A/N: So I lied. I am posting Chapter 9 one day late. Sorry! However, I will try to post Chapter 10 by tomorrow, or even possibly today to make up for it. Also, to awesomedingo100: I might just take you up on your suggestion for my story in a few chapters! Anyway, here's Chapter 9. Enjoy.
Anne immediately returned to her room and remained there for the rest of the day, grading English papers on Tennyson's The Lady of Shallot. She finished catching up on her grading and other paperwork by early that evening and decided to take a relaxing walk during the sunset and enjoy the warming weather of spring.
All throughout the walk, Anne could not get the fact that she ran away from Gilbert off her mind. She had meant to tell him how she felt, but she couldn't build up the courage to do so. The feelings she had while around him were unlike anything else she had ever felt before, and she had no idea how to respond to them. Anne had always thought that a tall, poetic, and romantic suitor would make his way into her life and marry her. But as Anne grew up, she realized that her childhood dreams no longer seemed to be relevant to her own life. Maybe there was more to romance than handsome, elegant men. Maybe romance began with a friendship and then blossomed into something more.
Between her captivation with her thoughts and the darkness of the night, Anne was hardly paying any attention to her surroundings. This caused Anne to bump, and quite literally, into an old, spunky lady who was making her way down the street.
"Oh! Merciful heavens! What is the meaning of this?" The woman croaked, her arm on her hips as she backed away from the person whom she had ran into.
"It's all my fault, ma'am..." Anne began, but something stopped her. She recognized the voice of the woman. Even though she couldn't make out the details of the person, she knew exactly whom she had bumped into.
"Aunt Josephine!" Anne exclaimed. "It's me, Anne Shirley! Do you remember me?"
"Oh, Anne! How could I not remember you! What are you doing here in Kingsport, my dear? I am so sorry that I reacted to you in such a way, but God only knows who you run into in the dark in an unfamiliar town on your own," Aunt Josephine rambled on as she reached in for a hug. "By the way, this running into seems to remind me of a time long ago when we first met!"
Anne thought back to the moment when she met Aunt Josephine by jumping on her while she was asleep in bed. She laughed out loud at the memory. "I am teaching here at Kingsport Ladies College. And what are you doing here?" Anne asked excitedly.
"Oh, just visiting an old friend from my childhood days. I am only staying here for a few days, though. After that, I am heading over to Nova Scotia to see an opera," Aunt Josephine said.
"How enchanting!" Anne commented.
"How have you been recently? Have any young men found there way into your life?" Aunt Josephine asked teasingly.
"Well..." Anne began, "I guess..."
"Is it that Blythe fellow?" Aunt Josephine guessed with a smile.
"I guess so. He is teaching here at Kingsport for the rest of the month with me. And I can't deny that his arrival has caused me to have some romantic...feelings toward him. But Aunt Josephine, I honestly do not know if I do like him! Sometimes I feel like I want to be with him, but other times, I remember the type of person whom I've always wanted to marry, and Gilbert definitely does not meet the qualifications!"
"What is your ideal, then, Anne girl? Because that Blythe lad seems pretty ideal to me. It will be tough to find another catch like him."
"Well, my ideal has always been someone who is tall, handsome, dreamy and romantic, who loves operas and recites poetry..."
"That is all nonsense, Anne!" Aunt Josephine interrupted. "Do not let those silly childhood ambitions get in the way of your life at this moment. I'm going to remind you of something that I once told you long ago, Anne. Make a little room in your plans again for romance, because all of your accomplishments won't be able to make up for the lack of it.
"Now, I have to go now. I'm meeting my friend at the Pringle Hotel for dinner. But keep in mind what I said, okay? And come and visit me soon in Charlottetown when you get the time, Anne-girl." Aunt Jo then planted a farewell kiss on Anne's cheek and turned around and walked away.
"Goodbye, Aunt Jo," Anne said softly. Solitarily, she made her way back to the boardinghouse, turning Aunt Josephine's recommendations over in her head.
"She knows what it's like to be lonely," Anne thought, "and she doesn't want that life for me."
That night, Anne made a promise to herself that she would let Gilbert know the next day how she felt and not shy away from her feelings. Little did she know what would happen the next day that would change the way she felt...
A/N: Sorry for the somewhat short chapter! However, I already have most of Chapter 10 done. :) Thank you for reading!