Morning's long, warm fingers touched Una's angelic face, gently arousing her from her deep, fitful slumber. She heard the murmuring of voices downstairs and remembered where she was and what she had seen. She looked over to the corner next to the bed and saw evidence that someone, probably Faith, had spent the night watching over her. She lingered in bed a while, thinking wonderful thoughts about being back in the Glen, prolonging the inevitable inquisition she knew she would face.
When she finally got up and around, albeit slowly because her head was still throbbing profusely, she found what seemed like the entire Blythe/ Meredith/ Ford clan sitting in the dining room, enjoying a late breakfast together. Only when she got a closer look did she realize that it was only Faith's brood, Rilla's family, Carl, her parents, Jerry's family, Dr. and Mrs. Blythe, and of course, Walter and his children. Noticeably missing were Diana and Shirley. "Of course, Shirley wouldn't be there," she thought. The presence of such a crowd made her feel shy and incredibly self-conscious.
Her father's warm gaze met her eyes, and she felt a bit more content; even more so after Carl stood up and offered her a seat next to him. She graciously took it and then again felt the trepidation of having all eyes on her.
As if sensing Una's nervousness Rilla was the first to speak. "Welcome home, Una," she said with a pleasant smile on her face.
Mr. Meredith concurred with Rilla's sentiment. "Yes Daughter, welcome home. You've been sorely missed."
"Thank you," she quietly answered, looking down at her hands on her lap.
It seemed as if the boisterous clan had lost the ability to speak for a while. Everyone focused a great amount of attention on the food setting before them, until Tenny walked over to Una. The little boy padded his way across from the table where the children were feasting and gently tugged on Una's sleeve. "I'm very glad to see that you're head is better today. Walt, Gil, and I were out in Rainbow Valley catching worms for fishing before breakfast, and I saw these and thought they might make you feel better too," he sweetly told her, holding a bunch of mayflowers up to her face.
Una sat there in stony silence, staring with awe at the little boy. How much he resembled Walter! From his slick, black hair and grey eyes, to the smooth smile across his face, Tenny Blythe was his father all over again!
Realizing that Una hadn't been properly introduced to Walter's children; or any of the children for that matter, Anne stood up and said, "Una, this is Walter's son, Albert Tennyson. We call him Tenny," proudly showing off her considerate grandson.
"Tenny," Una whispered and smiled. "Thank you very much Tenny. It's nice to meet you."
Somewhat embarrassed, the shy boy said, "You're welcome. You have pretty blue eyes."
Anne walked over to the children's table and began introducing them one by one. "I've just realized that it's been so long since you've seen the children that you may not recognize them or they may not have been born when you left. This little harum-scarum, you may have guessed, is your nephew Walt," she said, tussling his ruddy hair. She laid her hand on the brown head sitting next to Walt. "This young man here is Gilbert James Ford; we just call him Gil or Gilly though." "I seem to think you met this young lady the other evening," she said laying a hand on Hope's red curls. "She is Tenny's twin sister, Abigail Hope, and as you know she's our Hope." She moved on to Little Anne. "This here is the third generation Anne of our family, Anne Gertrude Ford. We haven't seemed to find a nickname for her yet, and as you can see, she didn't escape the red hair as Nan did" She moved to a smaller boy with glossy black hair and eyes as blue as his newly returned aunt's. "This is John Knox Blythe. He too has eluded a nickname. Of course, their lives are still young. Last at this table is Cecilia Rose Meredith, whom we are very glad to have here from Avonlea this morning," she finished as she ran her hand along Cecilia's shiny, nutmeg hair.
"Grandmother?" Cecilia interrupted.
"Yes Dear?"
"Don't forget about Teddy and Barry. They aren't here, but they are family and they are so sweet and cuddly."
"Oh Cecilia, I couldn't ever forget about any of my grandchildren, not even the babies. I was just telling Una about all of you sitting in the dining room."
"Oh, I just wanted to make sure because we all live down in Avonlea and don't get to see you as often as the rest."
"I will always remember all my precious babies, Cecilia. Even the one with the shiny brown hair tied in pretty pink ribbons," she assured her with a warm hug and kiss.
Una was feeling a little overwhelmed but wanted to catch up and keep the conversation away from her as long as possible. Anne sat back down beside Gilbert as Una asked, "Are Teddy and Barry your babies?" she asked looking to Nan and Jerry.
"No." Nan answered rather sharply. Una had inadvertently hit a sore spot to Nan's pride that no one else ever mentioned. She loved her daughter greatly and both she and Jerry loved having large families and wanted one of their own. "No. Cecilia is our only child. Teddy and Barry are Di's twins that were born in November." she answered again a little softer.
Jerry put his arm around his wife and answered, "We've wanted a houseful of children, but for some reason, we've only been given Cec."
A soft cry was heard upstairs and Faith said, "Speaking of babies, I'll be right back." She returned quickly holding her own little bundle until Jem quickly took her away for himself. "This, Aunt Una, is your niece, Charity Elaine. You can hold her if you want, for a while, that is. She likes being held in Daddy's arms the best," he told her beaming from ear to ear. Already she had the strapping young doctor wrapped around her little sweet fingers.
"That's what you tell yourself, at least," Faith teased as Jem handed the baby to Una.
Una looked down at her little niece and wondered what all she had missed while she was away. Also, a little, tiny hope started to form in her own heart. Perhaps, just maybe, in a couple of years, she would be able to hold her own sweet bundle of joy. Everyone, even Walter had been given the joy of parenthood, it seemed, and she wanted to experience that herself. That possibility alone kept her determined to keep the promise she had made before leaving Calcutta.
Ken and Rilla looked each other and smiled. "We have some news ourselves," Ken announced after clearing his throat.
Walter smiled at Rilla, already knowing the good news as Ken continued, "Come January, there'll be another baby to hold, we're expecting again."
Gilbert hopped up and kissed his youngest daughter, "That's wonderful news!"
Rosemary looked to Una holding little Charity, thankful that their girl had come home at last. "It seems that we have a great many things to be thankful for this morning."
Mr. Meredith looked to his wife in agreement. "Yes, we certainly do. We missed the blessing over the food this morning, so I hope no one objects, but I cannot help but feel the need to thank Him who is responsible for our many blessings." Everyone nodded. Walt didn't even complain, he enjoyed hearing his grandfather Meredith pray.
"Our Heavenly Father, thank you for this beautiful summer morning with which you have blessed us. Thank you for the bountiful feast that Mrs. Blythe and Faith have prepared for us. Thank you for the safe return of family members. Thank you for the many blessings of little feet, and for those that are soon to come. I pray that we are not separated again. In your holy name I pray, Amen."
"Amen," repeated everyone.
Una relaxed a great deal. No one seemed to ask her many questions, only a few about life in India. No one seemed to wonder what she was doing home or if she was to stay. They just believed that she was home to stay. For now, she was okay with that. For now, she wasn't ready to share her news with everyone. She had a good month before she would have to share her news and plans for the future. There would be many questions then for sure. It was good to adjust to life again in the Glen with all the new additions. It was good to just be the old Una that everyone was used to. It was good to be home, for a little while at least.