Chapter 18 - The First Emotions of Love
In their little hotel room, the two lovers were still standing, savouring the moment, Anne always ran her hand through his brown hair, and Gilbert continued to put kisses on the young redhead's neck.
When the young man stopped, "Are you sure you don't mind sharing a room with me?", he asked worriedly.
The girl could not understand his sudden concern, "No. As I said, it saved us money, and why should I worry about sharing a room with you?", she asked naively.
The dark-haired boy did not know what to say at the time, he frowned, while Anne turned to face him, and she realized that she was really too innocent, she had not realized what Gilbert had implied.
The girl's eyes widened, she had finally understood what the young man meant, she glanced at the two beds, then on the wall there was a curtain that was not drawn, "Look at this curtain that is fixed between the two beds, we could draw it to make a separation, so there will be no problem!"
Gilbert smiled mischievously at the redhead, "Thank you, that might make me feel better, but I'm going to share a room with a very unpredictable girl, who knows what can happen to me during the night, I guess a curtain is a weak protection..."
Anne amused herself, "I'm going to review my judgment as well, I think I should be wary too..." With these words, the young man pulled the young redhead towards him, he let himself fall on the bed with her, Gilbert stood to the left of her, his face bent above hers.
They looked away from each other for a few moments, and he pushed a red hair out of the girl's face, "You are so pretty right now."
When she heard these words, the girl's eyes sparkled, she didn't know what to say at the time, it was the first time someone had ever said such a compliment to her.
She approached the dark-haired boy face towards her, and gave him a light kiss on the lips, the latter smiled at this tender gesture, then he took the lead for a second, much deeper and more passionate kiss.
The two young people thus continued their exchange of tenderness for a long time. During all this time, they hardly spoke at all, they were far too busy discovering their first amorous emotions.
Meanwhile in Charlottetown, Marilla had taken her place in the girls' tea room, Ruby was serving tea, while Diana tried unsuccessfully to reassure the elderly woman, "I'm sure Anne isn't doing anything irresponsible right now, did you know she was preparing a writing project for the short story competition in Queens? She's so talented, I have no doubt for a moment that she won't succeed."
Marilla looked at the young brunette, and couldn't help but say, "Don't try to drown the fish, I guess she won't be back for hours, so I guess I won't see her today."
Ruby, who was standing next to her, was struggling not to make any mistakes, she didn't understand everything about the situation, but it was clear to her that Anne had lied this morning, and she didn't want to create more problems for her.
But a certain Josie created the trouble in a single intervention, "It's so sad that Anne hasn't had any more answers from Gilbert Blythe, I think she's very much in love with him, but I think that boy just goes from girl to girl, poor Anne."
Diana and Ruby stared at her, they obviously didn't agree with what she was saying. As for Marilla, she was only challenged by one detail, "He didn't answer her? Anne must have been too proud to tell me... I dare to hope that that's not why she's not here, she wouldn't have had the stupid idea of going to Toronto? She knows how much I don't like her travelling alone!"
Diana rushed to answer, "Don't worry Marilla, she just went to do some research for her short story, she needed to soak up some places for inspiration.", Ruby nodded, and the other girls were silent.
Some time later Marilla left the Blackmore mansion, she added one last time before leaving, staring at the young brunette, "You will tell Anne, that I am waiting for her explanations in her next letter."
Once Marilla was gone, Ruby couldn't help but exclaim aloud, "My God! Anne has gone to Toronto!"
Diana immediately replied, "Shhh! The girls must have heard you! And it's a good thing Lily can't hear!"
When suddenly one of the girls made herself heard, she was obviously standing halfway between the hall and the living room, "Yes, we heard everything." and then Tillie and Jane came in to nod.
In the streets of Montreal, the young couple was walking around, looking for a place to have supper, the sun was already slowly setting, the city lights were starting to come on.
They had spent much of the afternoon butterflying in their hotel room away from view.
Anne touched Gilbert's hand as she walked, she wanted to hold his hand, but she didn't know if it was permissible to hold a boy's hand in public, so in doubt, she didn't dare to do anything.
A warm-looking brasserie stood on the corner, the young redhead had spotted it, she stopped in front of it to admire the decorations through the window, the establishment was different from the others, there were magnificent paintings hanging on the wall, as well as flowers decorating the tables, "Isn't this the most charming brasserie we've ever come across?! But it doesn't..."
She was cut off by Gilbert, who took her hand and led her to the entrance of the brewery, "If it's not good, it will at least be nice to look at.", he said with a smile.
The two young people were seated at their table, "I'll tell you, I'm very hungry, finally saving money on the hotel room was more than welcome, you're very farsighted Anne Shirley-Cuthbert."
Anne burst out laughing, "Your stomach is not the quietest.", and at the same time the waiter brought the plates.
The dark-haired boy disapproved, and then hastily asked, "I haven't asked you yet, but, how is the writing of your short story going, have you found a subject? The contest is for the end of the year, isn't it?"
The redhead nodded, "I think I've found my subject, but I'd rather keep it to myself for now. You'll know when the time comes!", she exclaimed enthusiastically.
"And will you make me read?", asked the medical student, which caused the aspiring young writer to stammer, "No! I-I mean, you're going to be in Toronto anyway."
"Um... don't you want me to read...? But I've already read the articles you wrote for the Avonlea Gazette.", Gilbert had a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"You know it's different, we're talking about a fiction here.", she replied to justify herself.
The dark-haired boy nodded, "I thought you were having your friends and Mrs. Barry read to you. You're wrong, by the end of December I'll be here, I plan to spend the holidays in Avonlea."
The redhead didn't know what to say, she just enjoyed her meal, she didn't want to talk about it again.
An hour later, the two young people came out of the brewery, they were having one of those impassioned discussions about their aspirations, they were walking along a park not far from the hotel, it was dark, it was early evening.
"I've already told you, Gilbert, no matter which path you choose, if you stay passionate, you'll be wonderful, whether you choose to be a doctor or a researcher. You still have a few years to figure it out after all.", said the young redhead.
The young man was touched by these words, "Passion... It's something you apparently know well, you want to write stories, you want to teach, and now you want to do justice. And yet, I don't feel like you want to choose, you want to do all that, so you try."
Anne stopped her walk, "Do you think that's the right way to do it? I should probably choose my vocation, but when I try, one more is added to my list. I probably could never excel in any field if I don't devote myself fully to it..."
Gilbert turned to the girl to reassure her, he put his hand on her chin, "Far be it from me to steal your formulas, but you'll make a beautiful teacher, as well as a wonderful writer, and a great newspaperwoman."
In her hesitant little voice, the redhead whispered, "Do you think...?", to which the dark-haired boy replied with a small smile and a sweet kiss on her lips.
The next moment, the two lovers had gone back to their hotel room, they had drawn the curtain to create a separation, and thus maintain their intimacy.
Anne was in front of her mirror, she was undoing her hair with a certain nostalgia already, she was thinking that this day could not have been more wonderful, tomorrow would probably also be the day of their separation. Now that they knew that this story of letters not received or not written had been just another misunderstanding, they couldn't afford to prolong their stay any longer. By the same token, if they could avoid missing classes, it was convenient for them.
Gilbert, who was on the other side of the curtain, was undoing his shirt, he was going to put on his nightgown, he too felt a deep joy after that day, as well as a deep sadness as he thought about the next day. He glanced at the white shell on his bedside table, it soothed him, he was now sure that the redhead had no problem with him.
But one subject in particular had not been addressed, at no time had Anne bothered to question him about the contents of the letters she had never received. This worried him and relieved him at the same time. He was worried, because he wondered if it was of little interest to her in the end, and relieved because he was afraid to express an answer if she was curious. As if to drive away his troublesome thoughts, he blew a great blow.
Anne heard him, so she laughed and asked, "Isn't your bed comfortable enough? You shouldn't have let me choose."
The dark-haired boy smiles at the thought, "I think I'll be okay for one night."
The young redhead was now in bed, everyone had their bedside lamps on. She could see the silhouette of Gilbert putting on his nightgown, which made her blush, she blamed herself for watching or even imagining anything during those seconds.
She was suddenly interrupted in her thoughts by the young man, "I'm going to turn off the light, so I'll bid you good night.", he said most tenderly.
Anne was taken aback, she mumbled, "Oh uh yeah... I'll do the same, I'll say good night to you too."
The young man was taken aback when he saw the girl's silhouette move, "Well! You can see a little too well through these curtains with the light from the lamp."
"I swear I didn't look! " the redhead exclaimed.
Gilbert was surprised, a mischievous smile on his face, "I hadn't implied anything like that..."
The latter stuck her head under the sheets, as if that would hide all traces of shame, "Good night!", she said again, hoping very much that he would erase what had just happened from his memory.
It had been about an hour when Gilbert heard a voice whispering to him, "Gilbert... Did you manage to get some sleep?"
The young boy with the brown curls also replied in a low voice, "Not really, apparently you picked the wrong bed. " he did to tease.
However, the girl took a serious tone, "It's just that... All day I've been asking myself over and over again... What have you been writing in your letters? In fact, I wanted to know what you wrote back the first time."
A long silence was felt, it was the question the young man feared so much, but at the same time he was happy that she was so interested to know it, she couldn't fall asleep.
Then, Anne reacted to Gilbert's no-reaction, "You finally fell asleep?"
The young redhead on the other side of the curtain was really apprehensive about what the young man was going to say, this long hesitation seemed to last for hours, yet it was only a few seconds at most.
He was so nervous that he didn't know where to start, but he owed her an answer, so he did his best to be as simple as possible.
"Anne, I'd like to propose to you."
Now it was the girl's turn to remain mute, she was lying in her bed, her mouth was open and her eyes wide open, she did not expect him to make such a revelation to her. She wondered why the young man needed to say such a thing now, they had only just met each other and discovered their mutual feelings. Without mentioning the fact, that they were now separated from each other for an as yet undetermined time.
Gilbert was worried on the other side of the curtain, it wasn't as if he had asked the girl a question, he was only expressing one of his desires, but he expected some kind of reaction. He asked hesitantly, "Anne?"
The redhead didn't really know what to say, she was so afraid of saying something stupid, she was afraid of unintentionally hurting him, as she had done in the past. So she couldn't find a ready-made answer in just a few seconds, especially on such an important subject.
But the young man insisted again, "You finally fell asleep?"
She heard the sheets on Gilbert's bed moving, so she realized that he was probably heading towards her to check if she was asleep.
Then only one solution offered itself to her, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
She heard the curtain move to open, she knew he was surely looking at her, and she imagined how disappointed the poor boy must have been, but it was surely the least terrible thing she could do that night. She should be better prepared for it next time.