In the Woods When First We Met

35. Just Kids

He looked down, then, as if he'd said too much.

He was used to being sure of himself, smooth, confident. Why did this girl make him feel as if he was constantly tripping over his own two feet?

There was an awkward silence.

Anne cleared her throat. "Thanks for bringing me my books and shawl and everything," she said, moving the conversation quickly away from "beautiful things" because she felt a sudden flush creeping into her cheeks that she couldn't explain.

"Yeah," Gilbert said quickly, looking up again. "Yeah, no problem. So uhhh, the math homework..."

"Oh. Right. Right. The math homework," Anne remembered.

She pulled out her book and opened it.

"It's chapter 4," Gilbert said. "The last set of problems. Do you think you can do it?"

"Yes, of course," Anne said before she'd even looked.

"It's just that you said you hadn't been in school to learn long division, and..."

Anne quickly scanned the problems and found that they were mostly fractions and decimals.

"No, this I can do," she said, feeling reassured.

"Okay, well...that's good." Gilbert said lamely. "'Cause if you need help..."

"No," Anne said. "I'm sure I'll be fine. Thank you, though. I really appreciate it."

Gilbert nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah. You ready to go home, then?"

She pulled Gilbert's coat off and gave it back to him. "Thanks. Um. Sorry. I shouldn't have let you give me your coat. You must be freezing."

"No, I'm okay," Gilbert said.

Anne stood up, shaking some dry leaves from her dress and gathered up her things.

Gilbert waited while she went through the door of the little house and the followed her out. They walked in silence most of the way out of the woods.

As they came out of the woods and onto the edge of the meadow, they stopped, facing each other, tasked with the job of saying goodbye for now, when for some reason it felt like they could barely speak to each other.

"So...here, tomorrow?" Gilbert asked, biting his lip.

"Thank you," Anne said.

They looked at each other a moment, held together by an invisible string.

Then, the same time, they broke eye contact, as if it had gotten too awkward to look at each other's eyes anymore.

"Okay...um, bye," Anne said, a flush creeping into her cheeks again, for no reason she could explain. She walked on, then, so he wouldn't see it.

"...bye." Gilbert echoed, a bit too late. She was already on her way and didn't hear him.