Chapter 30

Glen St. Mary, Prince Edward Island

"Penny for your thoughts, Anne-girl?"

"Gilbert, I wondered for years how Agamemnon could sacrifice Iphigenia to make the wind blow. Then we came out here to Four Winds – and I finally understood why he did what he did!"

Gilbert said, "That's a rather cold thing for you to say, Anne." Gilbert smiled.

"Oh, don't tease, Gilbert! It's just - I watched the ships that got stuck in port when the wind wasn't good. I thought about all those ships becalmed in Aulis. About the sailors running low on food and fighting with one another. If I were Agamemnon, I too would be desperate to placate Artemis."

Walter said, "Would you really sacrifice your child to win a war, Mother?"

"Oh, goodness, Walter!" Anne said to her second son. "Where did you come from? Walter, my dear, a great many battles were lost and won over the weather. Entire navies have been lost due to the wind not being right. Never mind. Run along and join the others."

Anne and Gilbert had a rare free day out with their family. They strolled along the Glen St. Mary pedestrian walk that overlooked Four Winds Harbour

"Did you really never think about this before you came to Four Winds, Anne?"

"Honestly, I didn't, Gil. When I came to Green Gables, I thought barely anything at all about sailing, Gilbert. I was so stuck in my daydreams. I thought about the Haunted Woods and the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Water. But I hardly ever thought about the sea."

Gilbert said, "Not even when the Marco Polo ran aground?"

Anne said, "Well, I certainly thought about the sea that day. But usually, no. I never thought about where the crops went after the harvest."

Anne continued. "Then we came here. When you're out on calls, I watch the ships and wonder if they carry Avonlea potatoes. And where do these potatoes go? Cuba? Puerto Rico? Sometimes I map out in my head a sail to Boston or New York."

Gilbert said, "So my wife thinks about international commerce when I am with patients."

Anne said, "Sometimes I think about international commerce. Sometimes I think about how lucky we are that we can stay on the island, Gilbert. So many of our old friends left."

Gilbert said, "Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake in keeping you on the island, Anne. If we lived in Toronto, for instance, I could take you shopping in Old Town. I could take you to the theater. Toronto has one of the most famous theater districts in the world, and you've never been there. I'm sure that Owen Ford takes Leslie to the theater quite a bit. Oh, well. Maybe one of our chicks will leave the island for Toronto, Anne."

Anne said, "I'm Island, through and through. But speaking for the Fords, Gilbert, that reminds me. Leslie recently wrote me about the most unique surprise that she gifted Owen."

Gilbert said, "Oh, really? And tell me, dear wife, what is this fantastic surprise that Leslie found for the great Owen Ford?"

Anne said, "Leslie belongs to a book club with the wife of the owner of the American Hotel. This is the hotel where Charles Dickens stayed when he visited Toronto. Leslie booked a night in the room where Charles Dickens slept and wrote part of The Christmas Carol!"

Gilbert smirked.

"What does that look mean, Gilbert?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Don't say nothing to me, Gilbert. You look like the cat who ate the canary. Why do you have that look on your face?"

"Anne, really, nothing. Please. Trust me. If I say anything more, I'll get myself into hot water."

Anne said, "Have it your way, Gilbert. I thought that you'd be excited about this as I am."

Gilbert changed the subject.

"Did I ever tell you, Anne-girl, that my Blythe grandparents went to see Mr. Dickens speak when he came to Halifax?"

"No! Really? I never heard that story, Gilbert. How did they manage that? I thought that they were poor."

"Anne, they were poor. They still loved to read. Grandmother Blythe adored The Pickwick Papers. My grandfather scrimped and surprised my grandmother with tickets to one of the lectures. They stayed with family in Halifax. My grandmother saved the ticket stubs. I believe that Aunt Mary Maria has them now."

Anne said, "They must be where my Gilbert gets his love of books."

Gilbert said, "My mother's family read a lot, too, Anne. So, I'm blessed with brains from both sides."

Anne said, "I remember that Leslie told me once that she herself could never get into Mr. Dickens because her father had a grudge against the man. Mr. Dickens put his foot in his mouth and said that Halifax was too small for his liking or something to that effect."

Gilbert said, "Leslie charms me with her loyalty to the Maritimes."

Anne said, "Oh, Gilbert, I'm so happy that we could take the time for this outing today! I'm afraid that I have been so irritable lately. It's all over this stupid book, Gilbert. I'm sorry for snapping at you so much."

Gilbert said, "It's not a stupid book. Well, the part that you wrote isn't stupid, Anne. The part that Owen Ford wrote is stupid."

Anne ignored the jab at Owen.

"Writing makes writers do stupid things to other writers, Gil. Back at Redmond, our paper printed an op-ed by a girl named Agnes about how she cut her hair and sold it to buy medicine for her father and kept him from dying. Claire Hallett wrote a short story mocking an incident that sounded awfully familiar to Agnes' story. Claire's story got published in the literary journal. Claire said that her story was satire. There was a big outrage about this in the English department."

Anne said, "The trouble, Gilbert, is that there's only so much cake in the world. And everyone wants the cake. They fight with each other about who has cake and who got cheated out of cake."

Gilbert said, "Did Mr. Ford teach you about cake fights, Anne?"

Anne said, "Mr. Ford did explain the cake language to me, Gilbert. But I always knew about the cake, Gilbert. I've been fighting for cake my whole life. I just didn't know enough to call it cake."

Gilbert said, "Anne-girl, I know you, and you're not the type of person who will lose herself fighting over cake."

Anne said, "Maybe I already have, Gilbert. Oh, I'm not sure of anything anymore. But I'll say no more about cake. Let's enjoy this special day out together."

Anne grabbed Gilbert's hand and continued walking.

Anne and Gilbert savored their day out with their family. They returned to Ingleside. The children, their lungs full of fresh sea air and their legs spent from walking, fell asleep early.

Anne and Gilbert tucked their children into bed and retired early themselves. They made love.

Against all odds, the telephone did not disturb them. The phone did not ring all night, not even once.

The phone did ring in the morning. It was Leslie. She wanted them to know before they saw it in the newspapers that Floyd Collins was injured in a cave collapse down south. She wanted them to know that Owen had been in Kentucky with Floyd when it happened.