Chapter 18
"Gil," Jonas said clapping him on the back.
"Jo!" Gilbert exclaimed grinning to see his friend. "How was Africa?"
"Fulfilling. But evidently I missed some interesting things here according to Phil. I hear you met Anne," Jonas said with a grin. "And made quite the impression."
"It turns out that my talent with the ladies was a bit overstated once I found one I couldn't live without. How did you do it with Phil?"
"Well I never had women flinging themselves at me like you did so I didn't just expect her to fall into my arms," Jo said with a laugh. "I believe Phil's words were, he acted like he was God's gift to women and Anne wanted to return the gift, but she didn't think God would take him back."
"Should the girlfriend of a minister and one of his friends be talking about God like that?" Gilbert protested. "Speaking of which, what kind of friend doesn't introduce me to my dream girl the second he meets her?"
"I can admit that there were times I thought about doing so when we where in Charlotte. That I did think someday you should meet Anne. That you two would mesh well. I just wasn't sure if either of you were in a good spot to meet each other yet and didn't want to try and force it."
"Over two years?" Gilbert said. "You never felt the time was right in over two years?"
"I was in Africa the last 6 months. I don't think you can count those against me. And before that Anne was in highschool. I was her prom date senior year when James couldn't make it. So no, I didn't think, hey I should introduce this high school girl to this guy I know. I thought someday, when she is older, I should introduce Anne to Gilbert. I probably would have introduced her to you this year even if it was only when you made it over for a visit," Jonas told him. "Of course then you went and mucked it up."
"Tell me about it," Gilbert said with a groan.
"I know you," a drunk voice accussed from the side as Jonas and Gilbert walked by. "Your friends with that little bitch."
"What are you doing here, Peter?" Jonas asked cautiously, attempting to keep the anger from his voice. "You have no business on Redmond campus that I can think of. In fact being here is a violation of the restraining order. You're to close, you need to leave."
"So I have the right dorm then, do I?" Peter Blewette taunted looking at the nearby residence hall. "Little Miss Priss is holed up in there. Give Anne a message for me, will ya? Tell her we aren't done and I'll be finishing what I started. That bitch is gonna pay."
Gilbert started at hearing Anne's name and scowled at the unkempt man. He stepped toward him, but Jonas laid a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Stay the away from her, Peter. I'm warning you. I'm going to report this incident and if you come anywhere near Redmond or Anne again, you will find yourself thrown back in jail so fast it will make your head spin," Jonas said angrily.
"Oh I'll go for now. You just make sure she gets my message. I should be able to trust a preacher to deliver it, shouldn't I? Or should I send Anne a message more personally. Maybe invite her out to rehash old times?" he asked with a malevolent grin.
"Get out of here," Jonas said. "Remember any attempt to contact Anne violates the restraining order."
"I'm sure you'll let Anne know I'm around," the man said as he turned and left.
Watching the man's back as he walked away, Gilbert demanded quietly, "What was that about? Who was that? How does he, how does he know Anne?"
"That was Peter Blewette and while the whole story is Anne's to tell, he's. Hell, he's," Jonas said running a hand through his hair. "Well he's the reason Anne is with the Cuthberts. He's the reason Matthew is her hero. He's the reason I know Anne. He attacked Anne a few years ago. It will be three this May. She beat him with a fireplace poker to get away and he was sent to prision for that and other various offenses. What he's doing out, I have no idea. I have to tell Anne. Right now. She has to know. This is going to be- Shit," Jo ended helplessly. "She's come so far and if that, that jerk turns her back into the scared 16 year old girl again," he said shaking his head miserably.
"I'm going with you to see Anne," Gilbert said. "She-"
"Yea. She trusts you, ya know?" Jonas said cutting him off. "It's funny, you are pretty much up against a phantom. Anyone else can see you and Anne are actually as close to perfect together as one can get, but she's stuck on some guy from when she was in the hospital. Anne was scared of all males but Matthew at first. The doctors, me, the police officers. She would eye us warily, white faced and trembling. And then the day she was discharged that changed. Well it didn't so much as change as she decided to overcome it. I had stopped in to visit her a few times, to offer any help or prayers, but she couldn't even open her mouth to speak. I tried to assure her I wasn't going to hurt her and she could trust me, but the poor thing would just huddle into herself. Part of me had felt like I should just leave her be. That my very presence, because I was a male, was upsetting to her, and therefore I should leave her alone. But another part of me felt called to help her. It felt wrong that such a young person was living in fear of an entire gender. That she should be left alone in such a dark place. The day she was discharged she spoke to me for the first time and ask me how she could overcome her fear. She later confided to me that when she was getting ready to leave the hospital she had been singing unaware her door was open and someone had clapped for her. Evidently he talked to Anne for a bit through her curtain and she regretted that she had been to scared to go into the hallway. He had to go and she had wanted to meet him when he came back, but before he did, Matthew and Marilla came to get her. Her fear kept her from meeting him face to face and she regretted what she claimed was a missed opportunity to meet her soulmate. She was determined that the next time fate caused their paths to cross she wouldn't be to scared to meet him," Jonas said chuckling. "And Anne being Anne has probably made more of the encounter than she should and is patiently awaiting her prince charming who might very well be some married man, rather than admit that she likes you."
"He's not a married man," Gilbert said groaning. "It was me. I talked to Anne in the hospital through her curtian. I saw her once and listened to her talk to Matthew and the nurses. I wanted to meet her and heard her singing that morning and planned on coaxing her to come out to the hall. Didn't Phil tell you when she told you about the carrots incident and the rest? " Gilbert asked incredulously.
"No," Jonas said slowly. "She told me all about how you pulled Anne's hair and your terrible pick up lines, and the muscle flexing, but other than saying you had been struck dumb in love on sight she never mentioned when the striking had occurred. I just assummed you didn't meet her until now."
"I didn't meet her face to face until now, but I had been hoping to meet her for years. And she was right for the record, about the soulmates thing," Gilbert said shooting him a grin. "Listening to her, that one glimpse, talking to her for those few minutes, she touched my soul. She was why I was always dragging you out to those teenage hangouts in Charlotte when I was at the hospital with my dad. I was too embarrassed to admit I was trying to meet a girl though."
"Those definitely weren't the places to find her," Jonas said with a chuckle. "So your competing against yourself for Anne. Well that does beat all. I think you and Anne definitely need to sit down and have a conversation. Clear the air as it is. First though I need to tell Anne about Blwette."
"Right. Phil said she could easily drop me with a few moves and I believe that. I know she knows a variety of martial arts and I've seen her spare with James. But James, he isn't trying to hurt her. Could she really handle someone with malicious intent? Someone that not only doesn't care if they hurt her but wants to hurt her?" Gilbert aksed frowning, thinking of her unprotected if she was cornered alone by Blwette.
"Like a sack of potatoes. She might be light, but as long as he was unarmed, Anne could make short work of a guy like Blwette. Blwette though is the type to bring a gun to a knife fight. And while he shouldn't have any sort of weapon if he is out on parole of any sort, I don't trust him to abide by those rules."
