In the end, turning 28 had been a much happier time than what she could have imagined when she turned 27. It had been some years since she had been able to celebrate with her closest friends, and having Gilbert in addition to everyone else had been a dream. She almost wished she could bottle up the happiness she had felt at seeing the house full, the company, the laughter.
She hadn't even thought about presents, just happy with the company and celebrations, and was surprised when Cole gifted her the portrait he'd been working on the whole weekend, since he had arrived with Roy, that he had kept hiding from her. Anne couldn't take her eyes off it, the mix in between the oil and the graphite, the style so different from Cole's previous works. She looked at her friend and the gift alternatively, trying to understand. He hadn't let her take a peek the whole time.
"What can I say? Being in Ontario has changed me," he said, shrugging.
"Cole, but this… this is amazing," she insisted, Ella walking and standing at her side, Alicia nursing. "It's almost… ethereal, somehow."
"You are ethereal, Nana," Cole insisted. "And for once, I finally feel I'm managing to capture you as I always intended."
"What, with a bump?"
"Don't be silly, woman. With the magic you have all the time," Cole said. Anne frowned. "Don't discuss this. I truly mean it. And I had been planning this all along, I had drafts and ideas and have been playing with the techniques for weeks. Why else would I have brought everything?"
"Just accept the gift, Nan," Roy said from the chair where he was drinking a whiskey. He had given Anne a sweater she had immediately put on, relishing on the softness of the recycled material and the baggy style that meant she could wear it now… And when she was no longer pregnant.
"But it's… too much," she insisted.
"It is not," Cole said. "If you feel so bad, just tell me you allow me to make a series of this."
"Allow you? Cole, you don't have to ask! I just feel honored!" she insisted. "I don't even know where to hang this…"
"What about above the fireplace, Anne-girl?" Gilbert asked. He had been silent, his eyes barely leaving the painting. He agreed with Cole. This… this was something else. He knew their friend was talented, and that his paintings and sculptures were already sought after, but this seemed to be one of those works that marked a point in time in his career. And that he was giving it to Anne was just proof of how much he loved her. He just wanted to see this painting every day.
"It would look nice there, that's true…" she said, looking to the side where the fire was roaring happily and giving them all a warm glow. "Thank you, Cole."
"My pleasure. Thank you, for always being my muse," he said, winking. Anne laughed.
"Well, now it's my turn," Gilbert said, standing up. Anne looked at him, frowning.
"But you already gave me a charm," she said, lifting her hand to show him the bracelet where a book was hanging. A book representing her first published book, her dream of becoming a writer, the year she had finally started writing.
"And can't I give you one more present if I want?" he said over his shoulder, walking to the studio. He took a rectangular package from one of his drawers and walked back, giving it to her.
"You got me a book?" Anne said, smiling. Gilbert always chose good books.
"I did, the main question is which book," Gilbert said. There was no point in denying the obvious. Anne frowned, somehow feeling that this was no ordinary book Gilbert had picked, reading the back cover and hoping for the best. She ripped the paper with excitement, knowing somehow Gilbert had managed to get his hands on something more special than the last book. She blinked, almost as astounded as when Cole had finally unveiled the painting.
"You have to be kidding, Gilbert Blythe," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"It is not a first edition, don't get any ideas," he said quickly. "But it is an early, illustrated edition of Jane Eyre. I just know it's your favorite," he said, smiling softly at her.
"How did you ever find this?" she asked. He shrugged and looked up, crossing a look with Fred that didn't go unnoticed. "Fred?"
"Don't look at me. I just witnessed him scouring all the websites during lunch for days on end. And proposed he ordered it to our place and not here, so the surprise wouldn't be spoiled."
"How long have you been looking for this?" she asked Gilbert. Fred chuckled as Gilbert scratched his neck. "Gil?"
"Just… a few weeks?" Gilbert said, smiling innocently.
"Since November, Cordelia," Fred clarified. "It was his original idea for your Christmas gift. Believe me, everyone at the hospital knows that you love that book because he has asked everyone- as if doctors were a good source of old literature printings."
"Hey, I wasn't wrong," Gilbert said.
"That Yang has a friend that has someone else that has a bookshop in Saskatoon is just too much of a coincidence, Blythe, it does not give merit to your idea," Fred said, making Anne laugh while she looked randomly through the book before closing it, "Most of us just managed to read and study medicine, not… medicine and XIXth century literature like you."
"You are a weird case, Gilbert," Roy agreed. "Nan, can I see that?"
Anne nodded, passing the book along, and the conversation resumed. She looked at Cole's painting, leaning on the wall over the mantle, marking the space where they would hang it once it was fully dry and framed. She could see Cole's point and understood why they all were in awe of the painting. She was, too. She glanced at her still growing bump. It would get so much bigger. After seeing Ella, she was so sure of that. And she still had months to go- months! So it was pretty much a given that what she had now was only an indication of what was to come. Still, everyone seemed to have only good words for her.
She looked at the lines of the painting once more, the strokes Cole had done to define her curves. Anne knew she had always been insecure about her looks but (she remembered Marilla's words) vain, all at the same time. A weird mix of not feeling good with how she looked and wanting to be pretty. It was stupid, she knew that now, that her worth really was not defined by her red hair or her freckles or whatnot. She had actually come to terms with her unique features, most of the time, even if she still felt insecure in some settings. She knew Gilbert, for one, loved them.
Still, she wasn't all that used to receive praise about her body. Her hair, yes- even when she didn't really get it. But never her body. It had always been… Just plain average, if she was being honest, and she didn't have any problems with that. If she was already red haired, she didn't want any more "unique" features, thank you very much. But suddenly, it was like being pregnant made her… special, and she just wondered for a minute what would happen once the baby was born and her body was… well, no longer pregnant, but no longer the happy average it was before. What would she even look like?
She snapped out of her train of thinking when Fred offered some tea to go with the cake.
The house felt empty on Monday, when Gilbert left to work and Cole and Roy were back in Toronto. She didn't think much of that, used as she was to working alone, and she had a productive day editing some of the short stories and going over the illustration ideas with Cole over a video call. The same routine continued through the week, with occasional visits to the Wrights.
She hummed as she cooked and baked some bread for the week, thinking maybe she could revisit the idea of getting a pet with Gilbert. They had a house now, so the space wasn't as much of an issue as it had been in the past. She remembered the Cuthbert farm and the myriad of animals Matthew and Jerry kept there- she might not eat them, but she loved keeping them company.
After putting the bread in the oven she checked the time: 3:23 in the afternoon. Maybe she had time to go to the grocery and pick some things for the week before Gilbert came home. She had thought about visiting the Wrights, but she also needed to continue her projects and wanted to give them some space. It was Fred's last days before going back to work, and she knew they had been brainstorming about how to go about that. Which brought her back to her previous train of thought.
As she kneaded the bread, other than thinking about pets, she had been thinking maybe she could invite Ella over for the day. She knew Ella had been trying to keep up with projects of her own whenever she got time (schedule with a newborn was busy), not so much because she wanted to finish anything but because it was her own way of trying to keep her sanity through it all. She also knew that the progress was minimal at best, but the intention remained. So maybe… She could bring things over a couple of times a week, and they could both work and take care of Alicia, and she could go some other days? She knew she had done that while in uni… And yes, years had gone since then, but maybe she didn't mind. And that way they could both do their things, watch over the baby and in general keep their sanity. After the previous year's lockdowns she was over being alone for weeks on end. Even if Gilbert was there.
Her phone rang as she was finishing to wash the things she had used and she hurriedly dried her hands, answering without even looking.
"Hey, Anne-girl," Gilbert greeted her.
"Hey Gil, how's your day going?"
"So far so good. How about yours?"
"I made bread. Should be ready anytime," she commented, turning the oven light on and peering inside. It was already rising.
"I can't wait. Your bread is so much better than the store stuff," he replied. She smiled, but didn't get to say anything before he spoke again, "So, did you realize what day it is today?"
"Thursday?"
"Thursday, March 11, yes," Gilbert replied. "Have you thought about March 11 last year?"
"Oh my goodness, we've been living together for a year?!" she replied as everything fell in place in her mind.
"We have, Carrots," he replied.
"Oh my god. I can't… believe it's only been a year. It feels…"
"Much longer, I know. Same for me. Especially considering the first couple of months of said year you wouldn't even talk to me."
"Ugh, if I could only take it back…"
"I don't mind anymore. Helps me put everything into perspective, and without… everything that happened at first we wouldn't be where we are now," he said. "Plus, it might make an interesting story to tell one day," he added. Anne huffed.
"Tell to whom? Our friends? They suffered through it."
"Our kids, perhaps. In a few years," he proposed. "Or write a book."
"You're ridiculous, Gilbert Blythe. I'm not about to write our story for everyone to read. It's ours," she replied, making Gilbert laugh. They stayed in silence for a moment. "A whole year… Wow. I just can't… How did you remember it was today?"
"It's Fred's first day back," he replied, as if that made all the sense.
"Wait, wasn't that…. Oh, today's Thursday," she mumbled, suddenly realizing.
"Yes. And he very proudly came to my office to let me know it was today, and that he just remembered some weird reminder he set up at the time. It's Fred, he's… I don't know," Gilbert said, like he couldn't really understand his friend. Anne, laughing, wondered the same. "He's just Fred. Did I ever tell you he made me call you?"
"I think you did," she chuckled. "I was so mad when I saw your call."
"Well, there you have. And so he came to my office to let me know that thanks to him we're together and having a kid, as if it was that simple," Gilbert said, making Anne laugh again.
"He does deserve some credit in helping us figure out our issues. And then he put up with you in drama mode for years on end, Gil," she said.
"That much is true. Anyway, that was my call, I have someone coming in. Happy one year of living together," he chuckled. "I love where we are now, especially looking back. Can't wait to spend the next year with you," he said, his voice full with fondness.
"I love you, Gil," she whispered, smiling softly.
"I love you too, Anne-girl. See you tonight," he said, before handing up. She smiled at the phone. One whole year… she almost couldn't believe it. Her thoughts turned back to Ella. Her first day alone. She didn't understand where the week had gone. She looked for her number and called her. She picked up almost immediately.
"I was about to call you. I'm going mad," Ella said, sounding relieved. "Ali is finally asleep and I'm not babbling in newborn," she added, making Anne laugh. "Please tell me how your day is going?"
"Well I have bread in the oven right now, and other than that, just a regular day… Writing some, checking stuff for the website…"
"That sounds amazing. I've been trying to read and I think maybe I managed 10 pages?" Ella said. They continued talking while Anne waited for the bread to finish baking, and then while she prepared some tea. Finally, they hung up after agreeing Ella would come over the following day to spend the day with Alicia. They certainly could use each other's company. And Bear was tagging along as well, which only made the prospect of the day even more attractive to Anne.
Just like that, a new pattern began that had Gilbert and Fred calling them to see where they were every afternoon, and they had dinner together in whichever house both women had chosen to hang out during the day. Anne enjoyed being around Alicia and Bear, Ella loved talking with Anne and they both had enough time to pursue their projects, taking turns as possible with the care for the baby. They weren't even in the same room the whole day, with Anne going to the study to continue with her writing and meetings with Cole and Ella had long naps snuggling with Bear, but they both felt much more content and at ease as the days, and then weeks, passed.
It was in one of those weekday dinners that both decided to talk with their husbands about the idea that had been slowly forming in their minds, and that they had discussed over the past days.
"So, there's something we wanted to talk about with you guys," Anne started. "A proposal of sorts."
"Is that so?" Fred said, smiling as if somehow he had a good idea of where they were headed, resting his chin on his hands. And Anne knew he didn't, because Ella had said she hadn't told him yet, as she wanted to discuss it with Gilbert and him at the same time.
"Quit that cheeky grin from your face, Freddie," Ella said as if on cue.
"Why? It suits me perfectly, love. Don't you think, Blythe?" he asked, laughing. Gilbert just chuckled, rolling his eyes, as if there was an internal joke going on between them. "So, what is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow to Gilbert and then looking at Anne and Ella.
"Well, we've been spending so much time in each others' homes… And really, Gilbert, why did you move out in the first place?" Ella said, interrupting herself as she started explaining, making Fred laugh and then contain himself.
"I told you it would come to this, Blythe," Fred laughed. "Pay up," he added, looking at Gilbert who begrudgingly reached into his pocket.
"Are you both actually proposing we move in together?" Gilbert asked, as if to confirm, ignoring both Fred and their wives confused looks.
"Doesn't it make the most sense?"
"It would be much happier and companionable and… well, better for our overall mental health."
Fred and Gilbert were smiling in utter amusement. Fred extended his hand and Gilbert gave him something.
"And we're already spending so much time in each others' homes… Honestly, we're just going to the other house to sleep, at this point. And Gil, we have so much space in this house, since we got it we had the intention of having guests, and who better than Fred and Ella for this season of life?" Anne continued. "And what do you mean, pay up?" she said as she viewed the exchange.
"You both are smiling," Ella said, narrowing her eyes as she watched both guys full of suspicion, who hadn't yet said a word of their proposal as she and Anne explained their whole reasoning. "You both already talked about this, didn't you? You pair of gossips!" Fred let out an explosive laugh and Gilbert continued smiling.
"We kind of had a bet to see if you were going to last until the weekend," Gilbert explained. "Fred just won, I give way too much credit to your patience."
"Well there's no need for patience when we have such a glorious idea at hand!" Anne exclaimed. "So since you also talked about this, what do you say? I'm sure you already have an idea."
"Anne, I always enjoyed living with Blythe as well as with Ella, and I'm sure your addition to the mix will only improve it," Fred said. "I also think it was the next logical step, considering the circumstances we're all in. I'm all in for it."
"And I have the same idea as you do on found families, Anne-girl," Gilbert said. "You already know that."
"Wait, so why did you leave in the first place, then?" Ella asked, looking at him. Gilbert looked at her, his hand going to his nape. He had never fully explained his whole reasoning to her, how much it hurt to see both her and Fred together, so happy, just when he had just decided that what the two of them shared would never happen to him. Just when he had fully given up. He just had never been able to verbalize everything.
"It… It was just time to go, Ella. I needed some space," Gilbert tried to explain, anyway. She continued to look at him. "You know how much of a mess I was back then, and how invested I was in the residency, and then… I just didn't want to cloud any of your happiness with my general broodiness, and…" he trailed off, not knowing how to put it into words. Ella stretched her hand and Gilbert held it, receiving a comforting squeeze from his friend. "It was just better for all of us, at that point in time. I couldn't handle myself very well, and I didn't want to dampen your dreams and optimism and…"
"You know you'd never do that, Blythe," Fred said quietly, a steady reassurance. The same one he had given him back then. Ella squeezed harder, as Anne witnessed for one of the first times something of Gilbert's that she really had never been a part of. As much as he'd told her about those years, it wasn't the same as witnessing first hand the love and loyalty that ran in between the Wrights and him. Gilbert swallowed, then sighed.
"I honestly… I just needed…," he trailed off again. Even now, just remembering the hopelessness he had felt at the time, the apparent surrender of Fred, who had understood and supported his decision even when he hadn't agreed to it, Ella's incomprehension and pain… It was hard, just thinking back to that time. Not as hard as it had been thinking back to his fight with Anne, no. Nothing compared to that, and that particular time in his life was finally healed. But that didn't mean going to live on his own hadn't been one of the hardest decisions he had made as well. He sighed again. "Anyway. Right now, I also agree with Fred that this is the next logical step, at least for the next few months until we all get our bearings as parents, this pandemic eases up and we're in a better situation to continue."
"Who knows, maybe this time it's for good?" Ella said, looking hopeful to the other adults just as Alicia started to cry in the living room, where they had left her cot.
"I'll go get her, Ella," Gilbert said, standing up, needing some space to put himself together. Plus, he always wanted time with Alicia. "I'm sure I can be filled in on the logistics of this move later," he added, turning back only slightly before heading to the cot.
Picking up the baby, his thoughts went back to something that had been on and off his mind for a couple of months already. He really should consider going back to therapy, if only to sort through everything he had just pushed away the past few years. Maybe it would be a good idea to discuss it with Anne, talking it through with her might give him the clarity he needed to make the decision. He knew she would listen and understand him.
Of course, saying they were going to move in together, even if not permanently (for now, Ella insisted), was easier said than done. The decision of using Anne and Gilbert's home as their primary one was easy. They had, after all, much more space. The Wrights hadn't bought their house thinking about receiving many guests and they had been much more about practicality than amount of space.
The small bassinet Alicia slept on had ample space in the guest room they had already organized, and in the study downstairs, after organizing some, they could fit Ella's old drawing table once Gilbert declared they were not going to surrender the dining table once more and there was more than enough space. It took random trips, sometimes in the middle of the night, but after a couple of weeks everything the Wrights needed was at the Blythes and Bear seemed happier than anyone with the whole arrangement.
While she had grown very close to the Wrights over the past year, Anne didn't know their quirks, tastes and habits like Gilbert did. She looked with interest as to how everything evolved, almost like she had when she had first arrived at Green Gables. How Gilbert started bickering with Ella about who had finished the cereal as Fred rolled his eyes and wrote it down on the groceries list they had on the fridge as obnoxious sugary "breakfast". How Ella woke up early and sat up to have coffee with Gilbert as they resolved the crossword, while Fred came down much later, especially on the weekends. How Gilbert took care of Alicia (and it made Anne's heart melt a little as she imagined him taking care of their baby). How Ella kept track of everything and, after a week, was able to provide a detailed budget of the shared expenses, and both Gilbert and Fred didn't even argue after reading it how Fred could plan without flaw all the meals of the week with their accompanying grocery list, and he was more than glad to involve Anne so they could do all the menus together and share the responsibility of feeding the family.
Because, Anne realized one day, that's what they were. A weird, misshapen family with bits and pieces. Gilbert, who had been forming his own since he was a kid and his dad had received Bash open-armed. Ella, who had grown in a very traditional one only to find she would never fit the mold and expectations they had for her, and who seemed to have completely severed ties the past fall, without telling anyone the cause or context of that fight. Fred, who by all accounts had an amazing relationship with his parents, and even his siblings, but seemed to prefer to make his own family and go by his own rhythm without forgetting or denying his origins. And her, who had only longed to belong somewhere when she was a child, and could now say she did, without the shadow of a doubt. If she could keep adding surnames to her already long, hyphenated Shirley-Cuthbert, she totally would.
It was just perfect.
She was leaning quietly on the doorframe of the nursery, the light low on the sunset, as she watched, unnoticed, as Gilbert changed Alicia's diaper, apparently engrossed in some conversation she didn't quite manage to catch from the distance. It had the baby looking at him with wide eyes, anyway, and trying to reach for one of his curls. His hair was decidedly getting longer again, and he was in dire need of a cut. She smiled softly at the interaction, just seeing him enjoy thoroughly being with a baby.
"You do know he'll be even more loving with your kid, right?" Fred said quietly just behind her, making her jump. She turned to look at him, silent. While she actually believed that, she saw so much devotion in how he looked at Alicia that she wasn't sure. Gilbert continued what he was doing, changing the baby's clothes as they had been soiled in a particularly nasty nappy explosion and cleaning her carefully. They would probably bathe her in a bit anyway, as they had been trying to instill something like a routine during bedtime to try to help her recognize the night. "He won't admit it, but he's been dreaming of a kid of his own for longer than he acknowledges. He just buried everything and made it as if taking care of other kids would be enough."
"What do you mean?" she replied as quietly as Fred had been talking.
"He was this way with Delly when she was born, as well," Fred explained. "We went to visit that summer, they invited us along as well. Blythe was… resigned to be alone, but he tried to compensate for that just by giving everything to that little girl. The time he was sober and not with a horrible hangover during that holiday, anyway. I have never seen him as drunk as he got one day."
"Really?" she couldn't very well picture Gilbert in that state.
"Really, but that's his story to tell. He still claims he doesn't remember a thing," Fred chuckled, clearly remembering something funny about the whole situation. "But I'm deviating. He's… He'll be a great dad, Anne. If you have any worry at all, put your mind at ease. He'll always be there for both of you, especially when it gets hard."
"Thank you, Fred," she whispered. Because she felt what Fred said. And it would get hard, with the pandemic still not letting go, with her anxiety that was more controlled each day but flared up unexpectedly (and probably would even more with the birth of the baby), with her general insecurity… Even if it was getting so much better each day (and taking care of babies was something she was confident in, for once). She knew Gilbert would figure out a way to be there for them, to keep them afloat while she got her bearings, if need be. He was always steady like that. He was finally buttoning up the onesie he had laid off next to the changing table.
"No need," Fred said. "Dinner is ready, by the way, I came up just to tell you both."
"Is it? I was meaning to help you!" Anne said. Where had time gone? Fred chuckled.
"Don't worry about that. It really helped me get my mind off things, I kind of needed the… chopping and stirring," he explained. Anne looked at him. If Gilbert was steady, Fred was a rock, she had never seen him unsettled or stressed about anything other than Ella and her family situation. Yet, she was still getting to know him. "Anyway, it's ready and still hot, so maybe interrupt him if you get a chance, otherwise he will probably start reading her a story or something."
One morning, soon after that, they woke up to find the house and cars covered in snow. At least it was early, Anne thought as she saw Gilbert and Fred dig out her car, which had been under a tree and somehow the least buried down. She prepared breakfast with Ella in the meantime, which meant Ella making coffee and she taking charge of the actual food. It was still snowing and when she saw the forecast as the toast was in the oven she grimaced.
"It's not really possible for them to work from home, right?" she asked Ella, even though she already knew the answer.
"I think maybe Fred could do some things… I mean, he just talks to people, as far as I understand. But I don't think Gilbert can. Why?" Ella asked curiously as she saw Fred throw a snowball to Gilbert. "I can't believe this, they're actually starting a snowfight."
"Are they?" Anne asked, joining Ella at the window, not able to suppress her smile. Bear, paws on the counter, whimpered as he moved his tail. "Well, it is very early for them to go to work."
"And the roads will be terrible, I don't even know how they'll get to the main gate from here," Ella said, sighing, scratching the dog behind his ears. "You're not going out, boy. I won't have you all muddy like those two. Anyway, why was that about doing home office?"
"It's supposed to snow… even more," Anne said, taking her eyes off Gilbert, who was aiming at Fred, and looking back at her phone where she still had the weather forecast. She passed it on to Ella, who frowned. Bear went down and to the door, and barked at them, clearly wanting to go out.
"Quiet boy," Ella told the dog, who sat and moved his tail, thumping loudly on the wooden floor. "Well, I just hope the roads are cleared by the time they're off work. Otherwise… they'll have to figure something out. It can't get that terrible, I suppose. They've never been stuck at the hospital, and if that's the case… At least it's one of the safest places to be?"
"I suppose," Anne agreed, still not completely happy. "I remember we used to get snowed in in Avonlea one or two times a year. School was never cancelled, though. They assumed you had to be prepared and so Gilbert and I would walk through the fields, snow way up. It was fun, in a way," she commented as Fred and Gilbert started their way to the door, shaking snow off their clothes. They opened the back door to the mudroom and took off their shoes. Bear stood up, his tail wiggling from side to side and went to where they were, greeting them happily. They were about to enter the kitchen when Ella stopped them.
"Oh no no," Ella said. "You both take your clothes off right there, we won't have a puddle here. And don't protest," she added as Gilbert was about to say something, as she walked to the stairs. "I'll be right back." Both guys stood there, confused, and Anne looked at them, smiling. "Bear, come with me," she added, not looking back, and the big dog ran after her. He always did whatever Ella told him.
"I think you better take the wet things off, honestly. Just let them in the mudroom with your shoes and I'll take care of that later," Anne said. Gilbert sighed and went back, followed by Fred, and they dutifully took off their pants (that were already starting to drip with the melting snow) and socks. They had already left their coats before. Ella arrived not a minute later and gave each a pair of pants and socks.
"I'm sorry, we just moped yesterday and I won't have you boys undoing our hard work," she explained, making Fred laugh. "And it's not like you can go see patients with muddy trousers."
"Thank you, love," he said, giving her a kiss. "It smells good, Anne."
"It's almost ready. I think you better eat and get going, Ella's right. The roads are probably a fright right now with the snow and all."
"It's still falling," Gilbert commented, walking to where she was and giving her a kiss on the nape. His lips were still cold.
"It will be like this all day, in the best case scenario. Just… Keep an eye? I just have the feeling it won't let up and the last thing I want is both of you stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere."
"We will, Anne-girl," Gilbert reassured her.
"There's been a snowfall warning since midnight," she explained as she served the tofu scramble she had prepared. It was her first winter in Ontario, and while she knew it wasn't like they were really up north, the past few years she had been in the much milder Vancouver.
"We'll keep an eye on that before coming back," Fred said, setting up the table. They ate breakfast quicker than they used to and were on their way soon after. Ella went to take care of Alicia as Anne sat down to edit the story she had been working on, making sure the illustrations Cole had made so far were in line with the story. They had a quiet day, the snowy landscape and the calm of the snowfall a constant through the day. When her phone buzzed in the early afternoon, signaling a blizzard alert, Anne wasn't even surprised and sighed in resignation. It would probably be a long night. She just hoped the guys were able to come back safely, or they could stay in the hospital for as long as they needed. As long as they didn't get stuck on the roads, she was happy.