Lavender - {G.B}

sept

"Get out! You aren't welcome here!" Alice yelled at the top of her lungs. George came to her home that night, passed out on the floor of the room. Alice woke up that morning, shocked by George there. George was a drunken man.

"This is my house, too!" he yelled In her face, his breath smelling like alcohol.

"No, it's not! You just barged in here. Besides, you're never here, always off into town drinking. While you were gone, I took care of mother and took care of the charge. Now, get out!" Alice pointed at the door, her face red of furry.

"You don't get to tell me what to do." George walked up to her. "As I realize, you are under my authority and you shall do what I say, you ungrateful girl." His eyes trailed down her neck to her pendant. "Give me that. That is not yours." George yanked it from her neck, breaking the clasp.

Alice didn't do anything back to him. Her breath quickened and she ran upstairs into her room, falling on her bed. "If George would just leave me alone, I'd finally be happy as far as happy goes when you've lost two of your parents," Alice thought.

-

"You sold it? You sold mother's necklace?" Alice questioned, her blood boiled. She found out that George sold her mother's necklace just a while ago.

"For the money, Alice. To keep us going," he explained himself, but Alice always knew you couldn't put a price on this, no matter how much she would have suffered without money.

"You – that was mine. It's all I have of mother. It was passed down generation to generation," Alice said.

"Do you think I give a shit now?" he asked. "Your mother is dead. Gone!" His voice raised.

-

The news struck the town like lightning. It wasn't unexpected as Mr. Blythe has been ill for quite a long period of time. A horse pulled the carriage with a coffin that held the body. Alice stared ahead of her at Gilbert, looking down as he walked behind the carriage.

The Minister spoke his words from a book and Alice couldn't take her eyes off Gilbert as he looked down sadly at the coffin. Alice caught the Minister's eyes. He looked at her with sympathy, still holding onto the secret of her mother's death.

The minister finished and closed his book. Everyone began to disperse, walking slowly towards Gilbert's home, wanting to get out of the cold and talk to each other in a warm atmosphere. Citizens were still fazed by the death of Mr. Blythe.

Alice stood where she was, watching as Gilbert sat on a stone bench. It began snowing and Gilbert lifted his hand in the hair. Snow fell into his palm and it melted, the water droplet rolling off his hand. He sighed, looking down at the ground.

With sad eyes, Alice approached him slowly, sitting down silently next to him. Gilbert noticed her presence. Gilbert would have smiled, but his mind was still onto his father. Alice looked up at him and down at his hand. Hesitantly, Alice reached for his hand. Gilbert didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry. I know how it feels," Alice told him, looking down at the snow. "For the few days I got to know your father, he was very kind. He was proud of you." Gilbert didn't say anything and Alice let out an awkward laugh. "Please don't make me the only one who talks."

It was silent. The only sound was the man shoveling dirt into the hole. "Fine," Gilbert spoke, quite aggressively. "How do you know what it feels like? Your father may have died two years ago, but you still have a mother and someone to look after you."

"If you've forgotten," Alice started with a calm voice, no matter how much the subject bothered her. She didn't need to be upset at him now. "George isn't home most of the time and he abuses me. I don't want to make this about me, Gilbert. I know you need time."

"Then why won't you leave me be?" he asked, his. Alice felt Gilbert's hand tighten around hers, his body saying the opposite of his words.

"The reason you wouldn't: I don't want to," Alice told him, repeating his words. He looked down at her, a but confused. She acted cold around him, but she was kind and caring. "I hope both parents of mine and your father are well. Hope they're catching up."

Gilbert looked down at her, wondering what she meant by both parents. "Isn't your mother in town?" he asked. "You said she wouldn't be back in a long time."

"Yeah, she's not going to be back in a very long time." Alice looked down, taking in a deep breath. "She passed the day you came back from Alberta," Alice explained. "I'll go now." Alice began to stand up.

"Don't." Gilbert pulled at her hand, looking up at her. "Stay, would you? I don't want to be alone," he confessed.

Alice slowly sat back down, leaning her head on Gilbert's shoulder, her hand still in his.

After moments of silence, and the man finishing his grave, Alice stood up from the bench, letting go of Gilbert's hand. She pulled red roses out of her basket and set it on top of Mr. Blythe's tombstone.

Alice looked back at Gilbert sympathetically and held her hand out for Gilbert to take. "Come on. If you don't want to go in there, you can accompany me to town. I have to buy back my mother's pendant George sold."

He took Alice's hand and stood up. They walked to the Blythe house where everyone had been in for the past twenty or so minutes. Anne noticed Gilbert from the window and blew on the window to see him clearly. Her eyes traveled down to Alice's and his hands connected together. She shook the troubling thought from her mind and grabbed her coat.

"I think I'll accompany you to town after all," Gilbert told Alice, turning away from the house.

"Okay, then," Alice sighed, walking after him.

"Gilbert!" Alice heard Anne's calls. Anne quickly caught up to the two, pulling on her coat. "It was a lovely service. It seemed fitting somehow. Everything was so...white and still. I've always thought the Minister prays quite mournfully so this suited him nicely. Baptisms must be grim." Anne rambled on. "Being an orphan has its challenges, but you already have so many advantages, you'll be much better off than I was." Alice stopped walking, looking at Anne. Gilbert looked back at her and soon stopped, trying to ignore Anne. "I didn't know my parents. They died when I was a baby so I couldn't fend for myself the way that you can. And I don't remember my parents at all, but you'll always be able to remember your father. And Alice..." Anne looked back at her. "...you'll always remember your father and the moments you cherished with him and your mother. You know, when you think about it, you're really very lucky."

Alice and Gilbert looked at her. "Lucky? How is any of this lucky?" Alice thought. "You think we're lucky?" Gilbert questioned.

"Compared to me, yes." Anne nodded.

"And why is this about you?" Gilbert asked with a cold tone.

"It's not. I was just trying to—"

"See you." Gilbert waited for Alice to meet him. "Alice and I must go into town where an abusive man sold the only thing she has of her mother."

"Gilbert!" Alice raised her voice. Gilbert looked down at her, realizing what he said. "That wasn't meant for anyone to know, but the Minister since he was there. Knowing Anne, it would carelessly slip out of her mouth."

"I'm sorry, it just slipped. The heat of the moment," Gilbert apologized sincerely.

"Let's take our minds off of things, shall we?" Alice asked, looking up at him. "You know, you're not that silly boy you were all those years ago."

"And you weren't the quiet, reserved one all those years ago," he remarked. "We've all changed."