Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters created by L.M. Montgomery and Moira Walley-Beckett. I do not claim any ownership over them and offer my writing to the world as a homage to their creations as well as an outlet of imagination to imagine an infinity of alternate storylines. This is just one of them!
III.
Anne awoke with a smile as she thought about the previous evening. It felt so wonderful to spend time with Gilbert after so many months of correspondence. During their time apart, she understood how much she had taken for granted their near-daily interactions with each other, especially since he had come back from his steamer ship travels. But now he would have to wait until the afternoon, because it was time to celebrate Christmas with the Barry family and particularly with her dear bosom friend Diana.
As roommates in Charlottetown, Anne and Diana saw each other every day. So with the Christmas recess, the past few days had been the longest they had gone without seeing each other in some time.
"Good morning Anne!" Diana greeted her at the door with a big embrace. "Come in, we are all waiting for you!" Anne also had a basket with baked goods from Marilla as well as a sack of presents which the Barrys' housekeeper helped take for her after she took her coat.
Indeed, the entire Barry family was inside gathered at the breakfast table, including Aunt Josephine and Cole.
"Good morning and welcome, Anne!" Mrs. Barry embraced her. "We are all just about to start eating breakfast. So glad you could join us!"
Mr. Barry was standing at the buffet table putting food on his plate, which he put down before also greeting her. "How are all your family? And Gilbert? Did he not arrive in Bright River yesterday?"
"Thank you, Mr. Barry, yes. Marilla and Matthew are all well, as is Gilbert and the Lacroix family. We all had dinner together last night."
Aunt Jo and Cole each embraced her. "So wonderful to see you, Anne! You look very well indeed." Aunt Jo gave her a little wink as she said in a low voice that only Anne could hear. "Being in love suits you quite well, I must tell you."
Anne smiled and blushed in response. "It is wonderful to see you both. To be honest, I feel a little overwhelmed to be surrounded by so many of my loved ones, but I am not complaining, I assure you!"
"I am glad you are able to extricate yourself from your beau for at least one morning," teased Aunt Jo. "Some traditions must carry on!"
Diana had waited for Anne to eat breakfast and they went together to the buffet table to fill their breakfast plates. "I can't wait to hear about your reunion with Gilbert!" Diana spoke in a quiet voice so that only Anne could hear. She saw Anne blush and remarked on it.
Every Christmas, the Barry family exchanged presents after breakfast and each member also recited their favorite poem. For the last few Christmases, Anne and Cole had also been invited to participate.
"...We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Anne concluded her recitation of Tennyson's "Ulysses" and everyone applauded.
"Well done!" Aunt Jo stood up clapping. "Lord Alfred is quite wonderful to listen to!"
Anne and Diana wished they had had more moments to themselves that morning, especially as Diana wanted more details of the previous night. Diana had helped reunite them just before Gilbert had left for Toronto and only wished she had been there when they first saw each other in person again. After all of the poems had been recited and more refreshments were being shared, they escaped into her bedroom to talk privately.
"So has he proposed?" Diana spoke without any preamble as they sat together on her bed.
"Diana!" Anne laughed. "He was about to propose to someone else not too long ago as you know all too well! I do not think he has any immediate plans for matrimony."
"He has written so many letters to you this past term. He must have missed you so much."
"I missed him too. It was so wonderful to see him at last yesterday, after so much waiting and anticipation. And it was better than I could ever have imagined."
"Did he ever leave your side?"
Anne shook her head. "It was almost as if no time had passed at all! But now he is even less of a boy and more of a…a..."
"A man?" Diana giggled.
Anne turned a little red, but held her chin out defiantly.
"Well...yes. But he's still the same ol' Gilbert Blythe I know and love. Do you know, I am already dreading the day we have to say goodbye again and he has to go back to Toronto? I know this is completely ridiculous, he only just got back yesterday and we still have a few weeks before he has to leave…"
"Therefore plenty of time for him to come to his senses and finally ask you to marry him."
"Whatever do you mean by 'finally,' Diana? It's not as if we have been courting for many years or even so many months."
There was a pause before they both squealed "Courting?!" before collapsing into laughter. Anne was reminded of a similar moment with the other Avonlea girls at the boarding house.
"Well, without actually saying or doing anything about it, both of you have loved each other for years. I honestly don't know why it took you two so long. Then again maybe I do."
"Oh really, Diana? Do tell."
"Well, you two did not exactly start off as friends, and it did take some time for him to win you over."
"True, but we did end up friends in the end."
Diana paused for a moment, lost in thought. "I just thought of one important matter you must consider when he asks you to marry him."
"You mean 'if' he asks me."
"No, I meant when," smiled Diana. "Will you go with him to Toronto? You would have to transfer to U of T!"
Anne laughed. "As if it were that easy a decision to make! First of all, I would have to apply for admission…"
"You and Gilbert tied for first in our examinations! So admission should be no problem, especially after how well you've done so far at Queens!"
"But Toronto is so far away from you and from Green Gables! Also, I don't know how Marilla and Matthew would think about all this."
"We would all be immensely happy for you and for Gilbert. And think of all the postage both of you would be saving!" Diana embraced her. "Of course we'd all miss you terribly, I'll freely admit that. But the two of you are destined to be together."
Anne sat down and sighed. "Here you are imagining all sorts of scenarios out of thin air, but the truth is, nothing has been asked or decided. We're young, we have time to decide our futures."
"Anne, do you really doubt that Gilbert has every intention of marrying you?"
"No…"
"Aha! So you concede that I am right…"
"I simply doubt he will come to the point this quickly!" Anne paused and looked at Diana, her hands on her cheeks with her elbows on her lap. "Still, how does one prepare for such a moment? I would hope for some fair warning, for I will never forget how he surprised me at the ruins. I hardly knew or understood my own feelings at the time."
Anne put her head down on her lap as she remembered the tumult she had felt, and then Diana put her arm around her shoulders as she sat up again.
"Well, it is better to be prepared beforehand then. You know your feelings now. Both of you understand each other and love each other. What is holding you back?"
"Yes, Anne, what is holding you back?" Cole stepped into the room quietly. Both Diana and Anne gasped in surprise. "I am so sorry if I startled you. I knew I would find more interesting conversation with you two."
"Cole! Were you listening to us unawares?" Diana looked at him, surprised.
"Just heard Anne might go to Toronto, that's all I managed to hear. Sorry, I should've announced myself but you also left the door ajar."
"That is true," conceded Diana. "Well, please come in and take a seat and help me prepare Anne for the inevitable!"
Cole sat down next to Anne with Diana on her other side. "Of course, selfishly I would want you to stay in Charlottetown. It's been so wonderful seeing both of you more often these last few months! But you have to follow your heart. And if your heart resides in another city or province, well, you have to go!"
Anne laughed. "Thank you, Cole and Diana. At this point, there's been no proposal and therefore no need for all this…prognostication."
Diana was adamant. "But if he does ask...and I just have a feeling he will...what will you say?" She looked seriously into Anne's eyes and for a moment there was complete silence.
"Of course I will say yes!" Anne broke the silence, blushing.
Both Diana and Cole squealed in delight. "And would you go with him to Toronto?"
Anne sighed. "You will not relent in asking me, will you? Very well then. If he did ask me to come with him, I would go. I love him. I would walk to the ends of the earth with him."
Her words silenced Diana and Cole at last.
Diana sighed. "Sooo romantically expressed, Anne! It's as if you are in a romance novel."
"As long as it's not a tragical romance novel!"
"Ah, here you all are, hiding away from the world!" Anne, Cole, and Diana were all surprised by Aunt Jo entering Diana's room at that moment. All of them stood up. "What romance novel are you discussing? Is it the one in which Anne is the protagonist?"
"Aunt Jo, as ever, nothing escapes you," smiled Anne as she approached her. "These two seem to think that I will receive a proposal any minute."
"If Gilbert is an intelligent man...and from all accounts, I hear he is almost as exceptional as you, my dear Anne...he would not hesitate."
"You too, Aunt Jo?!" Anne laughed and threw up her hands. "It is a hopeless case and I am outnumbered. I will admit that in my heart of hearts, I do feel certain someday that Gilbert and I will be married…"
"So why wait?" Aunt Jo said seriously but with her usual smile. "I know you're both so young and I know I should be the last person to speak on the subject. But having lost the love of my life sooner than expected: Life is too short, make the most of it while you can."
Anne wrapped her arms around Aunt Jo, Diana, and Cole, promising them all that they would be the first to know, whenever this happy event would take place. "But it may not happen for some time to come!"