Baker - G. BLYTHE

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-ˋˏ *.·:·. [TWO WEEKS LATER] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

WINTER CAME IN WHITE, SOFT PILES OF FROZEN WATER, A SIGHT THAT CHARLOTTE MISSED AND NEEDED DESPERATELY. The anniversary of her Father's death came before the snowfall but John's didn't. On that morning she thought of nothing but Gilbert and how terrible he must currently feel. She gathered a bunch of colourful flowers which had survived the snowfall, tied the bunch with brown twine and walked towards Gilbert's home. She laid the flowers on the snow-covered ground and sat on the cold bench near the Blythe's cemetery plot. She stayed there until her nose was so red from the cold it became painful, she talked to John about what she knew Gilbert was up to. 

Her sorrow of that day was quickly distracted by Tillie Boulter, who came running up to Charlotte before she headed to Anne's for the morning. The girls, not including Josie, all gathered in Anne's Gable room and began their fun. They took to blowing feathers up in the air, using the time to study the other girl's lips. It was an activity that Charlotte didn't enjoy, she didn't like that when she blew on the feather everyone's gaze fell on her. She loathed being under the girl's focused gaze, it made her little confidence plummet. Keeping the feather above the ground was pretty fun though. Anne later created a make-believe game of a handsome knight coming to save his fair maiden which they all spent hours playing with different people introduced and interchanged. It was the perfect distraction and a delightful day, one which she relieved in great detail that evening when telling her Mother all about her day. 

School days came in frequent numbers, each a copy of the one before it. Lessons upon lessons, Josie Pye tormenting and insulting whoever wronged her in any way, Billy Andrews shouting rude things about Charlotte's appearance towards her every morning and Anne insisting she was anything but just ugly and Irish. Charlotte spent a few lunch afternoons teaching Anne and Tillie a little of the Irish language after they had requested it on multiple occasions for the past two weeks. One lunch, Josie had suggested a game of spin the bottle, which the majority of the class had agreed to. Charlotte instead chose to spend her time working on bakes at home instead of playing a game so Josie could kiss one of the boys in school. Her first kiss with a boy was going to be with someone she loved entirely, not the outcome of a parlour game.

-ˋˏ *.·:·. [FOUR DAYS LATER] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

Cole and Charlotte sat between the coats in the cloakroom. She was seeking help from Cole, trying to get better at her not so great drawing skills. She was better at painting but paintings began with drawings the majority of the time, so she hoped that his help would better her paintings. Plus she really enjoyed Cole's company and he enjoyed hers. 

"I would add some shadowing here and-" Cole began, pointing at certain areas in her drawing before they were rudely interrupted by none other than Josie Pye, a girl which Charlotte could hardly stand by this point. 

"Hello Cole," she spoke enthusiastically as she sat down next to Cole between the coats. Her tone made the two very uncomfortable, him more than her. Charlotte went back to her drawing, adding the shading which Cole had suggested and remained silent in an attempt to give them some sort of privacy- it was the polite thing to do even if she didn't favour Josie. "I just wanted to say it's too bad our game ended before you could have your turn," she added suggestively, placing both hands in her lap. Cole shifted in his seat uncomfortably, the tension and discomfort he was feeling radiated around that small coat room. He turned his head awkwardly, trying to get back to his drawing and desperately wanting to get away from the conversation.  "I suppose I could break the rules and allow you to kiss me now." Josie smiled and shuffled closer to him, so close that their knees were touching. A stifled snigger, mixed with a scoff escaped Charlotte's lips but she successfully covered it up with a cough,  she thought it was successfully covered. 

"No thank you," Cole replied keeping a monotone voice, he was trying desperately not to laugh as Charlotte turned pink in the cheeks from trying not to laugh. The two would have been in fits of giggles if Josie Pye wasn't currently sitting on the bench next to them with a look of pure outrage on her face a picture that would stay in Charlotte's head for a very long time. 

"What's wrong with you! Don't you like girls or something?" Josie exclaimed with a sour look on her face clearly she couldn't deal with being rejected. Charlotte coughed loudly and began to roll the bruised skin on her finger once more, in an attempt to not lash out at Josie Pye again. 

"I don't like you," Cole replied deepening the shade of crimson forming on Josie's cheeks. Charlotte nudged him gently trying not to laugh as Josie walked away, each shoe clacking against the wooden flooring matched a snigger from the two between the coats. Charlotte smiled at him, proud that he had the guts to stand up against Josie. The two returned to drawing, Cole helping her to get the drawing just right. He tried hard not to notice that it was clearly a drawing of Gilbert and her together, baking in a kitchen and he tried desperately not to mention what he thought it meant. 

Cole accompanied Charlotte halfway to her house, they talked about everything but Josie Pye. Mostly they talked about Gilbert, he let her get everything she needed off her chest and at that moment they both shared the missing feeling. She shared her feelings about the letter, and how to this day the contents bothered her. With the gold now not being in Avonlea, it caused her high amounts of worry. If Gilbert had only come back for the Gold and found that it had been a lie, it would be even worse. 

The funny thing was, as she walked into the Bakery after that conversation a beacon of hope arrived as a single, thin letter. Addressed to a Miss Charlotte Rayhill from a Mr Gilbert Blythe. "Flower, you won't be able to read it if you don't breathe," her Mother laughed from the front as Charlotte stood in the kitchen, feeling nerves churn her stomach, goosebumps form on her arms and a rush of happiness through her veins. It was a perfect mix of emotions, creating a feeling that stopped her breaths for a few seconds. 

"What if it's bad news, what if he's coming back only for the Gold?" Charlotte spoke in a soft voice, directing her gaze away from his handwriting. She held the letter in one hand and nervously tapped the table next to where she stood with the other. 

"You know he's not the type to do that. No amount of Gold would change his decision," Mother reasoned, clearing her daughter's head for a few short moments. Those moments gave her the confidence to tear open the letter, carefully tear open the letter. Her eyes glanced over every single letter twice, hoping that the ink etched into the page wasn't true. 

"Not returning to Avonlea, indefinitely," she sighed, placing the letter back into the envelope it had arrived inside. Disappointed would not cover it well enough. 

"Flower-"

"It's good news, right? He's staying out there and travelling like he wants to," she pulled a fake smile and used the bruised skin on her finger to once more keep the tears from falling. "I'll be upstairs if you need anything," she sniffled once, quick enough that it wouldn't have been noticed if she wasn't her Mother, then abandoned the letter on the kitchen table before heading up the staircase to her bedroom.  Despite knowing that he wasn't likely to come back, Charlotte had built up a sort of hope that maybe this would be the reason for his return. So now the waves of disappointment hit her quicker than lightning. The feeling formed thunder in her chest and harsh waves of heat travelled up her neck and the tips of her ears. Not heat of anger toward him, anger towards herself. Anger that she had let herself get her hopes up, leaving her disappointed, broken, tearful and laying in bed needing a friend desperately.