Chapter VII

The month of June came as quickly as each June always had before and would come afterwards. The birds were singing everyday, the trees were dancing with the wind each morning and each evening and the sun was always high on the sky. It was a month which Diana Blythe would never forget for two main reasons which were connected with one another although one would think them impossible to be linked together in any way.

It was the first morning of June when Di woke up with the sun rising behind the horizon lightening the world around it, with her face pale from sleeplessness and shining from excitement mixed with fear. She jumped out of her bed and put on one of her prettiest dresses, a blue flowing dress with a laced sweetheart neckline. She then gently put on one of her mother's pearls around her neck and brushed her hair, while watching the sunrise. It was the day when she was supposed to learn which students of hers passed the Queen's exams and she was positively shaking as she was going downstairs to the kitchen.

"Diana Blythe!" Susan exclaimed when Di sat down on her chair while Susan was turning around from the cupboard to put some of her toasts on the table "You could easily scare me to death!"

Di grinned weakly at her and put her hands underneath her chin "I'm sorry, dear Susan." she said softly "But I don't think that my brain is working properly right now."

Susan humphed and put the plate full of toasts on the table in front of Di "Well, make it work then, Di dear, I will not have you scaring me or any of your parents like that." she replied and sat down next to Di "Why are you up so early anyway? Dr Blythe just came out for the call from the Upper Glen and Mrs Dr dear is still sleeping."

"I could hardly sleep anyway." Di answered her, rubbing her eyes "The uncertainty is really the worst feeling you can ever get."

Susan grinned at her kindly, drinking her tea "I suppose you're right, Di dear." she said "But today you will know and you will laugh at this feeling in the evening, and that you may tie to." she nodded decidedly and Di chuckled.

"Thank you, Susan." she said lightly.

Susan patted Di's hand and looked at her almost angrily "Why aren't you eating your toasts? Do you want to look like a ghost all day long?" she flashed at her and when Di obediently took a toast to her mouth, Susan smiled with satisfaction, then she stood up from her chair and came over to the kichen's sink not realising that she had already cheered Di up.

Dear Diary,

I did it! I did it! I did it! My whole class passed their exams to Queen's. Each of my students passed! For the first time in Glen's history!

I don't know if I will be able to believe it, maybe one day I will, but for now I have no idea how is that even possible to happen. I was nearly sick with worry when I got to school yesterday morning and when I walked into the classrom I could hardly feel my legs, as if I walked for at least thirty miles. But when I saw the smiling, happy and darling faces of my students, I knew that they did it and that I did it too.

It was a joyful day at our school yesterday. As soon as I stopped congratulating each of my pupils, an idea popped into my head and we all took a walk to Rainbow Valley as it was the last day of school anyway. Mother and Susan talked with my students as well as I did and we all ate Susan's cookies and cakes which she was doing for the whole morning in secret, so that I wouldn't know. Dear Susan!

Mother was positively beaming and I swear that she has never kissed me so much in my whole life as she did yesterday. Father was proud, he told me four times in just two hours time and I could feel that I was, and still am, proud of myself as well.

When I was in Rainbow Valley alone in the evening, I could feel Walter's presence again and I haven't felt in a while I must say. I could almost hear his soft laughter again. Tears started to flow down my cheeks... I don't know I think that I started crying after so many nights when I wanted to cry but couldn't during this long last year when my nerves where being stretched and shrank every single day. I whispered then "Walter, I know that you can hear me, so listen to me dear brother, my achievement is just as much for me as it is for you." as that was what I realised in that moment and I could easily imagine Walter smiling at me, not answering, just smiling with his grey eyes shining in this special way which was far more precious to me than any other words which could be spoken.

So yesterday was the party with my students, my parents and Susan, but today (in about fifteen minutes exactly) the party with all of my family and Robert is going to take place here at Ingleside. I am very excited as I intend to relax after the whole year of being nervous and exhausted. It's such a weird feeling I get whenever I think about that I'm going to see Robert in just a few minutes time... Who knows maybe I will make my mind on telling him about my feelings today after all, with all th excitement overwhelming me? Maybe I won't, now that I think about it.

Goodness, Mother is calling from downstairs that Jem, Faith, the twins and little Julia have arrvied! I must fly then!

Yours,

Di Blythe

Di had a real blast on the day of the party at the old good Ingleside. Everyone came on time, the tables were placed in the garden of Ingleside where all the children could easily run around and explore the nature while their parents could still keep their eyes on them. The weather was a reflection of how Di felt, it was very warm, the birds were chirruping and the summer breeze could be felt on each of her guests' faces and was welcomed with smiles.

Everyone was bursting in pride over Di and her achievement, even Mary Vance who smiled at Di and said: "I never doubted in your success, dear friend." after which Di couldn't help herself but to chuckle causing Mary's eyes to turn bitter, but she forgave Di, it was after all her day of celebrations. Una and Rilla sat with Di in a circle, with their sweet little baby-girls in their arms, and the three of them giggled for the next hour.

Carl observed Di all the way through the party, they didn't talk much, there were too many people who were talking to Di at the same time that he even laughed once when he saw how Di turned and looked at him, rolling her eyes in that funny way he loved. He was very proud of her for sure and he even brought her another bouquet of violets, as well as a lovely card with a written "I knew it" inside it. However his cheeks went entirely red when he saw what Robert Keats brought Di as his gift, he brought her a gold necklace with a small glistening star on it, which at the back said: "Reach for the stars". In this moment Carl's heart froze, especially when he saw how Di's cheeks reddened and her eyes started to twinkle mysteriously. But then Carl and Di talked for a while and he made her laugh, and he then slowly started to think that he still might be worthy of her. But his doubts rose up again when he heard Nan whispering to her husband, thinking that Carl who was sitting next to them couldn't hear them, that Di told her that she loved Robert. In that moment, Carl sinked down into his chair, crossed his arms and his mind for the rest of the evening was entirely blank.

Right after the sun hid behind the horizon, leaving this beautiful painting of pink stripes running across the purple sky right above the Rainbow Valley, Robert took this precious moment of when Di stayed alone on the verandah and came up to her with a mischievous smile "Would you care for a walk?" he asked her.

Di raised her eyes from the plate she was holding and grinned at him sweetly "Of course, just let me give this plate to Father." she said and hurried to Gilbert with a plate full of strawberry cake. When Dr Blythe and his wife looked at their daughter, they knew that she knew that today might be the day when her feelings for Robert might be revealed. They saw her flushed cheeks and her red locks furiously fighting with the wind and they also saw this sparkle in her green eyes, and Anne smiled at Gilbert knowingly and he squeezed her hand.

Di took Robert's arm gracefully and she proudly touched the necklace around her neck, while the two of them started their walk towards the Rainbow Valley "Rob, I will never thank you enough for this necklace." she said to him, her eyes smiling.

"You don't have to thank me at all," he replied with a grin "-it's a gift you deserve, and believe me for your achievement, I should say that you deserve even more." he looked quite seriously then and Di blushed again and chuckled to calm her heart which started to beat very quickly.

"If you say so." she answered warmly "What do you think about my family, Rob? It's a shame I've never met yours."

Robert squeezed her hand "I love your family." he replied cheerfully "It's so big and… happy. My family is quite the opposite unfortunately." he sighed "It's just me, my parents and grandmother Lily. That's why I'm partially happy to start my company where my strict parents and my even more scrupulous granny aren's there to criticise me, and so that I could feel more at home with my friends here than at home in Ottawa." he smiled at her knowingly.

Di's heart sinked a bit when he used the word 'friends' but she smiled back nonethelss "I'm glad that you like my family because they all like you." she told him merrily.

"They do?" he repeated with hopeful eyes.

"Oh, yes!" she grinned at him "My Mother is very impressed by the amount of poetry you know by heart and my Father thinks that you remind him of me in some ways." she chuckled and so did Robert.

"I think that maybe we are alike, in some ways." Robert agreed joyfully "And I'm glad that we are, it amazes me sometimes how we remained frineds for so long witout seeing each other at all, but now I think that maybe this is the answer to my question." he said and looked deeply into Di's eyes.

She looked back in his eyes with the same gleam she could see in his own, and her heart started beating even faster "Do you think that… you will want to move away from Glen someday in the future?" she asked him worriedly.

"I don't know, Di, I truly don't." he replied honestly "Maybe, I'm quite sure that my company would be propsering better in some bigger city, but then I think that I prefer the countryside."

"You know what, I don't even know whether I prefer countryside or a city life?" she said suddenly "I've never been in a big city such as Toronto or Ottawa for more than two days and I could never quite make an opinion on whether I prefer the small Glen or the huge Toronto."

Robert smiled softly "Then you must allow me to be your guide around Ottawa the next time you'll be able to go and visit it." he said.

She nodded "Sure, I'd love that." she answered and then her heart almost popped out of her chest when suddenly Robert stopped her and took her hands in his. He looked down in her eyes with a shining sparkle of… of… Di wasn't sure of what but she was almost certain and that's why she started breathing so heavily.

"Diana." Robert addressed her decidedly.

"Yes?" she asked him so quietly that she wasn't sure whether she said anything at all.

"I've been waiting to say this since so long ago I can hardly remember since when." he said to her with a hidden smile in the corners of his lips "I love you Diana Blythe." he breathed out eventually and Di felt as if her legs started to break down under the softeness of his voice "I love you since the day you bumped into me in the hall at my second year of Architecture. I love you as the moon loves the stars and as the sun loves the clouds. I love you for being you, this incredibly beautiful person inside and out with those perfect red locks of yours." he said almost breathlessly and put Di's strand of her hair behind her ear with a witty smile crossing his face "Would it be very wrong of me to ask you to be my first and only sweetheart?" he asked her eventually.

Di caught her breath at his words and she smiled at him, showing off her perfectly white teeth, her cheeks dimpled and pink from both the hotness of the day and the emotions overhwhelming her "On one condition." she said finally and Robert's brows furrowed but his smile remained unchanged.

"I'm almost afraid to ask." he whispered and Di chuckled again.

"Do not fear, Robert Keats." she said and put her head higher so that she could easily study his eyes "I can be your first and only sweetheart on one condition and that is if you will kiss me." her lips turned into a grin and Robert chuckled light-heartedly.

"I will do it with the greatest pleasure." he replied and his lips met with Di's. Di would later write about this kiss, her first kiss, in her diary and she would describe it as "the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me. So gentle, yet so passionate, and so affectionate, and tender, the kiss that could be easily a song.". Di's happiness reached its highest level, and her hands wrapped around Robert's neck as the birds chirruped their enchanted song of June above them.

There was one thing that Di didn't know, and it was that one man with brown hair with golden glints and dark blue eyes, one of which was blind, was a witness to Di's first kiss. His face was sorrowful and his eyes were full of hopelessness, as just a few moments earlier he planned on being the man who would kiss her pink lips for the first time.