After Goodbye

After Goodbye Part 8

"I'm going to Green Gables," Gilbert told his mother and father. It had been four weeks since Anne had come to see him, and he'd been up and about for over a week now. He'd been outside, his appetite had grown, he'd gained strength. He was training to be a doctor; he knew he could handle a trek to Green Gables. He'd just take it slow.

"All right, Gil," his father said. "You've built up your strength. Go and see Anne."

Gilbert went into his bedroom and put a tie on. He grabbed his vest and put that on, too. After the last time Anne saw him, lying in bed all feverish and pale, he wanted to look better this time.

"Have a nice visit," his father called as Gilbert walked out the door.

He strolled, breathing in the fresh air, savoring it. He gazed at the trees, the leaves, the flowers, the sky. He rolled up his sleeves as he ambled along. He was so thankful to be alive, and to be free.

He approached Green Gables and was surprised that he felt nervous. His hands actually trembled. He stuck them in his pockets. What would Anne say? What would he say? How would their first meeting be after he'd admitted there would never be anyone for him but her? He walked slower, pushing a few stones with his feet as he trekked along. He could see Green Gables in the distance. He hoped she was there. He breathed in deeply. He felt stronger than he had in months. He was almost there. He couldn't wait to see her. He heard voices. He slowed. Was that Anne? He listened. It was. She was talking to her friend. She was right outside. He took another deep breath and walked up to the fence of Green Gables.

"Hello, Anne," he said remaining calm, but longing to pick her up and hold her in his arms.

"Hello, Gil," she said walking up to him. "You're looking very robust."

Well, he was glad he looked better than the last time she saw him. "Well, I guess I just made up my mind I wasn't going to let it lick me," he said, remembering how deathly ill he must've looked before. "Care for a stroll down the lane? I don't think there are going to be many more fine afternoons like this left in the summer." He glanced around beautiful Green Gables.

Anne's shoulders drooped. "I wish I could, but Katherine and I, we're off to Alice Penhallow's bonfire in an hour. It's the first party I'm taking her to, and she's very nervous."

Gilbert's heart sank. He finally got to Green Gables, and he couldn't spend any time with her?

"How about I walk you across the pond?" she said, her eyes lighting up and grinning from ear to ear.

Gilbert nodded, aching for more time with her, but willing to take what he could get.

She set her basket of apples down and opened the fence, and they strolled along the pathway. Just being next to her sent a feeling through him he'd never felt before. Certainly he'd never felt this way when he was with Christine. He didn't know what to say. He loved this girl so much; he was utterly speechless.

"I was really afraid for you, Gil, until we heard you were over the worst," she said.

His arm brushed against hers, sending warmth all through him. "Oh, I was lucky, I suppose. I'm not quite my old self yet, but by the time term starts, I'll be in fine form." They stepped onto the bridge. The same bridge where he'd proposed to her the summer before; only this time, everything felt different. "I'm glad you came back when you did, Anne. It meant a lot to me."

She smiled.

"I finally read your book," he said. "A fine piece of work. I knew you could do it." They stopped and faced each other.

"Publishers are already planning a second edition," she said, looking at the ground, then back to him, blushing. "It was a long lesson to learn, but you were right. I'm not going back to Kingsport. I'm going to stay here at Green Gables and write."

So, she was staying here. He smiled, once again wanting to take her in his arms. "The private girl's school was too rough on you, was it?" he said, trying to relax by chiding with her.

Anne laughed. "No. It's just that I went looking for my ideals outside of myself. I discovered it's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it."

Gilbert stared deep into her eyes, hardly believing his ears. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"The dreams dearest to my heart," Anne said, staring into his eyes, "are right here."

Gilbert grabbed her hands and rubbed them softly. He felt the love between them. It hung in the air like the blue sky above them. There was no need to propose again. He knew how she felt. He felt it deep down in his innermost being...kindred spirits. "Well, I hope you keep on dreaming." He squeezed her hands. "It'll be three years before I finish Medical School, and even then, there won't be any sunbursts or marble halls."

Anne moved closer to him. They were like magnets, drawn to each other. "I don't want sunbursts or marble halls." Her eyes glistened. "I just want you."

Gilbert's heart throbbed in his ears. Everything around him was spinning again; only this time, not from fever. He pulled her to him—finally—and she didn't resist. When his lips touched hers, he was home. He felt her arms wrap around him and he squeezed her tight. He closed his eyes and savored holding her in his arms. He'd dreamt about this for weeks, months ... years. Finally. She was finally in his arms. She was finally his.

Don't forget me, he'd said to her a few months back in Kingsport. He smiled. She hadn't. No more goodbyes like the one at the train station that day. Never again. I love you, Carrots, he thought as he held her close. There will never be anyone for me but you...