CHAPTER 2

Raspberry wine and apple pie

The fourth time he sees Anne it has nothing to do with her cats, as they are in fact in the supermarket.

Seeing her in such a casual setting initially unsettled him. Perhaps until that moment, a part of him still thought that her existence was restricted to their building. The same way ghosts are linked to a place, Anne didn't seem real enough to belong to a world of fluorescent light and frozen aisles, but to the one created late at night, with sliced citrus and dried flowers hanging from the ceiling and secrets whispered over tea, the enveloping smell of cinnamon and honey filling the air.

She was wearing a short white dress with delicate flowers embroidered in the neckline. Her hair was loose in her beautiful auburn waves and Gilbert wondered how someone could look like a forest dryad in the middle of the whitish painful lights of the jamb aisle.

His heart started beating hard. He was wondering if it would be too weird and invasive to walk up to her and say hi, when she made eye contact with him and smiled wildly while waving at him.

He walked up to her then, so nervous he wasn't really aware of what he was saying. Maybe something about craving ice cream? She laughed, and told him she was looking for apples to make a pie. Gilbert smiled widely at that.

"What a coincidence!" he said cheerfully, "I just traveled home last weekend and I came back with almost three baskets filled with apples from my orchard, I'll give you all the apples you want"

"There's no need for that!" Anne assured, her cheeks turning a bright red that almost matched her hair. "I really don't mind buying them, and I couldn't accept them, that's way too generous of you"

"I insist" Gilbert said while shaking his head, "my mother packed way too many for me anyway, I was scared that I wouldn't be able to eat them all before they went to waste, so you'd really be doing me a favor."

Anne bit her lip nervously, clearly conflicted on what to do.

"Okay, what about this?" Gilbert said, sensing her discomfort, "I'll give you the apples but with the condition that you'll let me try the cake when you make it. See it as a collaboration between us two."

Anne smiled at this and nodded with her head, the redness in her cheeks still hadn't disappeared.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, but just as Gilbert was about to say goodbye and proceed with his purchases, Anne said: "I'm having a party this evening. Well, it's not really a party, it's just going to be some friends listening to music and getting wine drunk, so if you think you could enjoy that, you're welcome to come"

"Are you sure your friends will be okay with me coming?" Gilbert asked nervously.

"Definitely! I had to put up with Phil bringing a different person every night for several years, I don't think she has the right to complain. Besides, it's my house" Anne reassured him.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He had always considered himself an expert in small talk, but right now he was so nervous he couldn't even hear himself think above the deafening banging of his heart against his chest. He wondered if Anne could hear it too, and was just too polite to say something. Maybe she was thinking of a tactful way to tell him he should consider seeing a cardiologist.

"Then I'll be there" he finally said, unable to hide the stupidly wide smile on his face.

Anne's eyes lit up at this, and the beating on his chest became painful.

The fifth time Gilbert saw Anne, he found himself standing in front of her door, one hand reaching for the doorbell and a bottle of raspberry wine in the other

He nervously ran a hand through his hair. It was not the first time he visited her house, and yet it felt very important. Until then, that first meeting seemed to belong to another reality, a fairy-tale themed dream where beautiful girls recited poetry to him and cats had three secret names. Seeing her in the supermarket could have broken the spell, but he still wasn't convinced he hadn't made up the entire interaction. He certainly had been having an embarrassing amount of Anne themed daydreams, the content of which he wasn't planning to disclose.

Finally, after he had checked for the forty-eight time that he was in fact wearing clothes and that a massive splash of sauce hadn't somehow fallen on him in the walk from his house to the door, he took a deep breath and miraculously gained the courage to knock.

Not even five seconds later, a really pretty girl with brown curls and chocolate eyes opened the door, so fast her hair flew backwards and she had to quickly stop it from hitting the wall. She then smiled at him with a funny look on her face.

"Hi! You must be Gilbert, right? I'm so excited to meet you! I'm Phil" and without stopping to let him say anything, she took his hand and began to shake it vigorously.

Before he knew it, Gilbert was being dragged by her through the kitchen and into the living room, where several people were already engaged in an animated conversation.

He scanned the room, all the nervousness from before suddenly coming back to him.

Sitting on the sofa, with a straight back and a glass of wine gracefully held in her hands, was a girl with raven black hair thrown back by a blue headband, that contrasted her air of solemnity laughing loudly at what Anne was telling her.

There was one more person in the room, but Gilbert didn't even see him. His attention was instantly drawn to Anne, who must've had a few glasses by then, as her cheeks were flushed red, and her laugh echoed the room.

She was the opposite of her friend, sitting on the back of the couch and drinking her wine out of a pink cup with a picture of a crocodile drawn on it. She was wearing a skirt with green tights and a white blouse. Gilbert had never considered himself a fan of women's fashion, but he suddenly became intensely curious to see the inside of her closet, to find out if everything followed her distinctly elf-of-the-woods aesthetic.

When she finally saw him, Anne's eyes brightened, and she quickly jumped off the couch to go welcome him.

"Gilbert! I'm so glad you came!" She exclaimed, and for an excruciating second Gilbert thought she was about to hug him, the feeling of her soft hair brushing his cheek and her body pressed against his already conjured in his mind, but she must've reconsidered it, because in the last second she settled with an effusive handshake and the most beautiful smile that had no business making his knees so weak.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, matching smiles on their lips, until Anne shook her head as trying to focus.

"I'll introduce you to everyone!" she finally said, turning around to face her friends.

"You've already met Phil," She said, looking at the brunette who had opened the door. "Don't let her get to you, she enjoys terrorizing every man she meets, but she's really harmless. Practically harmless. Most of the time."

Phil grinned at him from the glass cabinet, a playful look in her eyes.

"Don't worry. I promised Anne I'll be on my best behavior" she said, while balancing on her tiptoes to get a glass from the top shelf. "It's the least I can do for Mr. Ridiculously Handsome Neighbor"

Anne burnt red at this, and for a second it seemed like she was going to say something, but she decided to go on as she hadn't heard her.

"These are Diana and her boyfriend Fred" she said, signaling at the girl on the couch and a tall guy who was sitting on the floor setting up a chess game.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you these past weeks" Diana said, and Anne looked like she was about to start slamming her head against the wall.

"Have you?" Gilbert didn't even try to hide his smile, turning around to look at Anne, "Did she tell you about all the cat shenanigans she has gotten me into?"

Fred laughed from his place on the floor. "I told her it's a matter of time until these two get her into trouble. Did you know that the apartment doesn't even allow pets?"

Anne looked at him like he had just disclosed her secret cocaine stash. "What was I supposed to do?" She cried, "Marilla was very clear about not wanting to take care of my pets when she let me adopt them"

"No one is telling you to get rid of them, love" Diana replied, "Just that maybe you should try to be more discreet about them. And not use them as a way to seduce the front door neighbor."

Gilbert laughed at the same time that Anne exclaimed "That is not what happened!" and soon the conversation shifted to other topics.

Hours later, the house was considerably fuller. People huddled between the mismatched furniture and engaged in different conversations above the music that played softly from Anne's computer. Gilbert ended up playing chess with Fred, both sitting on the floor in front of the couch with their legs crossed. He used to play a lot in college, but since he moved out and started working he hadn't found time or a willing player to do it. It was nice to play again.

He had come to the party only for Anne, but he found himself having a lot of fun talking to her friends. Phil ended up being a brilliant mathematician with a mordant sense of humor that made him almost choke on his wine several times. He met a guy who effusively invited him to his next art exhibition, and on his way to the bathroom he bumped into a girl who made a comment about his mismatched socks before leaving with a strange smile, Josie, he thought was her name.

The only thing he wasn't enjoying about the evening was that he really hadn't had a chance to talk to Anne, aside for the few moments of introduction before the rest of the guests had arrived.

He kept observing her throughout the night, following her movements and trying to gain the courage to come talk to her. She looked completely in her element, going from person to person and brightening the room with her wide smiles and loud laughs, and Gilbert couldn't help being drawn to her, like a helpless moth flying towards the light.

He wasn't able to remember a time he had been so mesmerized by another person. All the occasions his friends had laughed at him for being perpetually single crossed his mind, along with the frustration he felt with himself for not being able to feel that kind of thing for anyone. No matter how attractive he found them, or how funny or interesting they were, he had never been able to feel that. That unexplainable feeling that everyone seemed to be obsessed with, that mix of love and attraction that had everyone acting like fools.

He had begun to believe that he might've just not been made for that. Maybe he was supposed to only make platonic connections with people that never became anything else. Maybe he was meant to be the fun uncle to his friend's children. Maybe he had to be the one listening to other people's love stories.

And yet, now, looking at Anne…

He shook his head. It was too soon for all of that. Five short interactions with someone wasn't enough to develop a real connection with them. It certainly wasn't enough to consider the aerobic routine his stomach made every time he thought about her anything but pure nervousness. She was just a girl who he happened to find attractive. A really beautiful, gorgeous girl who was also smart and funny, and the most fascinating person he had ever met. It was completely normal for him to think about her. To dream about getting to know her better and take her to dates. To think of his hands going through her hair and the way her body would feel pressed against his and the way her lips…

He needed some fresh air.

He walked to the open window and bowed his head to get to the fire escape. The soft night breeze disheveled his hair and the cold air cleared his cluttered mind.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply while he sat on the staircase, before he heard a soft knock on the window.

"Can I sit with you?" The lights inside the house made Anne's hair seem on fire, the seven freckles in her nose adding a new constellation to the night sky.

He didn't hesitate to make room for her, forgetting how the sole reason he was there in the first place was because he wanted to get away from her overwhelming presence inside his mind.

"Are you having fun?" She asked, after a short moment of silence.

"I really am" He knew she was looking at him, but he couldn't find the courage to meet her eyes, in fear that he might never be able to look away from her again. "Your friends are amazing"

"I love being surrounded by people," she said, her eyes now scrutinizing the night sky, as if she was looking for something Gilbert couldn't even see if he tried. "Maybe it's because I grew up feeling so awfully alone, but I love when I can surround myself with people that I know care about me".

Gilbert nodded in agreement. "Well, as a fellow lonely kid, I get what you mean. I will never take love for granted."

"You? A lonely kid?" She was looking at him again. "I would've guessed you were mister popular wherever you went".

He laughed at that. "Maybe in high school and college, yes, I did have many friends. But I spent most of my childhood sitting next to my father's hospital bed, which drastically lowered my possibilities of interaction with kids my age"

He doesn't know why he is telling her all that. Maybe it was the full moon making him act outlandish, maybe it was the way he could see the stars reflected in Anne's eyes when she looked up. Maybe she had bewitched him by putting something on his tea that night, the one he hadn't been able to stop thinking about.

"I'm sorry to hear that" She said, meeting his eyes for the first time since she sat down.

"Don't be" He could feel his blood flowing through his veins, the way his lungs filled with air, the taste of cheap wine in his mouth. He could feel everything at the same time. "He's perfectly fine now, and I owe everything to that experience"

"How is that?" She whispered. They both had been whispering the entire time, as if time around them had become so fragile, it could've been broken with any loud noise.

"It's the reason I became a doctor" He answered, "That's what I do, I mean, that's my job. I graduated from med school last year."

"Do you like it?" She asks. He was a bit surprised by that. People don't usually ask him that, they mostly just assume he does like it, or at least he likes the pay.

"I love it," He says. "It can get a bit overwhelming sometimes, but I really feel it's what I'm supposed to do"

"Do you really think that?"

"Think what?"

"That we are meant to do the things we do, that our destiny is written for us"

He didn't, actually. He fully believed that you should build your destiny with your own hands, that you are in charge of becoming the person you want to become. He shook his head.

"Do you?" he asked her then.

"I'm not sure" She was staring at the stars again, as if she was looking at a gasp between memories, a moment lost in time. "I just hope I am where I'm supposed to be"

They remained silent, and he didn't tell her what he was thinking. That he had never believed in fate a day in his life. That he had laughed at every oneiric thought. That he only believed in facts, things he could see and feel and touch. And yet, while he looked at her, he couldn't help but to wish that, if something did rule the stream of causal events that composed his life, it could take just a few seconds to write a story for them.

Notes:

Here's the second chapter! I can't promise the next one will come as fast as this one but I promise it'll be here soon. I hope you're enjoying this story please tell me your thoughts! See you soon.