Part 2 of "In The Woods When First We Met"

232. Another New Day

The next day Gilbert had a letter, but he put off reading it until after he went to see Anne.

"I must be hopelessly behind in math," Anne said despondently as she sat in her room with Gilbert.

After pushing herself yesterday to stray beyond Green Gables- and feeling the panic and nausea it brought on- Anne did not want to go out again, but she would not allow herself to stay in her bed, and pushed herself to at least be out of bed enough to sit by her window.

Everyone thought that because Anne wanted to feel better, and was committed to it, she ought to be allowed to move ahead at her own pace. They were disappointed when she wanted to stay in her room to do the school work, but happy that she had suggested she and Gilbert go outside for a walk when they were finished.

So she and Gilbert had pushed the furniture out of the way and sat on the floor where the sunlight made a large, slanted square of light on the wood floor, warming it, and they spread their books and papers out around them.

"We've been doing geometry, mostly," Gilbert told her.

"Glorious," she said with a sigh. "A whole new topic."

"You'll get it," Gilbert encouraged. He moved back to the beginning of his book, knowing they'd have to start from scratch.

After about an hour, Marilla came in to check up on them. "I brought you a snack," she said, setting a tray down on the desk chair beside them.

The snack made it easier to keep working.

They'd been working on geometry for nearly three hours when Anne finally said, "I hate geometry."

Gilbert laughed.

She stretched and said, "Maybe we should stop for today."

But then she thought about how she had told everyone that after working on math, she was going to go walk outside. "I don't think we ought to take a walk after all," she said carefully. "You should get home to your father."

Gilbert shook his head. "We have our old housekeeper back, remember?"

Anne's heart sank. "Oh yeah," she said. "Well...it might rain."

Gilbert looked at the sky- clear and blue- and at the sunshine that poured in one them. "Anne, don't you want to go?"

"I do," she said. "It's just..."

"What?"

"Yesterday."

"Oh. ...But that was just because you ran, and you're not used to running. And you went too far. Today won't be like that."

She nodded, trying to feel brave.

"Come on," he said, standing up and holding his hand out to her. "Let's just walk to the brook and back. Could we do that?"

"I suppose," Anne said, telling herself that things would never seem easier if she didn't push herself.

They held hands going down the stairs, but let go as they came into the kitchen. "Marilla," Anne said, "We're going to walk outside now."

Marilla smiled, happy Anne was going to try again.

Gilbert and Anne left, and as soon as they were out of the house they came back together, hardly a space between them as they walked side by side holding hands.

Marilla was watching them from the window.

She liked Gilbert, and she'd be forever grateful to him. But sometimes she was concerned that they were becoming too close.

Maybe she ought to have a talk with them.

---

The church here isn't as boring as church in Avonlea. Or maybe I just pay attention more, now. But the pastor's younger and he talks TO you instead of AT you.

On Saturday we're going to an orphan's home to give them a party. I helped build the set for the puppet show we're going to do. I think it looks pretty good.

Gilbert scanned the rest of the letter. He wasn't particularly interested in anything Billy had to say, but he had promised to write, and he thought of it as a service to the community. Maybe he could prompt something in Billy, something to change him. And unless Billy was being dishonest in his letters, he did seem to be making an attempt at being a decent person. Gilbert wondered if it would last.

After Anne's happiness, that was what Gilbert wanted most- to know that Billy would never cause harm to anyone.

How's Anne?

Gilbert was stopped in his tracks. He couldn't believe Billy thought he should be given any news about Anne.

Even if Billy had decided he actually did care about Anne's well-being, it really wasn't his right to know her business. Billy should not be in Anne's life at all, even indirectly.

But after a moment Gilbert cooled down, and then he thought that maybe Billy only asked because he felt obligated to ask- after all, Billy knew he'd caused a problem, maybe he was under the impression that he was expected to check in on the problem.

But Gilbert did not want to tell Billy anything about Anne, unless Anne gave him permission to. And Anne couldn't give him permission, because he had no intention of even telling her that Billy had asked about her.

He finally decided to be honest about the reality of what Billy had caused, but without giving out any real information about Anne, and then use that as a way to prompt Billy to want to change:

She's not doing well, but I suppose that's just how it's going to be for her now. There might be other things you could do for the orphans you're helping- what about holding a clothing drive at your church? I bet there are lots of families who have clothes their children have outgrown. Maybe you could collect them and bring them to the orphanage. I think it's great you're doing something for orphans. They need it.

He wrote a little more about other things Billy had said in his letter, and once he thought his letter was a sufficient length, he signed and sealed it.