Lavender - {G.B}

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Angelica gently shook Alice awake. Alice looked up sleepily. She rubbed her eyes, yawning. She grabbed her luggage and walked out after Angelica. The two got out of the station, both tired from traveling for miles. There, at the wagon, a man with shaggy, dark blonde hair stood. He wore a beige suit and tie with a hat on his head.

"Fred!" Angelica called with a wide smile.

The man turned his body and he returned a smile and walked towards her. "Angelica!" He hugged her, kissing her cheek. His eyes examined Alice who stood behind them with a small smile. "This must be Alice."

"Yes. Alice, this is Fred Crawford. Fred, this is Alice who I had adopted," Angelica introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I was beyond excited to meet you." Alice said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise. Angelica has told me all about you," Fred replied. "Ready to head home?"

Angelica nodded. "Let's stop at my parents for a while."

"Great! My family is with them right now," Fred agreed.

-

They pulled up in front of the Johnson house. It was an old stone building with a few wooden windows with shutter and a chimney with grey smoke blowing out. There was a wooden staircase with a small balcony, leading to a door.

Alice got out, following Fred and Angelica up the stairs. Fred knocked on the door and waited for the people on the other side to open it. A man with light brown hair opened the door. He looked at the three of them and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile. "Look who's home!"

The sound of chairs moving across the floor sounded as people got out of their seats, walking to the door. "Angelica!" they cheered. "We missed you so much! Boys, go put their things in their rooms."

Angelica hugged her parents tightly. "This is Alice."

"Alice?" Her eyes widened as she saw the girl. "She's so beautiful." Alice blushed.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Johnson," I greeted her.

"Oh, please. Call me Aunty Fauna," she smiled sweetly at her new granddaughter. "She's so polite. Where did you find such a girl like her?"

"Well, she's had a rough past. I was lucky enough to meet her and allow me to be her parent," Angelica answered.

"I can't wait to get to know you," Fred said, standing next to Angelica, kissing her cheek. "She already seems amazing."

"She has a boyfriend, too," Angelica whispered in his ear.

"I'm excited to meet the young man," he said, winking at Angelica.

"He's very polite, intelligent, hard-working," Angelica listed. "He's almost like you when you were younger."

"We'll see about that," he muttered. "Right, you should get some rest. Must have been tiring to travel all the way to Virginia from Avonlea."

"Well, I slept a lot on the way here so I'm quite pumped actually," Alice beamed. "I can make dinner or clean around the house."

"Clean around the house? Make dinner?" Mr. Johnson said in disbelief.

"I've cooked before cleaning is no big deal for me, Mr. Johnson," Alice assures him. "Really."

"Just Uncle Morty will be fine," he told her. "You can help make dinner? We always cook together as a family when special events occur. Meeting you is definitely one of them."

-

It was the day of the wedding. Alice changed into a dress and Angelica stepped out from the changing room. She was wearing an elegant white wedding dress with pretty flower designs at the bottom. She wore a veil and she seemed to. be the prettiest woman in the world.

Alice waited with Angelica's family in the church room while Fred was at the top in a handsome suit and tie. The church was decorated with flowers and had an overall pleasant feeling to it. The front doors opened and Angelica walked down with her father and he passed her to Fred, giving kind words before he sat back down.

Both said the special words that bound them together for as long as they live. "I do." They shared a sweet kiss and pulled away with huge smiles across their face. The crowd cheered and Alice couldn't be any happier this year. She finally settled down to a loving family, great friends, and a boy she never thought she'd like.

Later that evening, they had a feast on a meadow where there were flower patches everywhere and it had the most beautiful view of the town below, the mountains, and a river. Alice met the Crawford family that came a day before the wedding. His mother's name was Julia, his father's name, Benjamin, his twin brother, Charlie, and his little sister, Lily.

Alice was quiet during the feast and didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the families. She was nervous but did an excellent job of hiding it. She would smile, nod, and sometimes speak, but she mainly listened to the conversations around her, observing how they acted. She found both families were kind, fun, loving, and each family had their own quirks and problems. Alice knew that not all families were perfect and she was glad it wasn't all perfect.

When everyone was exhausted and sleepy, they hopped into their carriages and rode home. As for Alice, she sat near the edge of the cliff looking at the lights below and looking up at the stars that shined brightly in the darkness of the night.

Angelica sat on the ground next to Alice, pecking her forehead. She rested her body using her hand and looked up at the sky. She leaned her head on Alice's and she couldn't stop the smile appearing on her face. Fred sat down on the opposite side and held Angelica's hand on the ground behind Alice.

"Did you see that?" Fred asked, pointing to the sky. A shooting star flew past in the sky. "Did you make a wish?" Alice nodded. "What did you wish for?"

"If I say it, it'll all fall apart," Alice told him. "I don't want it to fall apart." What Alice wished for was Fred and Angelica staying together to be her parents and for anyone important to her to never leave her. She thought she should have that wish come true after everything she had gone through.

-

The next morning was bright and sunny. The family woke up early in the morning to get a good start to the long day ahead of them. Unfortunately, Fred, Angelina, and Alice were heading back to Avonlea that day. They didn't want Alice to fail school and they both agreed that Angelic should go back to work.

Their families saw them off on the train. Some even cried and they promised they'd visit every holiday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. The train started moving, slowly getting faster and passing the trees and going through valleys and mountains.

When they finally arrived in Avonlea, they settled down at home and Fred unpacked his things in Angelica's room. As he took a shower, Alice and Angelica prepared lunch for themselves to snack on.

When Fred came back to the kitchen, the table was set with a plate of turkey sandwiches and a bowl of oranges and apples. Angelica swatted her husband when Fred took a bite of the sandwich, nodding his head in satisfaction. Angelica sighed and sat down after Alice, taking on after Alice had her first bite.