. Gabriella and Susan went to their rooms to do schoolwork and artwork, respectively, and Alex followed Debra and Leslie into the kitchen.
Leslie set Alex to work on the vegetables while she prepared the chicken and Debra got started on the dessert. Alex started telling the girls a story they'd both heard numerous times before, but were sent into gales of laughter despite the fact. Every time Alex told that story, he tweaked it somehow, making it more outrageous than before. Just as he was finishing the story and Leslie had put the chicken in the oven, the phone rang.
"I'll get it," Leslie said, wiping away the tears out of her eyes as she headed for the phone. "Hello?"
Alex was just getting ready to start cooking the vegetables when he caught a glimpse of Leslie out of the corner of his eye. Debra saw her, too. Leslie was growing paler by the minute and Alex saw her eyes roll back just in time to jump forward and catch her before she hit the floor. Laying her down gently, he picked up the phone while Debra tried to bring her around.
"Hello?" he said into the receiver.
"Alex?"
He knew that voice.
"Chris?"
"Yes, it's me. What happened? Did she faint? Will she be alright?"
"Yes, she'll be alright. Chris, what's going on?"
"Oh, Alex, this just can't be happening."
Alex was startled when he heard Chris burst into tears. He tried to soothe her, but that's rather hard to do over the telephone. He waited until she had calmed down somewhat before asking her his question.
"What's going on, Chris? What is it?"
"He's missing in action, Alex. He's missing!"
"Slow down, Chris. Who's missing?"
"Walter."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow. Weren't prepared for that one, were you? Thought it would be Joseph, didn't you? Aren't I mean? Yes, I am. I know I am. But I'm getting my chapters up faster, aren't I? Isn't that encouraging? Aren't you getting annoyed with all these questions? Well, I am. So I'll stop here. Review if you want to save Walter. Actually, that's not nice. Strike that last comment. But I do love reviews. They are my oxygen.
A/N: Hey, I told you I'd get a new chapter up soon. Hope this is soon enough.
Just I: I'm afraid I'll have to keep you in suspense about Joseph for a while, but this chapter will still be dealing with Leslie. And you have been following the story perfectly, my friend. I just introduced Debra in the last chapter and will go into more detail on her in this chapter. I think you'll like her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~April 10, 1941
"I'm glad you suggested this, Alex," said Leslie, smiling at her cousin. "I think it was just what I needed. And the others are certainly enjoying themselves."
Uncle Shirley and Aunt Aurelie had gone away for the weekend, leaving Leslie and Alex in charge of the household for a few days. It was Saturday and the morning had been very trying for Leslie. It seemed that everyone in the house was in a bad mood. Gilbert was in a bad mood because Leslie had punished him Friday night for something he still clamed he 'didn't do'. Twelve year old Gabriella was upset over the fight she had had with her best friend at school. Susan was irritated because, after gaining permission to use Susan's colored pencils for her drawing of Joseph, Elise had assumed the permission was a free pass to any of her sister's art supplies. The results were two broken pencils and a ruined paintbrush. Elise was cranky because Susan hadn't spoken to her in three days. And Leslie was, by now, beside herself with worry over Joseph.
Alex, the only one in the house who was in a reasonable mood, had suggested an afternoon sojourn to Stanley Park. Leslie readily agreed and the others seemed to think it a good idea. Debra was also invited and now Leslie found that she was enjoying herself immensely for the first time in quite a while.
"It seemed to be the most reasonable solution for everyone's moods," Alex explained as they walked down the path, arms linked. "We used to come here every weekend, weather permitting, for picnics. I guess it got harder for everyone as all of us got older. Schedules and things like that. I know Mother still comes here quite a bit with Elise."
Leslie's smile grew bigger as her eyes fell on little Elise, who was walking a little ways ahead of them, holding Debra's hand.
"She is so sweet. And she seems especially fond of Debra," Leslie observed.
"Oh, no one could help liking Debra. Unless they hated her, of course."
"Alex!"
"What? Debra is just that type of person. You either love her fiercely or you hate her with a passion. There's no 'middle of the road' when it comes to how someone feels about Debra. There never has been. I'm glad you liked her. It would have made my life rather difficult if you hadn't."
"I'm sure it would've. You two seem awfully close, despite the age difference."
"Well, her parents were the first couple that Mother and Dad became friends with when they moved out here. Our families always spent a lot of time together. Debra was the oldest in her family and I was the oldest in mine. I suppose that's how we got thrown together so much."
"What's her husband like, Alex? I can't get her to talk about him too much."
"Rick? He's a great guy. And he loves Debra very much. I suppose you know how fast it was with them."
"She did tell me that it all happened rather quickly."
"It figures she wouldn't talk about him in great detail. That's how she hides her worry over him and how much she misses him. She just avoids discussing him. But that's off the subject. She met Rick just before her eighteenth birthday. He had come up to Vancouver to visit his aunt. His aunt happened to be a particular friend of Debra's parents and had the whole family over one night for dinner. Debra told me that she knew he was for her the moment she laid eyes on him.
Well, they only had a week to get acquainted. Rick had to report back to his base in California. But they wrote a steady stream of letters. I think Rick even called her a couple of times. Four months after they met, he managed to get five days leave. He hopped on a train to Canada and the first place he went after arriving in Vancouver was Debra's house. Debra told me that she was washing dishes when he just seemed to materialize in the kitchen. He proposed on the spot, she accepted just as quickly and they were married two days later."
Leslie's eyes widened.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that. Of course, Debra stayed in Vancouver for a couple of months until Rick had a place for them. I don't think I'd ever seen her as happy as she was on her wedding day. Most girls would cry about not having a big wedding with lots of flowers and bridesmaids and all that. Rick and Debra actually got married in her parents' backyard. I was in attendance, of course. My whole family was there. Debra wore a pale blue dress that I'd seen her in a hundred times before and Rick was in his uniform. All of it was very informal, really. But it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to, Leslie. Because you could see how much they truly loved each other."
"How old is he, Alex?"
"She didn't tell you? She must miss him more than I thought. Let's see. Rick was twenty-four when they got married, so I guess that makes him around twenty-seven now. I think you'd like him if you ever met him, Leslie. I imagine he's like an older version of Walter."
"In that case, I'm sure I'd like him."
"You know, I think I keep hearing my name, so I've decided that Elise and I should join the two of you for a while."
Debra had fallen back to where Alex and Leslie were, bringing Elise with her. The two older cousins exchanged sly glances, but made no attempt to defend themselves. Debra grinned.
"That's what I thought," she said triumphantly.
"This certainly is a beautiful place," Leslie remarked. It was the first time since coming to Vancouver that she had been to Stanley Park.
"If you think this is beautiful, wait until you come here when all the flowers are in bloom," Debra replied. "That's my favorite time of year to come to Stanley Park."
"It is beautiful then," agreed Alex. "But I like the fall better. When all the leaves on the trees are gold and red. Everything is so vibrant then."
"I like it now," Elise piped up. She squealed with delight when Alex suddenly swung her up and set her on his shoulders.
"As long as you're up there, munchkin," he said, "can you see any of the others?"
"I see Susan over there," Elise answered, pointing to a spot off to their right. "She's sitting against a tree, drawing something. Gabriella's over there," pointing to the left, "talking to some other girls. And Gilbert..."
She trailed off here, obviously unable to pinpoint her brother. Leslie grew slightly alarmed, but reasoned that she shouldn't worry about Gilbert.
"There he is!" Elise cried, pointing straight ahead of her. Alex followed her finger until his eyes came to rest on a figure that looked like his brother. He had already picked out Susan and Gabriella. Neither of them were too far away. But Gilbert was much farther away than Alex liked him to be and so he set Elise back down on the ground, ignoring her protests.
"Gil's a little too far away for my liking," he told Leslie. "I'm going to get him and bring him back to be with us."
Leslie nodded and Alex took off like a shot. She watched him for a while and then turned her attention to the sky.
"It's starting to get late. I've still got to get supper ready for everyone. Do you suppose we should head home?"
The question was a reluctant one and Debra answered it just as reluctantly. She had really enjoyed herself today. This afternoon she had almost been able to forget how far she was from her husband. Almost. It was the closest she had come in a long time.
"I suppose we should get home. Do you need help with the meal?"
"That would be great," Leslie answered, always ready for an excuse to spend more time with Debra. Sometimes she thought that Debra and Alex had been her salvation these past few months.
"I'll go get Gabriella," she continued. "Why don't you go get Susan and we'll meet back here."
Soon, everyone was in the car headed back for Uncle Shirley's house. Upon arriving at home, Leslie sent the rather dirty Gilbert upstairs to get a bath and convinced a sleepy-eyed Elise that she needed a small nap. Gabriella and Susan went to their rooms to do schoolwork and artwork, respectively, and Alex followed Debra and Leslie into the kitchen.
Leslie set Alex to work on the vegetables while she prepared the chicken and Debra got started on the dessert. Alex started telling the girls a story they'd both heard numerous times before, but were sent into gales of laughter despite the fact. Every time Alex told that story, he tweaked it somehow, making it more outrageous than before. Just as he was finishing the story and Leslie had put the chicken in the oven, the phone rang.
"I'll get it," Leslie said, wiping away the tears out of her eyes as she headed for the phone. "Hello?"
Alex was just getting ready to start cooking the vegetables when he caught a glimpse of Leslie out of the corner of his eye. Debra saw her, too. Leslie was growing paler by the minute and Alex saw her eyes roll back just in time to jump forward and catch her before she hit the floor. Laying her down gently, he picked up the phone while Debra tried to bring her around.
"Hello?" he said into the receiver.
"Alex?"
He knew that voice.
"Chris?"
"Yes, it's me. What happened? Did she faint? Will she be alright?"
"Yes, she'll be alright. Chris, what's going on?"
"Oh, Alex, this just can't be happening."
Alex was startled when he heard Chris burst into tears. He tried to soothe her, but that's rather hard to do over the telephone. He waited until she had calmed down somewhat before asking her his question.
"What's going on, Chris? What is it?"
"He's missing in action, Alex. He's missing!"
"Slow down, Chris. Who's missing?"
"Walter."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow. Weren't prepared for that one, were you? Thought it would be Joseph, didn't you? Aren't I mean? Yes, I am. I know I am. But I'm getting my chapters up faster, aren't I? Isn't that encouraging? Aren't you getting annoyed with all these questions? Well, I am. So I'll stop here. Review if you want to save Walter. Actually, that's not nice. Strike that last comment. But I do love reviews. They are my oxygen.