Timeline - Anne's House of Dreams. The first few chapters.

Chapter 28: Maid of My Heart

The mellowing summer heat clung to Anne Shirley even as gusts of night wind whistled by and a dusky husk dropped upon Avonlea. Whatever sunlight remained in the sky it was so stretched that it could only offer a meager echo to its earlier intense blaze. Such a summer night couldn't be slept through and Anne meandered away from Green Gables. Her original destination, the Blythes, was preempted for a task long overdue. And not with much conscious thought, Anne detoured herself from the normal turn and went onward to the cemetery.

Although she knew her thoughts weren't rational, it pressed upon her heart to remember her bygone friend with a bridal favor. Kindred spirits could not be divided by the veil between life and death. If her chum might help her, Anne was sure she would.

Goosebumps shimmied over Anne's arms as the gate swung open with an eerie groan and she finally felt cold. It had been ages and ages since she had made the effort to visit, but the grounds were not big; family plots were well marked, and Anne found her friend with ease. Her white tombstone emerged from the earth like an elongated moon. "Ruby Gillis" was stamped out along its curved, limestone edge.

Just looking at her orbiting halo made Anne choke with emotion. It was so unfair! Ruby did not want to be the first in their class to die and for months feigned health to the painful annoyance of the rest of them. But to Anne and only Anne, Ruby agonized the prospect of no more.

Anne spread out her apron on the humid ground and sat on it as she used to in their Story Club days. There was no more need to be sad. Ruby surely could never stay as dejected as she had felt leading up to her final moments. Ruby, upon passing, would have snapped back to her glorious perfection, her glossy laugh and robust coloring revived. And with good looks she might engage Anne confident her opinion was important; her thoughts spurred from the prettiest of wrappers.

"Dearest Ruby, you've always been such a gem." Anne stopped, sort of ashamed of her weak pun, but in her heart, she thought she heard her jolly guffaw. She was a great one to laugh.*

Anne unfocused her eyes, allowing the engraved letters to swirl and blur. She hoped to see Ruby once more in the mystical world surrounding. When her efforts to see beyond life's foreground failed, Anne rested her eyes on the miniature white roses blooming at the head of her grave. White for purity and innocence and youth. It just wasn't fair.

"I've been meaning to see you but I kept putting it off. You know how prideful I can be, but you were right. You probably know Gil and I are marrying next week. Last I saw you alive, you insisted we were meant to be, but I resisted that idea."

Anne stumbled over this truth. Ruby may not have been a seer like Helen, but, Ruby had been an excellent judge of social dynamics. Several sisters married put her years ahead of her peers when it came to the delicate dance men and women executed in courtship. She knew all the steps and wanted all the boys to ask her to waltz.

Ruby had been a flirt and enjoyed the confusion she put over her admirers. But with Gilbert, she had a real friendship and managed to cut past his facade. Outwardly, their comradery was light and easy going but Anne observed trust between their eyes. At one time, whatever they had, was enough to make her envious.

Gilbert never talked about Ruby and Anne suspected she knew why. He felt responsible for her death. If events had been different, had he fallen for Ruby and not Anne, Gilbert would have had his powers and he might have saved her. So Anne's gut told her, that when Gilbert Blythe thought about Ruby Gillis, he had to quiet not one but two regrets. Not being able to heal her was the main ache, but, disappointing her romantic hopes was the second. Together, those regrets spelled her doom.

"It might surprise you, but, I've always been a bit jealous of you," Anne mentioned. "I coveted your beauty; blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Your rosy pink cheeks on unblemished, milky white skin. Truly, you were fairest of the fair. A perfect Lily Maid. From his grave, Lord Tennyson made that dory sink in protest to me playing Elaine. You were made for that moment, not I.

"And I confess, when I learned you and Gilbert corresponded back in our Queens days, I was green with jealousy. I know it was silly of me to feel such envy, especially back then, when I hedged Gilbert so carefully out of my life. Still, I didn't like the idea of the two of you writing to each other. I should have realized then that what I felt for Gil was much more than just scholastic competitiveness."

Rambling set in and she was adrift from the verses she had mentally crafted and rehearsed over the last three years. Anne collected those thoughts, wrapped her arms around her skirted legs and rested her chin on the points of her knees. Like a spell, her words would be irrevocable once loosed to the world.

"The truth is, if you hadn't died, Ruby, I'm not sure I would have taken Gilbert's typhoid scare seriously. I think I would have assumed he was too young and strong to actually die. Of course, I would have worried some, but it wouldn't have rattled me so. And I needed to be rattled to see. But because you did die I was terrified Gilbert would too." Anne recoiled. Just thinking about his close shave with the Great Destroyer turned her insides into jelly. "I knew then I couldn't live in a world without Gilbert Blythe. I loved him. I always had, just as you and Diana suspected. It was the hardest lesson I ever learned."

Anne, Gilbert didn't die and soon you'll be married to him.

"Right," Anne bowed her head. "He didn't die, but without you, I would not have transfigured. So thank you, Ruby. Thank you for helping me to love.

"So, I must ask you, will you be my bridesmaid? I just can't have anyone. They must be kindred."

Oh, Anne! A dead person as your maid-of-honor? What would Mrs. Lynde say?

Anne chuckled past Ruby's objection, "I understand that, and trust me, I started with the living. I asked Helen Blythe, Gilbert's cousin if she might, and she declined, although, it was with a lot of apologies. She's decided to witness Charlie Sloane's courtroom wedding to Gertie Pye instead. Charlie and Gertie finally decided to elope and they're doing it on our wedding day."

Charlie's awful, of all the days to pick, why would he marry on the same day as your wedding to Gilbert?

"Charlie's never been able to read the room, has he?" Anne agreed. It was hard not to giggle at Ruby's mocked indignation. His move was so predictably Sloanish that it was hardly a surprise.

"Mrs. Sloane explained to Gilbert's mother, who later told us that Charlie didn't want fuss or notice. He wanted a shadow to hide in and I guess Gil and I cast a long one. It is unfortunate though Helen chose to witness his vows over ours. Gil thinks it might have something to do with her avoiding her parents. Helen's father is still rather ashamed of his peculiar girl."

Oh, that's heartbreaking! Well, what about your college friends?

"Most of my girlfriends from school are married now, and the one that isn't, is on the West Coast, but in all honesty, I think I just rather have you as my maid. Just hear me out. Of course, I don't expect you to stand next to me, not in a corporeal way. But, will you please be the maid of my heart?"

Yes, of course, I will. I can do that! It will be my honor!

Upon receipt of Ruby's promise, Anne smiled. It was hard not to when she knew Ruby was happy. A whisper of wind touched Anne's cheek like a breathy kiss. Anne stroked the spot, remembering how Ruby always parted.

"Thank you, Ruby!"

Anne folded her apron into a square and use the cloth to wipe condensation off of her weather-stained headstone. She took off much dirt as she neatened Ruby's appearance. Anne wished there was more she could do to right the wrong Ruby had suffered. She died in the apple of her youth, but she continued to exist in a very real way in her heart.

An overdressed man encumbered with a carpet bag, a medical bag, and two bundles of flowers walked on the public road toward the house known as Green Gables. He kept stumbling, over what, it didn't matter. Today, Dr. Felder told himself the heat was causing the periodic misstep. Even the corralled horse gave him a glance over when he tripped at the gate. Eugene dusted himself off no worse for wear.

But a dignified sigh slipped his lips when he thought he heard the horse snicker. He looked back at the animal and said, "That wasn't necessary."

Eugene hoped only the horse had seen him fall. Now that he was closer, he could see two ladies on the veranda of the old green, gabled house. One was waving 'hello' at him, encouraging him to hurry, and the other woman he did not recognize.

The waving, heavy woman was Mrs. Rachel Lynde. Her voice could call the cows home from her rocker.

"Anne Shirley!" she cried at the wall of the house. "You get yourself here right now. You have yourself another guest."

Eugene crossed the yard and strove up the cobbled path and past Marilla's flower beds. He took two of the three steps in one bound before arriving at a halt.

"It's wonderful to see you, Dr. Felder! But surely you're aware you might have called us for a ride from the station."

"A ride?" Dr. Felder set his bags down and then pushed some daisies into Mrs. Lynde's hand. He then gave the unknown woman whose arms held an infant child a few disappointing stems. "You have a telephone? Here?"

Dr. Felder removed his hat and rubbed his sweaty scalp with his handkerchief. Gil's letter said he should call on Anne first but he never thought Gil meant telephone, Anne.

"You really think I could live without a telephone?" Mrs. Lynde huffed.

"Well, when you put it that way, probably not, Mrs. Lynde." The way she spoke, he easily could see her with a bowl of popcorn, listening in on the party line. "I think Mr. Alexander Graham Bell had your lovely self in mind when inspiration struck. I will have to call you now. I do enjoy your conversation so much."

"Now yes! There's the infamous butter you like to spread." Mrs. Lynde pushed him down next to the other Green Gables guest. "I'll fetch Anne. Say hello to Mrs. Harry Inglis and her yet unnamed son and see if you can get her to gush. Jane's one of Anne's very first Avonlea friends."

Eugene smiled a hello and feebly fanned his fingers. Her humor barely sparked as she rocked what appeared to be an eight weeks old infant. There was a sure-fire way to flatter any mother.

"That's a beautiful child."

And like a good mother, she glowed.

Dr. Felder and Mrs. Inglis twisted in their chairs as Anne exited the little-used side door.

"Gene! You're here! Oh, you're here!" Anne said as she hurried out of the kitchen.

Gene somehow managed to knock down his vacated chair. He righted the object immediately and accepted the welcome Anne bestowed. It had been a while since he had such a big hug from a lady.

"Anne, you look really pretty," Eugene graced her with a simple but heartfelt compliment. "I'm so glad I was able to come to this little supper you're having. Never mind the grim circumstance of my mother-in-law's death and all those Pringles now wondering why I left instead of pondering why I came. Well, you know why. My last promise to Victoria is almost complete now that probate is started."

Eugene hadn't meant to sour the mood of the little gathering by mentioning death. He squeezed Anne one last time as he saw Gilbert approaching.

"Anne told me she had no more hugs left," Gilbert complained as he shook Eugene's hand.

"You're not doing your Dr. Diagnosis bit, are you?"

Eugene regretted asking after he heard himself. He knew perfectly well Gilbert's handshake always included a bit of a diagnostic. Gilbert's eyes widened to his implication and Eugene instantly knew that Mrs. Inglis did not know her longtime school friend was also a witch. And of course, now was the time for her to demonstrate an inquisitive streak.

"Gil, you're called Dr. Diagnosis?" Jane asked as she handed her sleeping baby over to Marilla Cuthbert.

Marilla's steady and aged hands cradled the boy with a careful devotion that made Anne's breath catch. The spinster forfeited a smile as she carried the baby. Marilla had set up a nursery in the guest room.

"Yes, Jane. It seems I have a bit of talent in seeing what's wrong with people." Gilbert answered honestly. Jane would never know how vague he was really being. "And, it didn't help that Dean Tomgallon took notice and re-enforced the moniker by forcing me to write that paper. But, it's not a big deal. Everyone has strengths. Gene is a specialist in the field of obstetrics and now does important research at Johns Hopkins."

"Yes, but he's not called Dr. Baby," Jane argued. "To be christened..."

"I wouldn't mind that," Dr. Felder took over the conversation and pantomimed a huge banner in the air as he paced across the porch with echoing footsteps. "I can see my shingle now, 'Eugene Felder, Dr. Baby.'"

The group chuckled at his demonstration when he came to a stop.

But as Gene entertained the group Anne and Gilbert quietly revisited their current disagreement regarding the Tomgallons. Miss Minerva had sent them some luxurious bed sheets as a wedding gift. Her note audaciously pinned to the top of the folded white fabric. It was a big red circle with a simple "Thank you!" scrawled out. There was no card or anything else along with the package. How do you respond to that? A humorless thank you or should they acknowledge her subtext?

"Unlike Gil, I'm not in private practice." Eugene continued for Jane. "I'm an educator."

"You should go into private practice though," Mrs. Wright said as she sat down on the porch's railing. Below her perch were Mrs. Lynde's roses. "I love my daughter, small Anne Cordelia. Dr. Felder helped." Diana inhaled the scented air, unable to find words for the gratitude she felt.

Gene flushed a bit. There was something very satisfying in helping a patient build a family. Private practice appealed to him to a certain degree.

"Where did those flowers come from?" Anne asked, noticing the array of daisies and late-blooming hollyhocks on the table.

"Oh, I forgot!" Eugene remembered. "I bought flowers for you and Mrs. Lynde. Sold out the vendor at the train station. Really, they're for all the ladies at Green Gables. Marilla included."

"And don't forget Dora," Jane reminded everyone in earshot.

Part of the reason why Jane came back for Anne's wedding was to discover what happened between her youngest brother, Ralph Andrews and his love, Dora Keith. They had all the makings of a match in heaven, or so her mother corresponded, and their relationship fell apart for no reason whatsoever according to Ralph. The few times Jane had visited Green Gables since arriving she could see that Dora was a forgotten element. She reminded Dora in private that she would still love to call her her sister.

"Dora?" Dr. Felder asked. "Who's Dora?"

"Anne's sister. Davy's twin." Gilbert teased his former roommate. "I've told you about Davy and Dora. Com' on, Davy and Dora. Two thousand diapers?"

"Oh, right, how could I forget?" Eugene agreed and he directed his comment back to Jane. "And, I promise never to forget about Anne's sister again."

"Dora Keith was one of my favorite students when I taught school here." Jane added, "I could always trust her to be good and stay quiet. And I loved the little pictures she used to draw."

"Dora's hair reminds me so much of Ruby. So long and blonde. It's so sad that Ruby's not here right now. She would have delighted in your nuptials, Anne." Diana Wright said as she took a plate of plum puffs away from Marilla and set it on the table. Mrs. Lynde came out again with a pot of tea and teacups.

"I do miss Ruby," Jane admitted. "The night of my departure party, she was dying. I'll never feel right about that. I should have canceled out of respect."

"Well, if she were here right now, I would be asking her to read some of Anne's old romantic yarns from our Story Club days. She had them all. Some of them were very comedic."

"Oh, you would not," Anne stubbornly said, but her vigorous refusal to revisit her youthful and idyllic compositions met universal opposition.

"I'd think I'd like to read some of them," Mrs. Lynde chimed in. "The winter nights get dreadful quiet with Davy at his job now. I'd love a good laugh like the rest you young folk."

That got Jane chuckling. "Read the ones with Percival. I always liked those."

Gilbert watched his friends converse in abstraction. Mrs. Lynde treated Dr. Felder as her surrogate son and fussed over his refreshments. Anne, Diana, and Jane were now making a daisy chain for Anne to wear. And he felt Ruby's absence as well and approved of Anne's choice of bridesmaid. It was fitting her attendant was a resident of Tomorrowland.

"What am I looking at here?" Eugene said as he joined Anne Shirley in the narrow pantry. Gilbert was behind them, blocking the entrance, his eyes fixed on his bride-to-be as she gushed before their mutual friend. Eugene glanced over Anne's shoulder to Gil who shook his head 'no'. Gene would get no help from him in making a guess.

Anne twisted her torso so her skirts swished lightly back and forth. "It's just the best wedding gift ever."

Eugene hadn't seen the inside of a pantry since his food nicking days as a boy at his uncle's. Still, he didn't quite understand why "the best wedding gift ever" would be hidden away in the smallest room of the house where no one would see it.

"It wouldn't be. . ." A toilet?

Eugene did not venture that guess, although, everyone had a water closet now except half the homes on PEI. It was the only thing he could think of that might be outrageously useful and hidden. But a toilet would be a really crappy wedding gift.

"Gene, you'll never guess, never!" Helen's disembodied voice floated in from the kitchen. She had arrived on time from Four Winds Harbor with a lease agreement for Gilbert to sign. Her hard work as a new real estate agent was going to net her a nice commission.

"Anne is so lucky!" Diana's voice added, also from the other side of the wall. "Of course, Marilla's been saving up for three whole years."

"I give up," Eugene sheepishly admitted, although, he didn't quite understand the fuss.

Anne stepped away and revealed a waist-high, oak cabinet with imposing steel latches and paneled doors. The glossy finish reflected light from the room's venting window. The wooden pantry shelves looked shabby over the new appliance.

"Wow!" Eugene put on his glasses, leaned forward and inspected the formidable object. "A Gibson Icebox?"

"All the way from Boston, Mass." Anne hummed pleasantly as she rubbed her hand over the varnished wood. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Eugene straightened his torso and shifted his head to bring Gilbert into his peripheral vision. Gil was also proud of the gift.

"It's big! Probably weighs a ton."

"Marilla bought two of them," Gilbert announced. "She so convinced on the economy that she decided she needed one as well. Ours is still crated. We'll open it as soon as we find our house of dreams.

Anne girlishly clapped her hands delighted with the most extravagant wedding present they received. The present really demonstrated just how much Marilla blessed their union.

"I know I shouldn't be this giddy about a piece of furniture, but I was thrilled with her generosity. I don't know how Marilla possibly managed it."

"Davy told me he pitched in some," Gilbert said as he and Eugene traded places in the tight space. Eugene observed Gilbert pecking Anne's cheek before squatting in front of the icebox, also admiring it. "I have to wonder if the two of us need an icebox this big."

Anne laid a hand on Gil's shoulder, "Maybe not at first, but eventually, I think we will. At least, I hope so."

"Oh, I think that's my exit," Eugene said with an eye roll for the lovers. He soon found himself in the kitchen where Mrs. Wright helped set up the banquet.

"Please, please say you will, Diana!" Helen said as she monitored Marilla's pan roast. Marilla was in the root cellar looking for a possible lost treasure. "I know you object some, but your penmanship is so beautiful. The invitations you wrote for Anne were works of art. What precision!"

Mrs. Wright's conflicting emotion wasn't lost to Eugene. She blushed to Helen's flattery and also appeared uncomfortable with whatever enterprise Helen pitched.

"I'm not sure I'll have the time to do something so large before the wedding." Mrs. Wright said, trying her best to present a more enthusiastic facade.

"I know you're going to do it." Helen seemed to say to herself as Mrs. Wright fussed. "I don't even need to see the future. My heart tells me so. You can't resist a good love story."

"What's this?" Eugene asked as he almost overturned the vase of flowers with a wayward elbow. His awkward physicality broke Mrs. Wright's anxieties and both girls snickered at their bumbling friend.

"Katherine and I are going to marry." There was a small beat before Helen's dimpled face searched his out.

Helen had not written Eugene too much about Katherine because she broke his heart two summers ago. He confessed to loving her. He had proposed. He was manly about her refusal but it still had to have hurt. She feared her news would be salt on to his wound.

His pale eyes saw her sincerity and replied, Don't apologize. You're happy.

"When's this wedding? I should like to see it."

"I should like to see it too," Anne answered as she led Gilbert by the hand to the kitchen table. Anne was fixing her hair. Gilbert had confiscated a few of her hairpins and someone needed to tell her her blouse buttons were askew before Mrs. Lynde came in from the veranda.

"It's not a real wedding. We're witnessing Charlie Sloane's and Gertie Pye's elopement. When they say their vows, they'll be our proxy. Our certificate, if Diana agrees to write one for us, will be an everlasting witness to our commitment to each other. We'll frame it for our foyer. Now that Charles and I sold the pattern company, I'm buying a place with my share."

"That's a clever idea!" Anne encouraged as she put on her full bibbed apron. "But I am hurt you won't be at our wedding. Gil is your cousin."

"Bertie understands," Helen replied. "Don't you?"

"Not really, Helen," Gilbert answered. She had always been his favorite cousin and Gilbert had done a lot to help her move and support her. "Uncle Raymond will behave and not cause a scene, I'm sure. But, you must do as you see fit. And being sympathetic is not the same as understanding."

Helen tried to continue to baste the roast, but, Gilbert's statement ruffled her. She handed her spoon to Anne and stepped away from the crowd before she magically gleaned more information than she wanted to know. She checked on Jane in the nursery. Jane knew nothing of her abilities and there was nothing more refreshing for a seer than to connect with an infant's unspoiled mind.

"I'll think about it, Helen," Diana called after her.

"Well, it turns out I didn't have a bottle, but two!" Marilla said as she entered the room once more. She opened the cabinet that stretched up to the ceiling and pointed. "Gilbert, would you mind bringing down my decanter? Tonight we're having the very last of my mother's current wine. It should be excellent with its age."

Dora Keith heard the crying infant but was buried under her sewing. She was working on her bridesmaid dress. Eventually, Anne would realize she needed an attendant and would ask. Dora wanted to be ready when that happened so she worked on her gown in secret. It just needed a couple more embellishments. But a crying baby couldn't be ignored. Dora put her sewing away and hid the dress before heading off to the nursery.

By the time she arrived she half expected someone else tending the baby, but Dora had to lift her jaw off the floor at the sight of a man changing a diaper. And he knew what he was doing too! Leaning down, unfastening pins, murmuring something of a compliment to the soiled creature. This man didn't even gag on the fecal smells as he separated the boy from his nappy.

"Now, now," the man said. "We'll get you nice and clean and ready for cuddles in Mama's arms. I promise. Just, please stop crying like a banshee. I might take it personally if you keep going on about it."

Dora didn't know what caused this man to turn and see her. Had she moved? She didn't think so, she was paralyzed from the surprise still. Maybe she laughed. That's it. She must have laughed. It was endearing, what she was witnessing. A man changing an infant, but, it wasn't right.

"I can do that," Dora offered, taking a step in his direction. "You shouldn't have to. You're a man."

"But I want to. I asked Mrs. Inglis if I might."

Dora meant to nudge him away from the deplorable task, but his insisting made her take a step back. Her arm almost knocked over the fragile, bedside lamp. It precariously rocked on the table. This man looked at her and the teetering object with more than a little bit of curiosity.

Dora tapped the lamp, making sure it was put. She wasn't a clumsy person, not usually.

"You… you want to? Changing a diaper is woman's work."

The man laughed hard. "I don't think so. The work a woman does to deliver a baby is much more difficult than changing a diaper. Men can change diapers, and they should, they are the fathers. And, one day, your young man will understand that."

"What?"

"You're Dora Keith, aren't you? Two thousand diapers? Your quest towards the altar was rather interesting, even from Kingsport. Gilbert kept up on your diaper tally, did you know that?"

"No, I didn't." Dora's forehead knitted wrinkles in her wonder.

Now done with the diaper changing, Dr. Felder blew a gentle raspberry onto the baby's bare chest and then straightened his dress to cover his legs. The baby cooed from the masculine attention. His gummy smile delighted Eugene.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Eugene Felder."

"Oh, Mrs. Lynde's friend." The widower! Dora was delighted to finally meet him although she had imagined him with a lot more hair.

"That's funny, I was going to say I'm Gilbert's friend, but, I suppose I am both."

"Are you here for the wedding?" Dora pinked a little. There seemed to be an obvious answer to this question. He was probably Gilbert's best man.

"No, I have to leave tomorrow morning. I managed to slip away from my Summerside in-laws to come here and give Anne and Gilbert my best wishes."

"Oh," Dora was mildly astonished by her disappointed voice.

"It's really nice to meet you, Miss Keith," Dr. Felder said as he put junior back into Marilla's make-shift crib. "Do take some of the flowers I brought or else Mrs. Lynde will claim them all."

Dr. Felder passed Dora with a smile and a salute.

to be continued

*Anne of the Island, chapter 20, The Summons