Anne with an E The Next Chapter

The vows

Gilbert stood at the front of the church with a feeling of peace and serenity. Today was nothing to get ruffled about. It was quite simple. He'd seen Anne when she was a scrawny little red head in old clothes. He'd seen her for who she was, right down inside her soul. He'd seen her when others could not, or would not. There has been a sort of completion when she'd come into his life, so to him, this was the natural next step... the middle part of a long love story that would include many ebbs and flows, a million chapters and an array of characters. He was sure of himself and knew it was exactly where he should be. He stood next to Bash, thinking quietly to himself that this man, the brother he needed, had been right from the very beginning about Anne. She was the girl he was thinking about back on the ship and even when he tried, he could not get her out of his system. As he heard the organ start and the guests begin to murmur with excitement, he closed his eyes to steady himself and was suddenly flooded with memories of his mother and father. It surprised him and it caught him squarely in the chest. It hadn't even been a fleeting thought for him up to the wedding day, but now, in this moment, he remembered their smiling faces and knew they had to be there with him. A warmth came over him and he felt  Bash place a hand on his back, as if to signal him to turn around.

As he did, he saw other faces flashing before him. Friends and community members who'd been there to support him in times when he needed them and he recognized the magnitude of this moment, not only for himself, but for them as well. As he turned to face Anne, he remembered the little 11 year old girl she'd been. He could see her clearly in his mind's eye, walking towards him, only now the vision before him was a magnificent glow of light and love.  The sunshine behind Anne was bright and only provided a silhouette of a woman in an elegant white dress holding a bright spray of flowers. She was flanked by a mother and a father and a dream she hadn't believed was possible for a girl like her. As he searched to see her more clearly, he realised that his eyes were playing tricks on him. They were blurry with emotion and something deep inside of him faltered and he felt he might lose his composure. As she got closer and their eyes met, something steadied within him. She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with joy and he felt breathless but grounded. She truly was a vision today and he was sure that all the times he'd thought she was beautiful had culminated in this moment where she was everything from gentle, to flawless to whimsical.  He couldn't see the people around him, but as Anne took a final step and stood before him,  he could feel them all around. The happy faces, the weepy eyes, the hands pressed to a heart, the cheering little Delphine at his side and everything felt peaceful again.

He watched as Diana leaned in and took Anne's bouquet and the two exchanged a look that only old friends could fully understand. Anne turned to face Marilla and hugged her and then turned back Matthew to do the same. Gilbert swallowed back the emotion he was feeling welling up and realised that it was the time to get out of his dreamlike trance and shake Matthew's hand. He turned to the kind old gentleman he'd come to love over the years who whispered to him, "you take care of my girl."

"Forever" Gilbert replied and leaned in to embrace him while shaking hands. Matthew then took Anne and kissed her head softly, and placed her hand in Gilbert's. They hadn't rehearsed it, but it was the most natural thing to do. Gilbert held Anne's hand and leaned over to hold Marilla's hand so the three were facing each other in a circle. She never said a word, for fear that she would burst with tears, but she pressed her lips together in a smile and nodded twice at him as if to say "you can have her now" and Gilbert nodded back with reassurance and care. Finally, they were just the two of them standing in the isle, before God, before friends and family and more importantly, before each other. These two who had been each other's greatest competition and each other's greatest comfort. They looked at each other with no words, but enough in their eyes to say we have each other and that is all.