Long Distance Love Letters

Epilogue

15 Years Later

Anne sat on her old rocking chair on the porch, enjoying the sun as it began to set on another beautiful day. Watching this sight with the occasional glass of wine after a long day was one of her favorite pastimes.

A few months after James' birth, Anne, Gilbert, Marilla began to build the bigger house they now lived in. Even Diana and Jerry, newly married and already pregnant at the time, pitched in where they could. Anne and Gilbert weren't sure if they were going to have more kids at that point, but a two-bedroom house with five residents was already pretty cramped.

Anne was so excited when Diana gave birth to little Jerry Jr., but not nearly as excited as she was when Diana gave birth to a little girl, whom she named Anne Cordelia. Anne cried when Diana told her that she was her daughter's name sake.

"Our children will be kindred spirits for life," she whispered, unbearably happy.

Times were quite difficult for a while when Marilla passed away. Her health had been slowly declining for a few years prior, and she knew it was coming, but it didn't make the day any easier. The only thing that brought Anne comfort was knowing that she was buried right beside Matthew and Mary.

Marilla left Green Gables to Anne and Gilbert so Gilbert could continue his practice there. After Dr. Ward passed on, Gilbert completely took over and opened locations in Avonlea, Charlottetown, and Carmody. He was close with all of his patients in Avonlea and they all knew that if they needed him, he would come at any hour in the night.

As for Anne, she continued teaching at Avonlea School, but she was also able to start and writing career. Her first published story was The Epic Triumphs and Plunders of Princess Cordelia. She only wrote it at first to help her grieve Marilla, but Gilbert insisted that it was wonderful and that she send it to publishers. Reluctantly, she did. It took a while for anyone to be interested, and when someone finally was, she had no idea how to react. The book did astoundingly well, and since then, she wrote three more books and was working on her fourth.

Bash, Muriel, Delphine, and Matthew came back to Avonlea after five years in Trinidad. As people of colour became increasingly accepted in PEI, the family felt comfortable enough to return home. Anne and Gilbert, however, were quite surprised to see Muriel come back pregnant. Not long after, they gave birth to a little girl whom they named Mary.

The last fifteen years had been quite a ride, but Anne wouldn't change it for the world.

The 38-year-old was pulled out of her thoughts as the sputtering of a car engine slowly perked her senses.

She smiled, immediately knowing who it was.

"Kids!" she called inside. "Your father is home!"

Just as Gilbert came into view around the corner of the house, Thomas came onto the porch. Thomas, now 27, was visiting from his new home in Toronto. He had moved there when he got married to accept an offered job to be a psychologist. He had said that mental health was finally being noticed, and he wanted to be apart of it. His wife, Lucy, was 18 weeks pregnant, and he was preparing to become a father.

As he walked out to meet Gilbert, Joyce followed behind him. Anne's oldest daughter was now 18 and was the spitting image of her mother. Anne was delighted when Joyce decided to attend Queen's Academy. Even though she went for finances, which lacked scope for the imagination in Anne's opinion, she was proud of her Joy-Joy all the same.

Next came James, or Jem as they liked to call him, now 15. Anne was getting ready to graduate him and she was not ready. Having already done it with Thomas and Joyce, she felt emotionally broken down. Though he shared his mother's red hair, he was akin to Gilbert in personality. Jem had shown interest in his father's practice ever since he was 5. He had quite the talent for it and was planning to attend Redmond College for medicine.

After him came Walter, their third son and their first biological child to inherit Gilbert's black hair. Jem was only 5 months old when Anne became pregnant with Walter, which greatly surprised her. That was when the construction of their bigger house had really kicked into high gear. Only a year younger than his brother, they were almost polar opposites. Walter was artistic and poetic like his mother,
but he was always the quietest one in the family. Like his father, he listened more than he talked. He and Thomas connected quite well.

Next came Anne, or Nan to avoid confusion with Anne Baynard, and Diana, or Di, arm in arm. Anne was delighted to be pregnant again, but she knew from the moment she found out that this pregnancy was unlike her previous ones. She turned out to be right when she gave birth to twins. However, their shared birthday was one of the only things they had in common. Despite sharing her mother's name, she inherited most of Gilbert's looks. Even at her tender age of 12, she was one of the loveliest girls in Avonlea and her parents knew that she would eventually be chased by many suitors. She did inherit her mother's vivid imagination, though. The two of them were best friends. Di, however, despite looking just like her mother, was her father's daughter. She relied heavily on her common sense and twinkling sense of humor. Though Gilbert would never say it, Anne could tell that Di was his favorite.

After the two girls came Shirley, their 10-year-old youngest son. While Joyce and Di were the spitting images of Anne, Shirley was undoubtedly a mini Gilbert, both in looks and tendencies. Like Walter, Shirley was very quiet, but he was not poetic like his older brother, nor did he inherit Anne's imagination at all. He was incredibly sensible and his parents already knew he would graduate at the top of his class.

Last but not least came Bertha, or Rilla. Only 8 years old, her personality mirrored her mother's to a T. She was bold, roly-poly, and overly-imaginative. Sometimes when she would tell Anne about her adventures, she would occasionally be compelled to join. She was their most free-spirited child.

Anne stood up and watched as all eight children ran over to greet their father. Gilbert took time to individually greet all of them even though she could tell he was exhausted. He was the most loving father she had ever seen.

As the children began to play in the yard, Gilbert walked onto the porch and pulled Anne into his arm.

"Hello, my love," he greeted, kissing her forehead.

"Good evening, Dr. Blythe," she whispered teasingly. The two turned to watch the kids.

"We make some incredible children," he commented.

Anne chuckled. "Yes, we do. And no, unless you volunteer to be pregnant next time, we are not having another one."

Gilbert laughed heartily. "Whatever you say."

He pulled away and walked over to the record player, putting a record on.

As "The Very Thought of You" by Al Bowlly began to play, he walked back over to her, holding out his hand.

"May I have this dance, Mrs. Blythe?" he asked cheekily. Anne giggled and accepted.

The world would not remain this perfect for long. Eventually, the Blythes would experience World War l, which Jem, Walter, and Shirley would enlist in. Walter would be killed. They would go through the Great Depression, and later World War ll. There would be marriages, deaths, births, and everything in between.

But right now, in this very moment, Anne and Gilbert, with their children playing safely in the front yard, could not have found anything wrong in the world if they tried.

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AN: OK OK OK FIRST OF ALL I AM NOT GOING TO GET SAPPY YET BC IM WRITING AN AUTHORS NOTE AFTER THIS BUT IM HOLDING BACK TEARS

second of all, the dancing scene was inspired by a fan art piece made by welpsauce on insta