Part 2 of "The Three of Us"

217. Newlyweds

In the morning Gilbert woke just before Anne. The first thing he saw was a glint of fiery red as his eyes adjusted to the light. He smiled.

"Good morning, Mrs. Blythe," he whispered, even though she was still asleep and wouldn't hear him. He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

He thought of getting out of bed so he could surprise her with breakfast, but she was holding fast to his hand, and he had no desire to pull away from her grasp. So he laid back down, staring at her sleeping- a wonderful sight- and feeling content with the world.

It was only a few moments before Anne's eyelashes fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes. "Gilbert," her lips formed the word before any sound came out. She smiled at him.

He grinned back.

"How is Mrs. Blythe this morning?" he asked.

Anne laughed. "Are you going to call me that every time you say something to me?"

"Should I stop?" he asked.

"No," she grinned, scooting closer for a kiss.

"We held hands all night," she realized, finally letting go. "Even while I was asleep I must have loved knowing you were nearby."

"Me too," he agreed. "Best night ever." He did not mention how lonely his house had felt since his father died, because he did not want to introduce sadness into this beautiful morning. He just squeezed her hand again and sat up. "I thought I'd make us breakfast."

"You want to work on your vacation days?" Anne asked him, sitting up. "You're off work for two weeks. I don't mind to make us breakfast."

"Do mothers get any vacation days?" he teased, hopping out of bed.

"I suppose not," Anne admitted with a laugh. "All right, you make breakfast. What are you going to make?"

"That depends on what my lovely bride wants," he said, kissing her on her hand.

"Well, a long time ago," Anne began, "this nice boy invited me over to his house. And he made me pancakes with raspberry preserves and confectioner sugar on them...and I admit I've been rather smitten with him ever since, and so that's always a nice thing to have."

Gilbert splashed some water on his face. "I'll get dressed in a jiffy and run out to the outhouse. I'll be back in a heartbeat."

"What about the animals?" Anne suddenly worried.

"I'll go out and grab a few eggs, but I've arranged for a farmhand to take care of everything while I'm off," he told her. "So no worries and nothing we have to do! It will be a vacation."

Gilbert did not leave the room to change, and in the brightness of a wintry morning, Anne was nervous. She scolded herself for feeling that way, reminding herself that she was a married woman now and it was perfectly natural for her husband to change his clothes in front of her. But she was relieved that he again turned away from her before undressing, so she saw very little.

After Gilbert had left, Anne slipped out of bed and made use of the chamber pot and then quickly washed and dressed.

It wasn't long before she smelled pancakes. She came into the kitchen all smiles.

She slid her arms around her husband's waist, enjoying that she could touch him without worrying about appearances- even if someone were to come by, she wasn't doing anything scandalous; they were a married couple now.

Gilbert turned his head to kiss her on the cheek. "Ready to eat?"

"Absolutely," Anne said, breathing in the scent of the raspberry preserves from the jar she'd just opened.

"Oh, I almost forgot the sugar," Gilbert realized.

"I found it," Anne teased, pulling him in for a kiss.

--

Gilbert wondered whether Anne was going to be nervous every time they went to bed.

He'd already told her he wasn't expecting anything from her- and he hoped she believed him- but that didn't stop her from being hesitant to go into the bedroom at all.

On their second night as a married couple, Gilbert asked, "Was last night ok- holding hands? Or was that...too much?"

"No," Anne said. "It was nice."

"Then let's just do that again, OK?"

She nodded, seemingly reassured, and got into bed without any trepidation.

But once in, with Gilbert's hand on hers, Anne slowly broached, "Um...maybe this time we could lay closer together?"

"All right," he said.

He did not move to her side of the bed; instead, he waited for her, letting her come as close as she wanted to, and leaving space so she could move away if she changed her mind.

Anne scooted slowly closer until she was right by his side, just barely touching.

"Would you put your arm around me?" she asked.

"I'd love to," he smiled- a real smile- opening his arms to her.

She lay down, snuggling into his warm embrace, and he could feel her relax into him.

And that was a nicer night.