Here's the music for today! open .dot. spotify .dot playlist/0iynChnBrGiDnomw5VdNwh?si=Mt_9GkfuQEOIKS9pDvHcqA
Chapter 39
The third evening Gilbert came back from work and snuggled against Anne, whether she was reading, or writing, or doing whatever it was she was doing in the moment, she knew there was something off. It was true that the last time she had been with Gilbert around his father's birthday it had been eleven years ago, but when she noticed how quiet and needy he was, she knew that in all those years he hadn't processed yet his dad's death in a way that allowed him to function properly.
She didn't say anything, opting for cuddling him and caressing his hair as he put on old music and stared to the void. She knew better than to push him to talk and they didn't really need words to state how much they still missed John and supported each other. On the fourth day, she left his guitar out of the case, lying close to his usual place in the sofa. He used to feel better when he played and she was trusting it was still the case.
**Anne S-C (16:41): Hi Bash!
**Bash (16:48): My dearest Queen Anne! How are you doing today?
**Anne S-C (16:49): All good, thanks. I wanted to ask you- is it still very bad for Gilbert around John's birthday?
**Bash (16:49): He just misses his dad terribly… That's something that never quite goes away. As I'm sure you know.
**Anne S-C (16:50): Is there anything I can do to help? Something that has helped him these past few years? I know playing the guitar used to help, and cuddling…
**Bash (16:50): Just show him you remember, Anne. He will notice. Be there for him. That's more than what he has ever dreamt of, next thing being bringing back the dead.
**Anne S-C (16:51): Thanks Bash 😘
Gilbert entered the house, sighing as he hadn't been able to shake himself from the funk he had been for the past few days. He knew what the cause was, and he knew as well that in a few short days he would start feeling better… But for now he felt miserable remembering his father in every single thing. Missing him like when he was a teen and felt so lost without his optimism and guidance.
The apartment was so quiet he even wondered if Anne had gone out on her bike, discarding the idea as she would have probably told him. Or waited for him so they could go together. He pushed his shoes to the side and walked quietly to the bedroom, peeking in and finding it empty. When he did the same in the living room, he finally understood why everything was so quiet.
Anne had fallen asleep, book still in her hands, the afternoon's sun covering her in warmth. He smiled softly at the image and took out his phone to take a picture, noticing then the guitar she had left leaning against the sofa. Only she didn't play, so he knew it wasn't likely that she had been practicing. And then it hit him- she had left it out for him. He smiled sadly. How she knew him so well was beyond comprehension. On his own, he would have never gotten to the idea of playing anything. Seeing the instrument there? He knew it was something that would help him breathe.
Taking the guitar, he went to sit on the chair that was to the side, looking at Anne. It wasn't a very good idea for her to sleep at that time, considering her nightmares and how difficult it was for her to fall asleep in the first place. Even if the therapy sessions seemed to be working, she still had bad nights here and there. So it probably wouldn't be that terrible if he woke her up gently with the guitar.
He played gently, barely caressing the strings, the music coming soft and delicate. He played a string of bits and pieces of songs as they came to his mind, jumping to one to another without making much sense. But it didn't really matter as his fingers moved on their own with patterns that they knew better than he could rationalize. He remembered how his father had taught him to play when he was a kid and how they used to sit next to the fire pit to play during the autumn months the years before he got sick.
"You play so nicely," he heard after a while and lifted his sight to meet Anne's eyes. She was still curled on the sofa, looking at him, a sad smile on her face. He smiled as well but didn't answer, not really a need for it, his fingers finding the way to yet another song.
He was half-way through All of Me before he even realized that he was playing it, humming it softly along the music of the guitar. Anne didn't move, watching him intently as he played. The song hadn't even been out when they still spoke, so she had never seen him play it. How he could even pull it off without having practiced anything in years, even if it was with plenty of errors, only made her admire him even more. He stopped and took out his phone, checking something and resuming the song from the beginning. The song so known he didn't even need to sing for the words to hang in between them. He put his hands over the strings as the song drew to an end, the silence expectant between them. He didn't let the guitar down yet.
"How are you today, Anne-girl?" he asked after a moment, his eyes on hers.
"Not too bad, Gil," she answered. "I… sent the draft to a couple of publishing houses. See how that goes. Miss Stacy told me which ones had better possibilities and she's probably going to talk with an editor or two. See how that goes. How was yours?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Fred sends his regards," he said, finally letting go of the instrument and leaning it towards the side of the chair as he got up. He walked over to where Anne was still curled and crouched in front of her until their eyes were almost level. "Thank you," he said simply, before leaning in to give her a soft kiss and getting up. She didn't say anything. It wasn't needed either.
The next morning, Anne got up as soon as she heard Gilbert's alarm go off. He stirred and she gave him a quick kiss to wake him and ushered him to the bathroom to get a shower as she went to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. Gilbert went reluctantly, not wanting to get up at all. Today, John Blythe would have celebrated yet another happy birthday with his sons and Anne, with Marilla and Matthew, with Mary. But he was no more, and neither were her parents.
In the kitchen Anne put herself to use, setting the coffee pot, putting some music and then taking out a bowl in which to mix the ingredients for breakfast. There wasn't much John Blythe cooked, but when she had become vegetarian he had put on his best effort to make her breakfasts at his place special. Even when Marilla had insisted he should not spoil her, he had. The banana pancakes had become then something of a tradition on Saturday mornings after Gilbert and her's Friday sleepovers.
John would start cooking, singing as he always did, waking them with the scent of food and with the sound of the stereo and his voice. Gilbert would go down the stairs in a bad mood because John always woke them before eight (even if it was Saturday) and Anne would skip down the stairs ready to help him this time. Bit by bit she had learnt by heart the recipe and always did it on August 25 to honour and celebrate the first man that had made her feel welcome after the Cuthberts.
"You're kidding," Gilbert said, smiling shyly as he went to the kitchen, suspenders still down as he finished buttoning his shirt. The smell had called him. "You actually did dad's pancakes?"
"Of course I did," she said, going to where he was putting his shirt into his pants and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "It was the perfect Saturday breakfast."
"That it was," he acquiesced. "You even put in the soundtrack and all."
"How can you have banana pancakes for breakfast and not listen to Jack Johnson? It would be criminal, Gil!" she defended herself as she turned the last of the pancakes and turned down the heat. "They'll be ready in a couple of minutes, go finish getting ready."
Gilbert went to give her a kiss and went back to the bedroom to look for socks, smiling with less heaviness than in the last few days when everything had seemed so grave. Having Anne remember his dad's birthday, even after all these years, and prepare a special breakfast because of him… It filled him more than he would care to admit. He came back to the kitchen as Anne was setting the dishes on the island.
"Thank you for the guitar yesterday," he said as they sat. She squeezed his thigh gently and smiled at him. "It hadn't even occurred to me."
"Well it used to work in high school… I thought maybe it would do something good?"
"It did, Anne-girl. It did," he said. He tried some of the pancakes and felt a knot on his throat at the familiar taste and texture he hadn't had in years. "Goodness, you cooked them just like dad, how…?"
"I memorized the recipe back then and there's no way to forget it," she said. She had also prepared it year after year. Always on John's birthday, but also when she needed some comfort food, something to remind her of the optimism the man had always evoked. "I just keep this version special for today."
"You do magic, Carrots. Truly," Gilbert declared, sighing at the taste and the smell. "It almost feels like Saturday and now I will have to leave."
"I do not. What happens here is you're having a proustian madeleine moment, but I'm glad I managed to bring back some good memories with the food," she said. "And… it's Tuesday! Almost there, doc. I'm sure Fred will entertain you today."
"Probably he will after pestering me for hours," Gilbert chuckled. He felt light and airy with the breakfast. They ate in comfortable silence for a few moments.
"Tell me something about John. A good memory. Something I don't know yet," she prompted, wanting him to remember the good times they had shared back when he was a kid, when John still wasn't so sick. Gilbert thought for a moment.
"Did I ever tell you about when we got my guitar?"
"You tried to hide you played the guitar for the longest time, Gil. Of course you didn't tell me once your big secret came out," Anne assured him, smiling. Gilbert shook his head.
"I was a silly teen completely smitten with you and I thought I played badly and you would think me ridiculous. Give my younger self a break, will you?" he said. Anne laughed. "Well, for your story. It was in Alberta. I wasn't going to school and dad was doing as if he was homeschooling me, which of course he wasn't. Neither of us was putting any kind of effort in academics, we just read and talked while on between treatments because we just wanted to be together, you know?" Anne nodded, a bit sad. She hadn't thought of a sick John story. "It was good, Anne. I had an uninterrupted year with my dad, talking, reading, just being us. It was shitty, because he was sick, but at the time we were so optimistic because the cancer was receding and it seemed like he would make it. And he did get to live much more than what the doctors initially thought."
"Well, that's something," Anne commented.
"It is, believe me. So anyway. One day he tells me we're getting guitars, and so we went to this store in Calgary and we each picked one. His are still in Avonlea, I haven't… I still have to bring them here, but it feels wrong to take them away from the orchard. We use them when we go with Bash," he explained, remembering their winter trips to the island to enjoy the orchard with Elijah. He sighed, focusing on the story he wanted to share with Anne. "Anyway. We each picked the guitar we liked the most, because he had left his in the island and I had never had a guitar of my own. And we played. For hours on end. In the house we had rented close to the hospital. In his room when he had to be admitted for treatments. We played and we sang, and probably what little schooling was being done was lost. But it was so good, Anne. It felt right."
"No wonder music always was so present at your house," Anne commented, smiling, as she imagined 14 year old Gilbert in a hospital room playing guitar with his dad.
"It was. And so that's how I got my guitar. And learnt to play. Because if we're honest, he had taught me some basic things before we went to Alberta when I was younger, but he was the one doing the playing. If we ever wanted to sing, he was the one to play, because I never felt confident enough to go through a whole song. But in Alberta? There we played together. That's where I really learnt," Gilbert explained. He looked at the clock on the wall and got up quickly. "Shoot. I should get going. I really lost track of time. I'll write to you later, do you want to go for a walk or a ride on your bike?"
"Whatever you feel like, Gil. Just let me know." she said.
"Sorry about the dishes," he excused himself, looking remorsefully at the dirty pile.
"Gil, you always wash them. I can do them today. Go now, you'll be late!" Anne ushered him. He gave her a kiss on top of her head and went to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth.
"You look better today," Fred commented as they went to Tim Hortons for their after-lunch coffee.
"Anne made banana pancakes for breakfast," he explained. Fred lifted an eyebrow. "It's what dad used to cook on Saturdays. And she took out the guitar yesterday…"
"That's good. You actually played?"
"Well, yes," Gilbert said.
"Nice to see you doing something with your grief other than mope, Blythe. I'm glad," Fred commented, giving him a pat on the arm. They ordered and were out by the minute and started the walk back. "So, your eye appointment is this afternoon?"
"At 5:15," Gilbert confirmed. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong and I booked it only to rub it on your face."
"We'll see who does the rubbing," Fred laughed. "Want me to go with you?"
"What, I'm a kid now?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Just for the company. And to help you pick the eyeglasses you're most definitely going to need," Fred commented cheekily.
Fred met Gilbert in his office at five sharp, a playful glint in his eye Gilbert tried to dismiss as he pinched the bridge of his nose, the afternoon headache still going strong. They walked chatting about the day to the optometrist. The exam wasn't long, and soon a stunned Gilbert was receiving a prescription for the glasses he would have to use while reading and while using the computer. Fred, who had come inside when Gilbert said it didn't really mattered, couldn't contain his laugh.
"I don't even know how to choose glasses," Gilbert commented as he saw the walls full of different models of different styles.
"That's exactly the reason I came," Fred commented, patting his shoulder. "Now, I don't think you want to look like an old man, so I suggest we steer clear of this area…"
They chose a couple of frames. Gilbert was more inclined to the really simple, square ones until Fred pointed out he looked like an office worker from the early 2000, which wasn't a look that he was particularly going for. After that, he decided to accept whatever suggestions Fred and the young store clerk, a woman in her early twenties who apparently couldn't speak without giggling.
He tried many, many more frames than what he thought was necessary and felt particularly bad about all the disinfecting the poor girl was going to have to do. He commented that in a low voice to Fred, who just laughed out loud.
"Blythe, believe me, she's more than happy to help," he answered back as the girl gave Gilbert another pair that Fred had signaled to her. They were somewhat bigger than most of what he had already tried, the frame thin but noticeable at a nice dark shade of brown. They were more round than the previous ones.
"Now this is just pushing it, Fred," he commented.
"Just try them on," his friend insisted, and Gilbert obliged, skeptical. He looked at Fred, raising an eyebrow, not even looking in the mirror. Trying glasses with a facemask on was even harder than it should be. Fred smiled. "We've got a winner!"
"Are you serious?" Gilbert said, turning to look at the mirror. He frowned. He would have never pictured those glasses for him and yet… they did look kind of good.
"They do look good," the girl said shyly. "Better than the square ones."
"Do you think Anne will make fun of me forever?"
"Mate, of course she will. And I will encourage her. That's beyond the point. But she will also love them, mark my words. And they go with your whole… weird retro aesthetic you insist on."
"We've gone through this. Suspenders are not retro," Gilbert answered, rolling his eyes. He turned to the girl. "I'll take these. Do you know when they would be ready?"
"By Friday, if you want to come to the register I can set up all the papers so you can send them to your insurance," Gilbert nodded and followed her.
"Blythe, they're reading glasses, there's no need for you to have that tragic expression," Fred commented as he went next to him.
"I know, Fred, I just never pictured myself with glasses. My dad wore them, but I always saw them as an… older man kind of thing, you know? I was a kid then, but the idea of reading glasses just stuck that way," he explained as he inserted the credit card on the pinpad.
"They're not only for old people. And you're almost thirty. You're not exactly a teen anymore."
"I know that," Gilbert said. Because he knew. He just didn't want to get glasses. But he didn't want the headaches he had been having either. "Anyway, tell me about Ella. How's she doing with the nausea and all? I talk with her but I feel like she glosses over the details."
"Coping? I mean, seriously mate, we both are very happy. I can tell she is over the moon. But at the same time she's miserable because she can't keep anything down and then has these very weird cravings… The amount of lucky charms she's eating doesn't make any sense. I don't envy women. I really don't," he said as they went out of the store, walking to the parking lot. "I don't know how they do that, growing a kid inside..." Gilbert was about to speak and Fred interrupted him. "Don't give me the physiological process, Blythe, I studied it with you."
"Just give her my best?"
"And you go and hug Anne. I'm glad today was a bit better than other years. I really am," Fred said as they stopped by Gilbert's car. He nodded, opening the door.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow. Send my greetings to Ella, will you? Maybe we can gather over the weekend?"
"Gilly boy!" Bash greeted him. He had been sending Gilbert messages all during the day, but hadn't called yet. "I've been thinking, apple pie or just crumble?" he asked, referencing John's favorite desserts.
"Apple pie. Always," Gilbert answered, smiling sadly.
"I was thinking crumble," Bash countered.
"No. We're in harvest, Bash, no need to mix in any other fruit. Apples are just perfect right now," Gilbert insisted and Bash laughed.
"That you're right. John had the perfect timing for his birthday."
"That he did. How are you?"
"I'm all right. Remembering the good times. The question is, how are you?" Bash said. And Gilbert did know he was fine: when Johns had died, Bash already had a sad experience with loss and had been able to guide Gilbert through it, together with Mary, they had been the rock the teen had needed at the time.
"Surprisingly good, to be honest," he confessed.
"Is that so? I'm glad, boy," he commented. "So what's changed this year?"
"I think… Anne, to be honest. She… I didn't have to tell her anything and she remembered, Bash. And she has been very… intentional the whole week, got out the guitar, made banana pancakes today… It's like she's been trying to honor him with all these small gestures and bringing him to the front seems to have helped some."
"Sounds like Queen Anne to me. So that's helped?"
"I've been a mope, Bash. The whole week. But to a lesser extent than in previous years. So yes, it's helped," he answered.
"That's good. You're home now?"
"No, just going… I had to go to the optometrist, I've been getting headaches and Fred was convinced they had to do with my sight," Gilbert explained.
"You're turning into your father," Bash commented. "Remember his glasses?"
"I do," Gilbert replied, a vivid image of his father, nose in a book, small round glasses on his nose. "I wonder where they ended up. Probably in one of the boxes in the basement?"
"Who knows? I can ask Elijah to look for them if you want to," Bash offered. Gilbert considered it for a second.
"No, leave it. I already got some. Kind of roundish, but bigger than dad's. I didn't even realize the similarity with his. I'm sure Anne will make so much fun of me. I'm honestly not looking forward to it," Gilbert said. He had arrived at the building, but was still in the car.
"She won't. Or maybe she will, but then it will be because you didn't choose well and you look ridiculous," Bash said. "She's waiting for you?"
"She is. I sent her a message telling her I was going to run an errand before going home, so she knows I'll be late."
"Have you thought any more about what you told us when you came here?"
"I have… And I'm all for it, Bash. I'm just thinking about how to go about it, you know?"
"I proposed after passing out drunk, so please don't look for ideas from me. Just be yourself, Gilly boy. Got a ring already?"
"I was thinking about using mom's, to be honest. I haven't even thought about looking for anything different. It would just suit her, you know? It's as special as her and she's never been the flashy kind… And I have plenty of memories of her talking badly about diamonds, so there you go," Gilbert explained.
"Well make a move, boy. We're getting impatient around here."
"Don't even tell me, Bash. I want this as well. I know I'll do it, I'm just waiting for the perfect moment. I will know when it comes."
**Anne S-C (15:21): Where are youuuuu
**Cole (15:22): In the place exhaustion meets the road. It's not a joke, driving from the island to the big city.
**Anne S-C (15:22): And that's….?
**Cole (15:23): Somewhere called Kingston? Honestly, Nan, don't form any ideas in that head of yours. We are going to sleep until tomorrow as soon as we arrive. I'm not going to Hamilton today, much as I want to see you.
**Anne S-C (15:23): 😭 But I've missed you so much! I need to hug you! I won't even recognize you! What about I tell Gilbert and we go help you move stuff to the loft?
**Cole (15:24): We don't get it until October, Nana. Don't tempt me, though. I do want to see you. Roy as well.
**Anne S-C (15:24): Then we can bring dinner! I can make you banana bread…
**Cole (15:25): Are you sure you want to ask Gilbert to drive all the way to Toronto and back tonight?
**Anne S-C (15:25): I can always ask? It's Friday… We can sleep in tomorrow. You as well. And Roy. Let me get back to you in a bit.
**Anne S-C (15:25): Gil! Cole and Roy are finally in Ontario! They're in Kingston!
**Gil (15:30): So they should be in Toronto in about two and a half hours… I finish here in two hours… I have to run an errand but we could be on the road before 6:00 pm. Do you want to go say hi? Are they up to it? I would hate to impose but I know how much it means for you to see them.
**Anne S-C (15:31): Let's bring dinner to those poor boys! So, should I get to the hospital and we go from there? What errand?
**Anne S-C (15:31): I didn't even have to ask and he offered, Cole. So, what do you guys want for dinner? It's on us 😁 Send the airbnb's address!
Anne sent the last message and went to the kitchen to prepare the promised banana bread, relieved to see she had indeed some very very ripe bananas. She crushed them as her phone buzzed on the counter and ignored it for a moment as she finished mixing the ingredients while humming happily. Dear Cole in Toronto! With Roy! Finally! She loved being with Gilbert and had found true friends in Fred and Ella, but she really missed her kindred spirit Cole. Banana bread in the oven, she washed the utensils and her hands and dried them before picking up her phone again.
**Cole (15:32): Something you eat, Nan. Just not burgers? It's the only thing we've found on the road and are a bit sick of them I'm hugging you tonight! 😍 😍 😍
**Cole (15:32): [shared link] here's the address.
**Gil (15:32): I just have to pick up something. I can see you in the hospital parking lot around 17:45? The support is still on the car, so you can come on your bike. No need to take the bus.
**Anne S-C (15:45) So mysterious, dr. Blythe. I'll see you there.
**Anne S-C (15:45): Happy dance here! 👯 👯 👯
"Cole!" Anne almost yelled as she saw her dear friend on the other side of the road, waiting for them in front of the low-rise where they had found a reasonable airbnb. Gilbert was slowing down.
"Wait until I stop, Carrots," Gilbert said to her as he noticed how she was about to get out of the moving car. He pulled off close to the curb and stopped, chuckling. "Go. I'll park and meet you in a minute."
Anne didn't lose a minute and went running to the open arms of Cole, giving him a crushing hug he reciprocated wholeheartedly. His arms felt right. They always did. He was familiar, his scent a second home to her senses, the steadiness he always brought so present. She felt her throat go into a knot and her eyes well up as the weight of the past six months came to her. Cole ran his hand up and down her back.
"Nan, it's alright," Cole said in a soothing voice as Anne couldn't hold her tears and shook against him. She should have seen him months ago. She should have been in PEI since March. But then again, if she had, she would have never seen Gilbert and he truly was home now. Finally. "I'm here now. Gilbert is here as well. We all are good."
Gilbert got out of the car carrying the take-out bags and the foil package with the banana bread Anne had prepared and closed the door, frowning slightly at the sight of an evidently distressed Anne and a soothing Cole. He walked over where they were.
"Hey, Gilbert," Cole said, not letting go of Anne but extending one hand to shake his. Gilbert shook it and nodded, still frowning. What had happened? "You don't want to go inside, Nana?" Anne let go of him reluctantly and went directly to hug Gilbert. Cole relieved him of the packages quickly so he could return the hug.
"Are you ok, Anne-girl?" he said softly. She nodded against him. She breathed one, two times and let go of him, feeling better.
"I'm so sorry. It's just.. Hugging you… Cole, that's… Since March…" she couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence.
"Let's go inside, shall we? The apartment is reasonably furnished and we are going to be more comfortable there," Cole proposed. Gilbert nodded and Anne followed them quietly, looking for a tissue in her bag. Roy was waiting for them at the door and she hugged him tightly as well, feeling more in control now.
"So how was the road?" Gilbert asked as they sat down on the sofas, the takeout boxes open on the coffee table as the small flat didn't have a dining room.
"It was way longer than I would've imagined. I'm so grateful for planes right now," Roy said. Cole was just looking at Anne and Gilbert, a warm smile on his face.
"I can't resist any longer, I'm sorry," Cole said suddenly. Gilbert looked at him, an eyebrow going up. "You two look as good together as I always imagined and it is an absolute dream come true."
"Cole!"
"It's true, Nana! I've been telling you since grade ten and you would never listen how Gilbert had a crush on you! And then you both were stupid and stubborn for way too many years. The only thing I can thank this pandemic for is for getting you two together."
"You do look good together. And it's the first time I see you together," Roy said. Anne realized just then that she had met Roy in college but by then she and Gilbert didn't speak. It was like two different parts of her life coming together… only it was evident that Gilbert had met Roy over the years as well, since Cole and him had been together for years. She stayed silent for a moment, just watching them speak, seeing both parts of her life (her teen years, her college years) coming together finally. Not because she didn't have plenty of people who covered both stages, but because some of the most important people from each were finally together in front of her.
They continued to eat, commenting on the two long days on the road the couple had endured and how Mary and Bash had helped them rest in Montreal after the first (and largest) stretch of the journey. Soon it was time for Anne to take out the banana bread.
"Hey guys, I was thinking," Gilbert said when Anne was slicing the bread. He had seen the longing gaze Anne was throwing at Cole and how she had been unusually quiet, and knew she would want some time only with him. "Do you have any groceries? I could go with Roy, I saw there's a Metro nearby, we can go before they close and that way you'll have breakfast tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me. Metro is a supermarket, right?" Roy asked, getting up. Gilbert nodded and soon they were out the door, Anne and Cole picking up the dishes.
"I had missed you so much," Anne said to him, "I do love Gil, but it's just… different."
"I know, Nan. Roy could never fill your role in my life. I can't even believe I'm in Toronto for good. I thought about this over the years, but actually being here, with Roy starting his new job on Monday and everything… I can't believe it," Cole said as they washed the dishes with the same ease they had had since they were teens. "You look good, by the way. Gilbert suits you."
"Don't start," Anne said, but she smiled as well. "I do feel good, anyway."
"Home, finally?"
"Home," she acquiesced, her voice firm.
"So now that I'm here and you can't actually ignore me, tell me everything! You're finally feeling more confident with the whole sex thing? I know it was a sore point," Cole said, watching her blush brightly.
"I'm not telling you any about that! I asked in a moment of weakness!"
"And I'm glad you did! That's what we're here for," Cole told her. "So? Don't tell me all the details, just… it's still good?"
"It's still good. I can't understand how I never believed you all these years about how good it was," she commented, still blushing. "It blows my mind. Every time."
"It's Gilbert, he adores you. It is evident just watching you two together. Which, honestly, makes me giddy. Just get married already before either of you even thinks about running away?"
"Cole! I'm not marrying Gilbert yet!"
"Why not? Don't you have plans with him? Haven't you talked about anything?" Anne flushed, and her expression turned somewhat sad unconsciously. "Nan? Is everything ok?"
"I… Yes, Cole. We have talked and then some… But… Well, I'm not even opposed to marrying him, I think it's just the idea of people pushing it what unsettles me."
"There's something else unsettling you," Cole said, throwing her a knowing look. "And you are so telling me what it is because I'm not letting you leave with a heavy heart, Nana. What's Gilbert doing now? Believe me when I say I will have a word with him."
"It's… nothing, Cole. Really. Nothing Gilbert did. Just a disappointment, but there again, there was no reason to expect…"
"Disappointment? About what?" Cole asked, confused. Anne bit her lip. They had not discussed keeping the fact they were trying only to themselves. But there again, they hadn't said anything about sharing that bit of information with anyone either. And it was Cole. And she didn't want to go and mope with Gilbert when he was still unsettled about John's birthday and there was no reason to think that she would become... "Nan? What is it?"
"It's just, my period came today," she said quietly. Cole raised an eyebrow.
"Your period came today," he repeated, as if he was trying to see if he had heard correctly. "But that's normal, isn't it?"
"Well, yes… in theory," Anne said.
"Are you sick? Is something wrong?" Cole asked, visibly worried. Anne bit her lip.
"No, Cole. It's just… I didn't want my period to come right now. We've… God, I can't believe I'm saying this out loud to you, but we're kind of trying for a baby," she said quietly. A pin dropping could be heard and Anne saw Cole's worried looks transform into the biggest smile ever. "Don't smile. Period came. So no baby. Ok?"
"But there will be. And it will be about the cutest thing ever," Cole said, still smiling.
"It won't be a thing , Cole," Anne chastised him, and he just laughed.
"Whatever. What do you mean kind of trying? Isn't he coming inside you or what?"
"Cole!" she said scandalized.
"Well then you are trying, Nan! I don't know much about that, but I know it's not instant… Remember with Di? They were at it for months on end, since they got married! How long have you been trying? It seems only yesterday you got together with him…"
"Just… this month. So I kind of understand, but there again, there's always the hope, you know?"
"Not really. I'm barren. No ovaries for me. But… Roy has been hinting about kids more often than not," Cole confessed. "I'm shit scared, but… kind of warming to the idea."
"Are you kidding Cole Mackenzie?" Anne exclaimed just as the front door opened.
"We can talk about it on Monday. I want to spend the day with you," Cole said, just as Gilbert and Roy entered the apartment, bags on their arms. "But honest, Nan. One day at a time. Don't get hung up on it."
"Not a word, Cole," she warned him, going to the door. "Gil, we should get going? It's an hour ride back home, at least…"