HIS EYES (Gilbert Blyth - Anne with an E)

Epilogue

Gilbert Blyth stared out into the ocean. His fingers gripped the warm sand beneath his fingers. The calm feeling of the ocean wind running through his hair let him breath for the first time in a while. He had been hunched over reports and books for so long to contribute to a new medical guide, it had been the first proper moment where he had time I enjoy the sun. Anne sat pulling pins from her hair "let me?" He asked. She paused for a moment forgetting that she was not alone. She stood and sat closer with her back towards him. Gently he weaved through her hair and pulled out pins jetting it free. Before letting her bun fall down all together he placed a soft kiss at  the base of her neck. "You look beautiful today" he added causing her to turn and face him. His cheesy grin caused her to frown.

"You look better rested today yourself Gil" she smiled meeting his eye. He had gotten so engrossed by his work that he had let his beard grow out. "It tickles" she giggle running her fingers through it.

Mischievous glint sparkled in his eye and he pushed forward to try kiss her. His quick attack pushed her backwards in laughter. Before either realised Gilbert pressed a soft kiss on her lips in victory. "You don't like it then?" He asked looking down at her warmed face.

"I did not say that. All that matters is that you like it" she reminded. It was adentageous that they could be alone at the beach, it allowed them to throw away rules of decorum and give them room to be their childish selves. Anne admired how the sun danced around the tips of his dark hair and his tiered face was being kissed by sunlight. He was slowly turning back into his old self.

"I think I look like someone lost at sea" he added remembering his days on the boats. When the men were too busy to care about simple things such as shaving.

"Well then, I suppose we had better fix that before going to the Barry's tomorrow" she added leaning up to sit again. She pressed a kiss on his nose before smiling "I thought it to be quite charming" Her hair had caught some sand so he spent a moment brushing it off her shoulders.

"Let's get home now" he suggested. Anne didn't say bother word but collected the shells and basket of things they had brought and found. Gilbert shook their blanket and rolled it into the side satchel of his bike. The new bikes were pushed back to the road before they cycled down the lane to their small forest cottage.

The place had been left after Miss Stacy moved from Avonlea, and so the couple found it to be a quaint home for them when they were not in Toronto working. Their small Toronto apartments left them in want for more nature and the small cottage gave them that when they found time to escape.

Anne started boiling water for a bath as Gilbert began shaving his face. Taking his time he removed corners of hair before mimicking whom he thought he looked at. Mr Phillips impersonation came last before the remainder of his moustache was removed. "Now, that looks much better. I suppose it is not hygienic for a doctor to have facial hair anyway" he added sitting down at the table in the kitchen. He picked up the paper and continued to read it. He had a habit of buying them in Toronto but never having time to actually read them.

Anne slipped the warm water and enjoyed the feeling of the water giving her arms a weightless feeling. Gilbert read interesting a facts and she scrubbed her arms. It was moment like this where she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment of quiet. "The new tea house that opened in Charlottee has been a big hit, it says that the chefs new blackberry scones have been so popular that they ran out in the first day" he added.

"It is marvellous what is accepted as accountable news on the Island"  She had started running her fingers through her hair before submersing herself in the water. Her eyes met with her husbands who had stopped reading at this point.

"I miss this sometimes" was all he said as she waited for him to explain. Her chin rested on the edge of the tub waiting to hear him speak.

"We wouldn't appreciate these moments if we didn't return to it. We can see them now because we didn't have them once. Miss Stacy told me that once" she added with a fond smile. "You can't know joy unless you've known sorrow. Those of us who can soar to the highest heights can also plunge to the deepest depths. I can hear her saying it as if it were yesterday" she whispered.

"Do you think it's true? That you can't be happy until you have experienced pain?" The words came out in a whisper as his voice broke. His eyes looked vulnerable. It was an expression that Anne did not recognise him to express to anyone else.

"Is it not? My love for you is so much more than I had imagined it to be. You are my home. I know that because my eyes are open to not belonging with anyone, so I am incandescently certain of it" she smiled looking up at him.

He smiled and leaned back. Letting the words soak in. "Let's get you out before you get sick love" he teased. She rolled her eyes before wrapping herself in a cloth and going to redress in the other room. The soft rustling g left his eyes to stare out of the window.  He would not have noticed her prescent if she hadn't wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss on the crown of his head.

"You have been thinking hard today Mr Blyth" she mumbled leaning her chin on his head. He hummed leaning back into her embrace.