And now, a quick note from DrinkThemIn:
We're in Prague now! It's one of my favourite cities although I do tend to forget so. Writing this chapter was so enjoyable and I hope you feel the same reading it.
It was late Sunday evening when Gilbert and Anne wearily arranged a cab from Prague's Franz Josef Station. Not knowing the exact word to use in a local language, a spent Gilbert uttered to the driver what he thought might be understood best - 'gasthouse.' For some time the Blythes were driven through the darkness and were then delivered to the front door of an unremarkable building. A tall, wiry thin woman answered the knock and gestured for the travelers to step into the entryway. Accordingly, Gilbert solicited her for a room for three nights. The woman nodded briskly and called over her shoulder. At once a man poked his head out from another room and slipped past the Blythes, out of the door to collect the luggage. When he returned the foursome trod up the wooden stairs, down a narrow hallway and turned into a cozy room. Its few furnishings stole most of the rooms space; only tight pathways were available for walking and moving. At the sight of the bed a wave of relief washed over the newcomers faces - and it was evident to their hosts. The couple backed out of the room and Anne and Gilbert were left in solitude.
"That was certainly...odd. We haven't agreed to a price, have we?" Gilbert questioned.
"Not that I gathered," Anne breathed and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
"I suppose I'll go down to work that out," Gilbert said with a sigh that matched hers. "Don't wait up for me."
When Gilbert returned from his task he found their belongings organized in the compact space - with his shaving kit noticeably absent from the washstand. Anne had already changed and turned in; eyes buttoned in sleep. He disrobed in the fastest speed that his stiff body would allow and finally, with an enormous exhausted yawn, Gilbert's head touched the pillow. A moment later he joined Anne in dreamland.
After a quick breakfast, the Blythes were out amongst the Bohemians with their now menial errands - koruna, tourism pamphlets, and becoming acquainted with the overall lay of the land. The initial impression was one of a unique charm or mystery that they had yet to see before. Both found themselves quite mesmerized by it all.
In the early afternoon they joined a walking tour during which they watched the Astronomical Clock's hourly performance of the four evils and twelve apostles in the Old Town Square. The live trill of the trumpet concluded the show and as the crowd dispersed, their guide took the time to explain the story behind the centuries-old clock tower. Next they continued on-foot under the Old Town Bridge Tower. Together they stepped onto the pedestrian path of the famous Charles Bridge, which stretched across the Vltava River and thereby joined Old Town and the looming Prague Castle. The group meandered the sidewalk as they regarded the various menacing Baroque statues that dominated the expanse of the bridge. Eventually they met another two bridge towers and continued their climb towards the castle.
When they reached the epitome at the top of the hill, the guide allowed thirty minutes to leisurely explore the castle grounds. A huffing Anne took a moments rest on a bench. Gilbert had excused himself under the guise of needing a toilet. Anne's spot afforded spectacular views of the red-roofed buildings, spires and domes, and off in the distance the prismatic Town Hall Tower stood as a beacon along the skyline. She drank in her surroundings, memorizing her view to recall for years to come.
Both seemingly recovered, Anne and Gilbert joined the party for a guided tour and history lesson of the expansive castle.
The tour adjourned by four o'clock, in time for a short break back at the guesthouse. Anne and Gilbert wandered in the direction of their neighbourhood. Gilbert stopped off at the post office - sending a quick message back home - while Anne perused the vendor booths across the street.
"Have you noticed that only our area has these adornments at the doors?" Anne asked Gilbert once they had come back to each other. She gestured to the rows of homes with various cases affixed to the right-side of the doorstops.
The couple stepped off the walkway and crossed to the other side of the road. A zone of barricades and construction stopped them from from any forward progress - a church of some sort was being built. The labourers were busy cleaning up the site in readiness to be done for the day. Together Anne and Gilbert lightly pondered their questions.
When they walked through the front door they were first greeted by the aroma of meal preparation and then by the cook herself. She explained, as best as she could, that she was preparing the meal for their celebration that very night. Anne and Gilbert politely smiled and wished them a good evening - they were hoping to turn in early. It was the night before Anne's birthday and so washing and soaking tired feet were the only plans on their minds.
Once again in the privacy of their room, while Anne freshened up and changed for their dinner, Gilbert relaxed on the bed.
"Is there anything you'd especially like for your day, Anne?" he asked.
Anne peered at him in thought. She took in the stubble that persisted to grow on his face.
It wasn't horrible at this current length. His beard was coming in quite full - with no patchiness - and surprising strands of silver grew intermittently throughout. She'd decided that he'd actually look distinguished, if only he didn't let it grow wild and unkempt. The coarse hair trailed down his jaw, then his throat, nearly reaching his quite kissable Adam's apple. What she would do to return back and contend with only a well-groomed moustache. For someone so concerned about looking to be a respectable physician this was such a contradiction. Yet, she chose to drop her arguments - the love for him too strong to continue another potentially lengthy grudge. For the most part she had kept her vow to withhold affection. Just once, when Gilbert was behaving in a particularly Gilberty fashion, she had instinctively leant in to kiss him. That kiss ended abruptly with the scratchiness of his upper lip against her soft one. At Gilbert's look of disappointment she only cocked an eyebrow at him and shrugged. That was the price he'd pay for his stubborn laziness.
In return to his question, she softly answered, "Give me a beautiful day and a gorgeous night."
Gilbert laughed at her. "Such an Anne thing to say." He sighed then. "Very well, darling. I'll leave the events unknown to you, then. Prepare yourself," he teased with a wink.
When both were sufficiently refreshed they slipped out and made their way back to the square for dinner. They returned to a house full of boisterous laughter. The Blythes quickly stopped by the sitting room for a brief greeting. The women were busy placing a spread of delicious-looking food on the many tables in the room - and all were eyeing it up ravenously.
Each bathed independently that night. Gilbert had insinuated that another shared bath would be to his liking yet Anne saucily tossed her head and assisted him out of the wash room. That night they sunk deep into the bed with the sound of merrymaking lulling them into sleep.
Just as the sun began to rise on Anne's 40th birthday, Gilbert silently woke to prepare for her morning. First he made his way over to his black bag for the pearl gifts, placing them on his pillow with the hope that it would be within immediate sight when she woke. He then procured his shaving kit and, with a quick boyish look to his sleeping beauty, he began to lather cream onto his face.
It was after eight that morning when the pangs of hunger finally did cause Anne to rouse from her sleep. Gilbert had plopped himself onto the bed and was deep into a book - the presentation of the gifts had been rearranged to make room for his broad shoulders. Instead, he placed them at the crux of his lap. So, the first thing that Anne Blythe saw that morning was the familiar profile of one freshly shaved Gilbert Blythe.
Anne reached out her hand to stroke his jaw. Upon the gentle impact, Gilbert jolted back to awareness, swivelling his body towards her with a lopsided grin.
"Good morning and happy birthday, sweetheart!"
"And a happy birthday it is, dearest," she remarked cheerfully as she lifted herself to a sitting position, eyes still on his chin.
"Ah, yes. I concede, Anne-girl. It was becoming itchy - but more than that, if my wife wants nothing to do with me then I'd best be rid of it."
"How sensible of you, Gilbert," she teased and leaned in for a kiss. The commotion caused the gift to roll off of Gilbert's lap and into the space between them.
He broke off the kiss and collected the items. "Oh, I wanted to give you this first thing, Anne-girl."
She took the offered gift from him and began to open them.
"These are wonderful, really," a suddenly tearful Anne murmured. Then she laughed through her tears, "they'll go splendidly with Jem's pearls."
Anne's newest pearl possessions were artfully arranged upon her and Gilbert, in Anne's opinion, was looking considerably handsome in one of his newer suits. The Blythes had descended the stairs to a mostly abandoned house. In the dining room they found an older couple enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Anne and Gilbert greeted them cheerfully as they moved to the buffet table on the side of the room. They were pleased to discover a thick German accent responded back to them in English.
"The Brady's appear to be quite busy. We've hardly had a chance to meet them," Anne commented, referring to their hosts, as she raised the lid to the cozied teapot. She found the pot nearly empty and lifted it into her hands. Gilbert stood behind her filling his plate.
"Indeed they have. It is a busy couple of days for them. They've managed quite well, considering," the woman replied.
Anne gave them a quizzical look. "Of what are we considering?"
The man seated at the table chuckled. "It's Purim. I suppose that you do not know much of the Jewish faith?"
"No, I cannot say that we do," Anne said as she passed through an archway into the kitchen. Moments later she returned with a freshened pot, setting it onto the table where her husband had since pulled up a chair.
"Purim is a celebration for Jews. With all the preparation and back and forth to the synagogue, I am not surprised that you haven't met them properly," the woman explained. "We are not Jewish but each time we are in Praha we stay with them. They have become quite good friends of ours."
Anne nodded and brought her own breakfast to the table. "Oh yes, Gilbert - my husband here, and I supposed it might have been religious. That, or a Czech family tradition," Anne responded.
She and Gilbert shared a smile before receiving a brief overview of the two-day celebration; the fasting, feasting, and the reading of the Megillah. Once breakfast was complete and their dishes had been cleared they went back up to their room to ready themselves for the outdoors. With an umbrella tucked under Anne's arm, they met the mornings warm sunshine.
"What have you arranged for us first, darling?" Anne asked as she slipped her free arm in his.
"I kept most of the morning free, Carrots. I wasn't sure if you'd prefer an indolent morning. We're not needed until eleven-thirty so the choice is yours," Gilbert offered.
"Perhaps some shopping? I spotted a few stores yesterday that I wouldn't mind visiting again."
A brisk fifteen minute walk brought them back to Old Town Square and the mecca of shops. Together they haphazardly perused the items at the first store. Suddenly alert, Anne beelined towards the back wall where row upon row of marionettes were hung and pleading to be purchased.
"These would be wonderful for the children!"
Gilbert took several large steps to catch up with her outburst. He reached out a hand to tug on a jesters string. The marionette's arm jumped under his touch.
"Well, atleast Shirley and Rilla would get a kick out of them. They're young enough to still enjoy them, I'd guess," Gilbert said with a chuckle.
"Oh, I think we'd be able to entice them all," Anne replied lightly.
Gilbert's face lit up with the spark of an idea. "I could build them a puppet stage."
An involuntary snort escaped a disbelieving Anne. Gilbert studied her for the briefest moment and explained, "I am a farm boy from Avonlea, Anne-girl. I can build things."
"Oh, I'm not supposing that you can't, dearest. I just am not sure of where all this free time is coming from, Doctor. You'll be up building at three o'clock in the morning after a delivery?"
Flashbacks of exhaustion and the feeling of being stretched thin came to mind.
"I'll find the time, sweetheart," he said with renound Blythe determination.
Anne smiled softly at him. She shut down her scepticism - this was her Gilbert. She knew he would find the time eventually although it may take awhile longer than the other farm boys to hail from Avonlea. So, Anne and Gilbert selected six puppets to send home for their children; a king and his queen, a jester, a servant, and two loyal subjects. By the time their purchases were bought and packaged, Anne had already detailed a plot for the first production and could hardly wait to direct her young performers. A pang of familiar motherly homesickness hit her. Not for the first time, she blinked back tears and plastered a smile onto her face. On to the next shop.
For the next while they hopped from store to store but found only the same items for sale - some were higher priced than others. Anne blew out a sigh of disappointment after the sixth shop. There wasn't all together much more that she desired or needed. She and Gilbert passed over several merchants; ignoring their calls to spend money. Finally they came across an interesting store. In the window several cut-glass and crystal pieces were displayed simply, much like the factory at Delft. With a spark in her eye, Anne crossed over the doors threshold with Gilbert close behind.
"You know, Gilbert, Mrs. Lynde wrote me in September. She was sure to remind me that crystal is the traditional token for a fifteenth wedding anniversary," Anne informed her husband.
"Is that so?" Gilbert could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
He began to quickly calculate the amount of korun in his billfold. Six marionettes and a piece of crystal all before eleven in the morning. It was indeed going to be an expensive day. Fortunately he was wise enough to anticipate such and carried more today than he would under usual circumstances.
"According to Mrs. Rachel, darling, and she would know. Wouldn't some crystal from Bohemia be an exquisite souvenir, especially to commemorate these fifteen years of you having a most marvellous wife," Anne quipped. She was cheerful today.
Gilbert grinned at her. "I cannot argue you on that."
"Oh, but we already have the tulip vase," Anne reasoned with herself. "I suppose it doesn't have to be grandiose, does it?"
"Anne-girl, it's your birthday and Ingleside will forever need more vases." This was said with a nudge to her shoulder. "I think I even spotted flowers in a pitcher last summer."
Anne laughed at the same memory. "Yes, I found my blue vase shattered next to the window. Alas, none of your children wanted to confess. I strongly suspect it was the twins."
"Difficult to say."
"No, Gil," Anne returned back to the matter at hand. "We've already exchanged our gifts. Perhaps one of these candy dishes?"
Anne and Gilbert stood, huddled in a cluster, on a cobbled landing along the bank of the river. It was eleven thirty and the pair had just returned from delivering their items to their room. Their wait wasn't long and soon enough a narrow riverboat pulled up to the landing. The passengers began to climb aboard the vessel, none so flummoxed as Mrs. Blythe. Now Anne was quizzing Gilbert about this upcoming adventure.
"I thought that we hadn't seen enough of the city. Our guide yesterday suggested a luncheon on the river," Gilbert explained. They also had now boarded and were seated at a small two-person table next to a large window.
The lovebirds conversed back and forth, sipping delightful spoonfuls of garlic soup while admiring the pops of turquoise domes, red roofs, jutting spires, and low bridges. They had been on the river for two hours when they were offloaded back onto the landing.
"Let's head back to the guesthouse now, Anne-girl," Gilbert insisted.
"But - we were just there. Gilbert, it's such a long walk-"
"We'll hire a buggy then. There should be a surprise waiting for you."
Intrigued, Anne resolved to follow along with the revelations of the day. The twenty minute trip to the house brought them to the parlour where the Brady's were hosting their company. Mrs. Brady bounced up immediately when she spotted Gilbert and moved to the bureau in the room. She fetched two small envelopes from the drawer, handing them to him with a wide smile.
"We should go up to the room for this," Gilbert murmured to Anne. Her eyes were glued to the envelopes in his hand. She knew very well what that they were telegrams.
On the bed, Anne curled herself between Gilberts legs and impatiently tore into the first envelope.
03/21/1905
WISHING YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER STOP WE ARE ALL WELL STOP WE MISS YOU AND DAD STOP MANY LETTERS SENT AND RECEIVED STOP ENJOY YOUR TRIP STOP
WITH LOVE FROM YOUR CHILDREN AND MARILLA
Anne's eyes were brimming with sweet tears at the short message; the first interaction they'd had from Green Gables in over one month. She hugged the small card into her breast. From behind her Gilbert's voice, thick with emotion, urged her to read the second.
03/21/1905
TO MOTHER STOP HAPPY BIRTHDAY STOP THANK YOU FOR GIFTS STOP SAY HELLO TO FATHER STOP
LOVE SHIRLEY AND SUSAN
Anne giggled and twisted her head to look at Gilbert, who had read the messages from over her shoulder. "Hello, Father." She craned her neck further, managing to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth.
"He didn't say to do that," Gilbert laughed.
"No, that was my own message," she replied. "This was the best gift of all. Thank you, Gilbert."
She maneuvered legs and skirts until she was kneeling towards him, able to give his mouth her full attention. She slowly sunk into his chest before releasing a girlish shriek when Gilbert suddenly flipped her onto the mattress to, launching into his own charge.
Some time later, could it have been one hour or two, the perennially besotted couple awoke from a restorative nap. Adhering to Gilbert's stealthy instructions, Anne dressed in her best evening gown - a dual-toned blue skirt with glints of gold throughout its bodice. Her eye-catching hair, which had been extensively mussed that afternoon, was rearranged and coiled into an elegant pile. A delicate pair of gloves completed her ensemble. She was then escorted by her equally striking husband to an automobile.
"And what now, Gilbert?"
"Dinner and a show," he responded simply as he assisted her into the vehicle. When she had been seated safely Gilbert approached the driver with simple directions to 'U Malířů.'
Dusk was encroaching along the horizon and the glaring orange orb in the sky had nearly completed its journey to the other side the of the earth. They rode together in comfortable silence; Anne savouring the cool evening wind and Gilbert working through his own astonishment of their lives journey. The car approached the restaurant and within moments they were ensconced in the welcome heat of a hearth fire and candlelight. Anne and Gilbert were shown to an intimate corner of the room and seated. Both were drinking in the surroundings. The dining room was small and relatively dark - but the ceiling was made up of magnificent domes which caught any light in a most alluring way. Various styles of paintings lined the walls and across the room a small group of musicians were congregated next to the fireplace.
"I was told that this place was a bit of a hidden gem," Gilbert said with a low tone, "I can see why. Apparently it is known as an artists grotto, of sorts."
The Blythes were served traditional fare and sampled Moravian wines with the jovial sounds of musical experimentation keeping the ambiance. Upon completion of the meal Gilbert loaded his wife into another vehicle, crossing the river and delivering her to the grand entrance of the Prague National Theatre.
Amongst all of the luxurious red and gold velvet, they found their seats. Somehow Gilbert hand managed to guarantee themselves an excellent view from the first balcony. The curtain was lifted and they sat back to enjoy a submersive performance of "Lady from the Sea," which is a tale of the daughter of a lighthouse keeper; married to a Doctor but faced with the choice of leaving with her recently returned first love, a sailor. When the curtain was drawn and the final bows had been taken, a teary-eyed Anne hugged into Gilbert's arm. She too would always choose her Doctor.
The next morning, much like the tale of Cinderella, Anne mused, she awoke to pack and prepare for the evening journey to Vienna. Gilbert had stepped out on his own to arrange for the rail passage and other stagnant errands. Anne hauled her hefty collection of laundry down to the main floor of the house and, side by side, she and Mrs. Brady attended to the laundry. By mid-morning the clothing was hung to dry and Gilbert had come to collect his wife.
"Let's go find that park we spotted yesterday, Anne," Gilbert boyishly suggested, referring to the Vyšehrad fortress which they had discovered along the riverbank.
Within the hour he and Anne were sneakily exploring the walled-in medieval fortress and look-out tower. The adjacent park is where Gilbert led Anne to perform the now sacred act of defacing the trunk of a tree. The tree, now forever changed, was located nearby a peculiar formation of three stone columns. Little did they know that the spot was known to locals as Certuv sloup, or Devil's Column, and that they were said to be formed when the devil angrily threw them down after losing a bet with a priest. To Anne and Gilbert, the strange rocks would be remembered as the location for a sunny afternoon tryst in Prague.
A few very important notes to finish the chapter:
- I've seen a few listed dates of birth for Anne. In my mind, her day was always March 21st.
- Thank you to Rebeccathehistorian for assisting me with Purim. I had this idea to have Anne & Gil stay in the Jewish Quarter, unbeknownst to them, and she was awfully supportive. She also checked the dates and indeed, it would have been Purim while they were visiting. The Brady's were a small nod to Hana Brady from Prague, whom unfortunately lost her life during the Holocaust as we know from 'Hana's Suitcase.'
- The facial hair. There are certain writers and readers that have very strong opinions, and then there's myself who does enjoy getting a rise out of them.
- Marionettes and Bohemian crystal can be credited to MrsVonTrapp.
And lastly, thank you to all readers and reviewers. I appreciate you more than you'll know!