𝓐 𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓐𝓭𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮 || 𝓖𝓲𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽 𝓑𝓵𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓮

Shepard's Pie

Not much time had passed since the day of the funeral. These days, all Flora seemed to do was think. About all sorts of things; her sadness over John Blythe's passing, her grandfather's struggle with his grief...and, yes, about Gilbert Blythe.

Especially about Gilbert Blythe. Despite all her efforts not to, she couldn't seem to stop worrying what he was up to these days. If he was alright and that house of his all by himself. She knows that the twins have dropped by a few times to check on him, but she never joined them. How could she after the funeral? It would likely only upset him.

And despite their long, bitter rivalry, Flora didn't want to upset him. Not now.

So why was she standing in the Barrys' kitchen? Why was she teaching Ruby, Diana, and Anne her grandmother's special recipe for Shepard's Pie? Why was she helping them cook a meal that they intended on taking to Gilbert?

Because Ruby neglected to mention those details when she begged Flora to come along. Smart of her, but still rather sly.

Flora enjoyed cooking. Despite finding chores to be dull and tiring, she did enjoy making meals. She enjoyed cooking alone, she enjoyed cooking with her friends, and she even enjoyed cooking with Grandmother. She was always happy to make something for others to enjoy.

And yet, at the same time, she disliked it. Grandmother always told her that she should be proud to be such a good cook. But that was for one reason and one reason only; for a woman to be a good wife, she had to be a good cook. Grandmother maintained that Flora would be able to cook wonderful meals for her future husband.

Flora hated when she said that. She never said so, but she hated it very much. That's why she stayed so quiet when Ruby struck up a similar topic as the girls did their cooking in Diana's kitchen. She tried her hardest to focus entirely on cooking their vegetables and meat in two separate pots.

Laughing, Ruby beamed as she walked over to place some more chopped vegetables with the rest. "If the key to a man's heart is through his stomach -- "

"Which it is." The Barrys' maid supplied.

"Then we have to make sure that this is the best shepherd's pie that Gilbert has ever tasted!"

Anne returned from the counter with their potatoes. "Being a good cook shouldn't be very high on the list of romantic attributes, if you ask me. If one was interested in romance -- which I'm not -- I'd like to be noticed for me, not my dinner."

As Ruby returned to the table, she and Diana met eyes to share a knowing glance. They laughed before the latter turned back to their friend. "You're so funny, Anne."

Raising her brows, Anne shook her head. "I wasn't meaning to be funny."

"...Oh...So what's on the list?"

"My brain, Diana. My personality — as in, who I am." Diana and Ruby shared another partly-knowing partly-dubious glance. "I'd like to believe that's what truly matters -- if romance matters at all...Which it doesn't."

Ruby nodded erratically. "Yes, it does!" As she and Diana giggled, Flora walked over to mash the potatoes at Anne's side. Ruby sighed dreamily. "Don't you think Gilbert looks even more handsome now that he's sad?"

Anne and Flora shared a glance. They could always depend on Ruby to think that Gilbert Blythe looked handsome even at his worst.

"I didn't notice." Anne said.

Diana just smiled. "He does."

"I know!" Ruby squealed.

Biting her lip, Flora worked especially hard at mashing the potatoes. Diana noticed. "Are you alright, Flora?" She winced just slightly. "Are you still upset that we forced you into helping?"