Thank you to anyone who has sent best wishes to Australia lately. It is a disastrous state of affairs. I have not been personally affected, but I know quite a few people who were evacuated and of course I'm following all the news and sending donations to good causes. If you are crafty our injured wildlife need help and you can look up knitting or sewing patterns for pouches, they are always needed.

Anyway, in the midst of all that horror, it is nice to immerse myself in the mostly safe Avonlea world over on chilly P.E.I.

They stood in a semi-circle in the beaten down snow looking up at the graffitied barn wall; bare branches knocking against each other in the chill wind. Rachel sighed and Marilla reached out for her hand. "I just don't know why people care that much? How are we upsetting them?" she said.

"Folks just want to hurt what they don't understand, I guess," Matthew replied sadly. He turned to fetch a bucket and a brush. It took the better part of the morning for them all to scrub away the words and even then, a coat or two of paint would be needed. As they worked, they speculated on how their neighbours found out.

The phone was ringing when they got back to the house. Marilla picked it up and after listening briefly to a tirade by Rachel's son Thomas Jr, handed the receiver over. She sat down and watched as Rachel held the receiver to her ear, then winced and moved it further away. Marilla could hear Thomas' tinny voice shouting through the phone from the other side of the room, "you cannot do this to us, Mother!"

"Thom…" Rachel tried to interject.

"… reputation!"

"Now …"

"… children…"

"Thom…"

"… scandal…"

"I..."

"… outrage…"

"Just …"

"…father …"

Eventually Rachel hung up on him sighing, "there's no point. I can't get a word in edgewise." She turned around with tears in her eyes and sat down next to Marilla who hugged her shoulders comfortingly saying, "they never let you down, your family do they?

"No, sometimes I think, foolishly probably, that maybe just once they'll surprise me," Rachel glanced back at the telephone. "Looks like I'm still waiting."

The local police refused to come and see the barn wall, so instead they paid the police station a visit to lay a complaint. Constable Fletcher his name emblazoned on his chest had walked to the back of the station to fetch a pencil and a fresh piece of paper, sauntering languidly like melting molasses. He leaned over the counter, his bright pink neck studded with short white hairs, "so you don't know who it was, but they egged the house and graffitied the barn wall. What did they write?"

With a quick glance across to Rachel Marilla said, "they wrote dikes live here. They misspelled dyke."

Constable Fletcher took his chewed pencil out of his mouth, licked the other end and wrote down their words laboriously looking up at them suspiciously every few letters. "Hm."

"Well what are you going to do about it?" Rachel insisted.

He coughed with a deep chesty rumble and wiped his mouth with his handkerchief, "do? I mean if you ladies lived a more decorous life, I've heard rumours too. All three of you shacked up the end of the lane like that. Tisn't natural."

"So, so you're not going to take any action? We're not doing anything wrong you know. Homosexuality was legalised some time ago," Marilla could feel the heat rising up her neck.

"That's as may be Miss Cuthbert, but country folk take a while to adjust. There's nothing we can do. If you want the town to accept you, you might want to have a look inwards, ladies. Now don't go getting all hysterical about it. Just fix your ways and I'm sure life will settle down." They watched in dismay as he deliberately tore up his notes in front of them and dropped them in the bin.

"Anne called," Marilla said a few nights later as they sat around the television watching The Twilight Zone.

"Mm," Matthew replied keeping his eyes on the television. "How's she going?"

"She's got a new boyfriend she sounds very happy."

Matthew smiled, "what's this fella's name?"

"Well, it's a bit unusual. I got her to spell it out I've got it written down." Marilla walked over to the kitchen bench where they kept their notes. "Ah, here it is vyvian Fitzwilliam-Smythe." Matthew raised his eyebrows. "I know. She thinks it's romantic, she says he does this thing where he has his Christian name spelled with a little v."

"Sounds ridiculous," Matthew said.

"Pretentious even," Rachel added.

"Well don't say a thing to her, it's nothing to do with us. So long as she's happy. She's bringing him over for dinner next weekend."

They had scrubbed the house and tidied away all the usual detritus. "There's nothing like meeting a new boyfriend to stir our cleaning focus," said Rachel as she dusted watching Marilla sweep. Marilla made no audible answer; but rolled her eyes as she cast around for the dustpan.

Next was the problem of dinner, vyvian was a vegetarian who apparently also couldn't eat alliums which Anne explained over the phone meant onion or garlic. "So," Rachel commented dryly, "all we need is some tasteless vegetable muck. Easy."

Marilla flicked through her cookbooks, "there must be something here he can eat." They had to make several trips to town to find the necessary ingredients to make a vegetarian dish tasty, their usual stock of spices not being up to the task. Marilla could feel her neighbour's eyes on her back as she browsed the aisles and fancied she could hear them muttering about her and Rachel as she passed by. Someone jostled her by tomatoes and when she turned to hear their apology was dismayed when they whispered a derogatory word to her instead.

She was practically in tears when she carried her bag of groceries out to the car but refused to let the town know how she felt. Sitting in the car she heaved a few big breaths dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief and blew her nose; not quite crying, but pretty close to it. Green Gables had never felt such a refuge as it did that day.

She leaned back on the kitchen counter dropping her bags around her heedlessly and closed her eyes. Rachel found her there surrounded by the groceries an avocado rolling free of its bag. She bent to pick it up and found herself grabbed around the waist by Marilla. She comfortingly rubbed Marilla's back as she sobbed on her shoulder, "what is it, what's wrong? Tell me."

Eventually Marilla settled down and sat down to watch Rachel prepare a pot of tea. "It's our neighbours," she explained. "They hate us. I can't even shop at the grocery store in peace. I could practically feel their eyes boring into me and someone even cussed me by the tomatoes," she finished.

"The tomatoes hey, well that's brutal," Rachel teased gently.

"Not you too," Marilla snapped back at her. "I was upset."

"Yes, sorry. It is unpleasant," Rachel said placatingly. "Something similar happened to me the other day. I suppose we'll just have to put up with a bit of it. Surely, they'll get over it soon enough and we can all move on."

Sitting around the kitchen table Marilla nervously tapped her knee as she watched vyvian cast his critical eye over their simple house disdainfully. He and Anne had arrived in his green MG; an expensive vehicle and totally unsuited to the terrain. Anne had tried to warn him, but he wanted to give it a run out on the open road. After a hair-raising trip they sat in the Green Gables kitchen making desultory conversation.

For all his pretence of being avant-garde vyvian was frightfully straight and when he heard about Marilla's relationship from an acquaintance of Anne's he fobbed it off as a scurrilous rumour. He was dismayed when Anne explained that it was all true. They practically had an accident when he looked at her for too long and she had to grab his arm to make him look at the road again. It was too late to turn around and he supposed rude as well; and if truth be told, vyvian was just a wee bit curious in any event. He had never met a lesbian; did they look terribly different? He expected one to be butch with short hair and stout boots and one to be more feminine, but which would be which?

Anne was not sure how she felt about staying with vyvian if he felt that way, but it had been a while since she had broken up with Roy and she was enjoying his attention. It was just nice to be spoiled for once. vyvian was a dear and looked after her in public and privately too.

They gave vyvian a seat next to Anne. Adorned with a pretty linen tablecloth for a change the table groaned under an array of salads. The ladies had out done themselves in an attempt to tempt vyvian's appetite. A crowning nut roast was the piece de resistance. Marilla had been practising the recipe for days and everyone else was heartily sick of it by now, but they made appreciative noises when she heaped a slice on their plate, at least the salads looked nice. vyvian didn't like the food all that much, there was too much of it and it was chilly. He liked something more substantial in this weather. Dessert was nicer a lovely steamed pudding.

After their meal they made their way out to the sitting room. Anne offered to help with the dishes, but Marilla shooed her out of the kitchen reminding her that vyvian was her guest. Matthew took care of them instead quite pleased to be out of the way. They sat around the sitting room, surrendering their favourite couch to Anne and vyvian and instead Marilla sat in an armchair while Rachel perched on its arm. vyvian cleared his throat embarrassed by their easy display of affection, even his parents did not publicly touch each other in that way and now two women were doing it.

"I don't think it's right," vyvian blurted out after about half an hour of small talk. He had found the whole situation increasingly uncomfortable yet they all treated it as completely normal.

"I beg your pardon?" Marilla said in confusion, though Rachel had a fair idea what he was upset about.

"You two … harridans. Doing heaven knows what together. It's disgusting that's what it is. Anne!" he commanded, "we're leaving." He pulled Anne to her feet and stormed out to the front door. Anne stood for a moment unsure of what to do. He was her boyfriend, but these were her parents. She looked back and forth a few times, wavering. "Anne!" bellowed vyvian. "Come." Marilla stretched out her arms to Anne pleading with her to stay. If she left now, who knew when they'd see her again, if ever.

With a final gasp Anne rushed to vyvian's side and together they made their way out to the mud-spattered MG which took off with a roar down the driveway. Although just to ruin the affect it got bogged half-way down the driveway and they had to trudge back down to the house to ask Matthew to extricate them with his tractor. Not a word was spoken apart from the necessary and half an hour later vyvian carefully negotiated the driveway and was escortng Anne out of their life. Marilla stood and watched her go tears freezing on her cheeks. Slowly she walked back into the warmth and sat down at the kitchen table and stared into nothing.

"You know I went to town today," Rachel said some nights later as Marilla caressed her with her fingernails tickling around her stomach and chest in languid circles; walking her fingers up and down Rachel's stretch marks.

"Mm," Marilla's voice was muffled against Rachel's breast.

Rachel smiled down at her fondly. "Yes, I popped into the travel agency." She had been walking along the wet street under a threatening slate grey sky, piles of dirty snow stacked up against the curb. A car had driven through a puddle sending icy water across her path in a dirty spray, despite her best efforts to dodge it she still copped a chilly blast up her calves. Turning to assess the damage her gaze was diverted to an azure blue poster showing an idyllic scene. Without over thinking it she opened the door and walked right in, a cheery bell announcing her entrance. The agent welcomed her tutting over the state of her shoes and after a brief chat handed her an assortment of brochures to peruse at her leisure.

Now in bed all that she received by way of answer from Marilla was an increased pressure against her nipple and an urgent digit between her thighs. Unwilling to interrupt Marilla's ministrations, Rachel snuggled down into the bed spreading her legs out wide. She knew she had better get the information out soon or she'd be beyond speech. Taking a deep breath she panted, "how ... about ... we ... go ... mm mm ...yes just like that ... mm." And with that all thought of travel was driven out of her mind as her body arched backwards on a wave of euphoria.

A/N I stole vyvian's forename from a chap I met at work once. He too spelled his name with a lower-case v. Most annoying, the auto-correct always had a conniption and I wound up looking like an idiot. But he did provide me with a suitable idiot for this story, so not all was lost.