Present Day
Anne did not remember walking out of the church, but she must have done so with Gilbert, her husband. Even the thought made her want to cry, so it was better not to think anything. It was a formality, and they were still just to be great friends.
Gilbert, though, felt conflicted. On the one hand, he had just married the great love of his life; on the other, she did not love him, and their reasons for marriage were more than unfortunate. He was ready to make things work however possible.
Anne was still reeling without speaking, and Gilbert could tell and wanted to give her time, so they walked back to where they were staying to grab their already packed things, all that remained of their lives from before. Finally, the newlyweds, a term Anne would never use, made their way to the train station, ready to embark on a long train ride to Toronto, where their new lives would begin.
They settled in their seats, which were the cheapest one could buy and therefore meant for a very uncomfortable night's sleep in the chairs instead of a slightly less awkward sleeping compartment. Anne sat next to the window and looked out longingly at the part of Canada she knew and loved and tried to be excited about the new part she would get to understand; however, she just learned that it would not be home; that would always be Green Gables even if it did not want her now. Before she knew it, the lulling of the train sent her to sleep.
Gilbert was not so lucky to be sleeping on the train ride; instead, he busied himself by creating a budget and crunching the numbers on what they could afford. He would peek at his sleeping wife in the seat next to him; she looked utterly peaceful in a way he had not seen her since before. He wished he could show her some little affection but knew better, for they were still only to be friends. When it got too dark for Gilbert to see longer, he also tried to let sleep take him. His mind was filled with worries about the future and how he and Anne would make it work, not only until he became a doctor but for the rest of their lives in a loveless marriage with no family to help them. Gilbert still held onto some hope that Anne could learn to love him one day, and at least they would have that. For now, all they had was their friendship, and Gilbert was not sure it was enough.
Groggily, Anne stretched her arms and, for a moment, was confused as to why she was on a train and not at Green Gables. Suddenly, it hits her what is happening, and her dream that she had just woken up from was, in fact, just that, a dream. It had not been a particular dream of any sort, just the kind where she went through her daily tasks at home, but now that it was no longer her reality, it almost made her cry how much she longed for just that.
"You slept a long time," Gilbert said, startling her; she had not realized that he was awake or apparently watching her.
"What time is it," Anne groggily replied to him.
"Well, it is two in the morning, but you must have been asleep since at least two in the afternoon. Now your sleep schedule will be completely thrown off," He explained.
"It does not really matter. My sleep schedule was already off; I did not wink last night. Why are you awake, though?" Anne questioned Gilbert because he could not admonish her for sleeping during the day if he did not rest at night.
"Yeah, I can not sleep either. I just have a lot on my mind, I guess," he said quietly, not wanting to wake up the other passengers on the train who were lucky enough to be asleep.
Another few moments passed in silence, with only the rumble of the train to be heard.
"Gilbert?" Anne broke the tension.
"Yeah, Anne?" Gilbert smiled at her, forever happy hearing his name on her lips.
"Do you think we are going to be alright? There is just so much that I am worried about. Like where are we to live? What will I do if they do not let me into the University? I am not ready to just be a housewife, Gilbert. What are we to do about having children one day? Certainly, that is to mess with our friendship, is it not? Oh, do not answer that; I am just being foolish! But anyways, there is so much uncertainty in our lives that I can not help but be positively anxious all the time." Anne rambled out, her thoughts coming out of her mouth before she could even think of them.
"Honestly, Anne, there is not much I can say to comfort you other than that we will have each other. Everything else is so up in the air that I can only pray everything will be alright. But no matter how things go, we will figure it out because we will always have each other," Gilbert tried to be as reassuring as possible despite his doubts on this subject. He hated showing people how vulnerable he felt, even with Anne.
"I guess you will have to be right then," she said gloomily, wanting a better answer but understanding that there is not one. "Okay then, enough of that dreary subject. Let us discuss what our house looks like! I imagine it having a garden and a tree right outside my bedroom that I could climb up and down," Anne said, laughing, knowing she was being ridiculous but at the same time earnestly wanting that.
Gilbert chuckled and joined in on the tomfoolery. The rest of the train ride went smoothly as the two best friends chatted away. Before they knew it, they were already in Toronto.
After getting off the train, they were both in awe of the city they saw before them. They thought Halifax was a large city, but this was almost five times the size. The enormous nature of their situation almost immediately rushed away any confidence they had about their future.
Even finding the address Pastor Elton had given them of a friend who lived in the city and could help Anne and Gilbert was about to prove challenging. The couple stumbled through the streets of Toronto, looking everywhere for the house. After what felt like hours, an absolutely exhausted Anne and Gilbert arrived at a quaint home that was at odds with the bustling city. Gilbert knocked on the door with that, wanting nothing but a warm meal and bed.
The door swung open and inside stood a kindly-looking middle-aged woman. After seeing Anne and Gilbert, her mouth broke into a grin.
"You must be the young couple our good friend told us about! You poor things look exhausted and famished; come in!" the woman said while ushering them into her home. "We were just about to eat dinner; please join us," she continued, still not giving her name or who she was.
Anne and Gilbert followed her in and sat at the dining room table, where food was already out and plated for four. Also, at the table was a man, whom they assumed to be the woman's husband.
"There they are; you two are pretty late. I sincerely hope your journey was alright after the past few weeks the two of you have had; you deserve it," the man at the table greeted them.
"Thank you; this meal looks quite delicious. I am sorry, but who are you two?" Anne timidly responded to the gentleman.
"Did Pastor Elton not tell you who he was sending you to? It seems he can be forgetful at times. I am Mr. John Oak, and here is my wife, Dr. Emily Oak," Mr. Oak said proudly as he talked about his wife.
Gilbert and Anne stared in awe at the revelation that this woman was a doctor. Neither of them had ever heard of a woman being a doctor.
"Excuse me, did you say 'doctor'? I, too, want to be a doctor; what sort of medicine do you practice?" Gilbert asked tentatively, not sure he heard correctly but still wanting to be polite.
"That is wonderful, Gilbert; though it will be hard to become a doctor, having been married so young, I do not believe it will be as hard as it was for me to earn my degree. I am a surgeon; it is a rapidly expanding field, and I would love to talk to you about it at some time," Dr. Oak replied kindly, noting the awe on Anne's and Gilbert's faces.
"I would very much appreciate that, Dr. Oak; thank you," Gilbert pleasantly responded, hoping that Dr. Oak might become a sort of mentor for him while in the city.
With that, the rest of their meal was filled with pleasantries and getting to know each other. As the meal was finished, the older couple noticed how tired the younger seemed and hurried to rush them off to bed.
"Our spare room is here; the bedding is clean, so no need to worry about that. We will discuss plans in the morning, but for now, just sleep," Dr. Oak said to the newlyweds and departed back downstairs to her husband for some reading by the fireplace.
Conversely, Anne and Gilbert were quite horrified. While logically, they knew they were married, neither had considered that they would have to share a room, much less a bed.
"Um, how about we both turn around and get dressed so we do not see each other?" Anne reasoned while she was utterly mortified by this whole situation. Imagine undressing in front of your best friend!
Gilbert agreed, and both got into their nightclothes as quickly as possible, probably the fastest they had ever changed. But nothing was as awkward as when they turned around and saw each other. Gilbert was only in a nightshirt, while Anne was in a lightweight nightgown. Instantly, they each turned red, which Anne knew did not go well with her hair, only adding to her mortification.
Slowly, they looked at the bed, nodded to the other, and climbed in as far apart as they could manage. Unfortunately for the two newlyweds, it was a small bed, and they were forced to be side by side. Anne noticed this and swiftly turned away from Gilbert to face the wall and said a hasty good night. Gilbert did the same. The two were in for another night of restless sleep.