Epilogue

"Mom! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" cried Jem Blythe.

"The game's going to start soon!" added his brother Walter.

"I wanna see the Leafs!" pouted Shirley.

"I need to pee!" blurted Dominic.

"Okay. Okay. Hold your horses," Anne said calmly.

Life couldn't get any better for Gilbert and Anne. Wedded bliss was still evident for the couple, and although they technically weren't newlyweds anymore, they could fool anyone into believing that they were. Anne had made Gilbert the happiest man in the world by not only letting him have her hand in marriage but by blessing him with eight wonderful children: Joy, Jem, Walter, Nan, Di, Shirley, Rilla, and Dominic. Their "House of Dreams" was now a reality. Gilbert could come home late after a hard day of treating patients at the hospital, yet coming home to his wife and his children could cheer him up automatically. There was nothing more that he could ask for.

The Blythe boys had talked their parents into taking a trip to Toronto to see the Toronto Maple Leafs in action after watching a game with their father on television. Hockey was an obsession in the Blythe household, one that no one seemed to mind. The boys were a little more into the game than the girls, but that didn't mean the girls didn't know a thing or two about hockey. After countless hours of begging, pleading, and crying, Anne and Gilbert finally gave in. One of Gilbert's colleagues at work had generously given the Blythes access to his condo while staying in Toronto so that the family wouldn't have to stay in a hotel. As part of a bonus, they toured the Hockey Hall of Fame to explore the origins and the legends of the game such as Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.

Anne put her last earring in her ear and let Dominic use the restroom one last time before going to the Air Canada Centre to see the Leafs play the Atlanta Thrashers.

"Are you ready now, Anne-girl?" asked Gilbert before kissing his wife on the cheek.

"If you keep that up, I won't be," Anne giggled back.

"Can we please go now?" the children asked impatiently.

"Okay, we're going."

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The Blythes arrived at the Air Canada Centre and found themselves in Leafs Nation. Thousands of die hard Leafs fans proudly wore their team colors of blue and white and were ready to cheer on their team. Gilbert was smiling. Not only was he happy that his children were so excited to experience their first hockey game, but he had planned a little surprise for Anne that wouldn't come until second intermission. He let each child in on his secret and had each of them pinky swear to him that they would not to tell their mother, which they did.

"Wow!" exclaimed Rilla as she followed the usher to her seat. "Our seats are great!"

"We're at center ice?" asked Walter, dumbfounded. "That's awesome!"

"Thank you, Daddy!" exclaimed Nan and Di. They hugged Gilbert, and the rest of the kids joined in.

"Gil, how did you do it?" asked Anne.

"I have connections," he replied with a wink. Thank God for my connections, he thought.

Warm ups began for the two opposing teams. The kids "oohed" and "ahhed" as the superstar players skated by and took shots while the adults sat back and soaked in the experience. When the lights dimmed, the crowd went wild. After the introduction of the starting line ups for both teams, the American and Canadian national anthems were played to a chorus of cheers.

The face off at center ice was won by the Leafs to begin the first period. No one scored, but there was plenty of activity to keep everyone entertained. Both sides received equal penalties and remained aggressive throughout the period. During one of the TV timeouts, the ever popular "Kiss Cam" feature projected on to the Jumbotron, a feature where unsuspecting couples would be shown up on screen and would have to kiss each other with the entire arena looking on. Gilbert had his arm around Anne, and she put her head on his shoulder. All of a sudden they found themselves on camera.

"Kiss her, Dad!" shouted Joy.

"Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!" chanted the rest of the children.

Gilbert gave his wife a passionate kiss, hearing the arena go "Awww!" When he wouldn't stop kissing her, the caption underneath them on the Jumbotron read "Get a room!" Just to tease Anne, he took her hand, stood up, and acted as if they were going to leave. The Air Canada Centre erupted with laughter, and men whistled with appreciation of such boldness.

"Gil!" Anne shouted as she playfully punched his arm while sitting back down.

"I love you, darling," he said innocently.

"I love you, too," she said as she gave him another kiss.

The second period began with just as much action as before, maybe even more. The intensity of the game went to another level as the number of hits increased. To the kids' delight, a fight broke out between two defensemen, and all of them stood on their feet, cheering the players on to keep on fighting. As the time came closer to the second intermission, Gilbert became a little nervous.

"Anne, I'm going to use the restroom," Gilbert said. "Watch our little trouble makers, okay?"

"Okay," Anne replied.

In reality, Gilbert wasn't going to the restroom. He was off to meet the head of the Maple Leafs organization in order to execute his plan. With the help off the director of the hospital, he managed to get permission to use the ice during second intermission to surprise Anne.

"Hello, Dr. Blythe," greeted the executive. "Are we ready to do this?"

"We're ready," Gilbert replied with a smile.

With Gil's signal, the executive got all the participating players in motion. An usher was sent to where Anne was sitting with the kids to bring her down to center ice.

"Mrs. Blythe?"

Anne turned around. "Yes?"

"I've received news that there's been an accident involving your husband,"

"Oh no!" Anne gasped in horror. "Is he all right?"

"I'm afraid he's not doing so well, and you must see him immediately."

"But what about my children?"

"Take them with you."

"Okay."

From that moment, Anne's focus turned from the game to Gilbert. What happened to him? He was perfectly fine before he left! The children in the meantime were winking at one another. Dominic was close to laughing before Rilla covered his mouth with her hand. The usher led them down to the tunnel that went on to the ice. Anne was so caught up in worrying about Gilbert that she didn't even question her surroundings.

"You would think Mom would be suspicious of being lead down to the ice to see Dad when he left to use the 'bathroom,'" whispered Shirley to Joy.

"Just walk through the tunnel, and your husband should be there waiting for you," instructed the usher.

"Thank you," Anne said.

She walked through the tunnel with the children following close behind only to be aghast with what she saw. As the usher led her down to the tunnel, the second period had ended, giving personnel time to roll out a read carpet just for her. The regular lights were dimmed and gave way to a special red lighting, leaving a spotlight on Anne. The players had not gone into the locker room yet, but they remained on the bench, each holding a single red rose. The captain of each team skated up to Anne and handed her their roses, and one by one a man from each team skated up to her and handed her a rose. Anne was so overwhelmed; she felt like crying. After the last player handed her a rose, Gilbert finally appeared out of nowhere and skated up towards his wife. Instead of a rose, he gave her a lily-of-the-valley, her favorite. A man that had been standing up against the glass now walked up to the couple and held a microphone. Gilbert then got on one knee and spoke up, knowing that all of Canada was watching him in this big moment.

"Anne," he began. "There are not enough words to express what I feel for you. You have given me everything that I could ever dream of. Whenever I wake up and see our children's faces, I know I'm the luckiest man alive." He began to cry and so did Anne. "I knew you were the one for me since the moment we met. I love you. I love you more than you'll ever know." He pulled out a black velvet box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a stunning diamond ring. "I can't wait to grow old and to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me...again?"

Without hesitating, she screamed "Yes!"

Gilbert smiled, put the ring on Anne's finger, got on his feet, and kissed her knuckles. The crowd erupted with applause and cheers and watched as the happy couple kissed each other. Again.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Rilla asked with tears in her eyes. Her siblings just smiled and nodded.

Without missing a beat, Anne threw her arms around her husband.

"I love you, Gilbert Blythe," Anne whispered into Gilbert's ear. "This is where my heart belongs. With you."

He smiled, looked at her to see nothing but love in her eyes, and kissed her hard. He wouldn't have it any other way.

The End