Anne with an E The Next Chapter

Thanksgiving Weekend- part 2

It was the first Thanksgiving after Matthew had taken sick and was looking like it would be rather a uneventful long weekend. Marilla had been eager to get out of the house because it had been too many months of being quarantined, trying to keep Matthew as healthy as possible. He was in much better shape now and had been physically stable for 3 weeks. He was starting to become stir crazy as he was not able to go out and do the activities he used to do complete any outdoor chores. He had taken to helping out with the dishes and preparing tea in the afternoon just to give himself something to do.

Marilla had received a letter from their cousin Letty from Carmody a few weeks before, inviting her to come to her home for thanksgiving. They'd been putting it off for years and she'd written in late September to invite them again.  Marilla always told her she couldn't come because things were busy with the house and then with Anne, but now she and Matthew had the time to go and visit and it seemed as good a time as ever. Marilla really needed a break from managing the house, the barn and the errands. She knew cousin Letty wouldn't let her lift a finger and she could really unwind. It was likely the perfect time to say yes.

Marilla has asked Anne to come too, but given Gilbert and Diana would be home for the weekend she knew the chances of dragging Anne to Carmody were slim. Knowing Jerry would be at the house at night, Marilla she felt it would be ok for Anne to stay back. It would be the last time she could all see her best friend and her fiancé before Christmas so Marilla had accepted that she would stay behind.  She and Matthew had taken the train early Saturday morning and were excited going into the weekend. They would be gone till Monday evening and had left Anne and Jerry with enough food to last for weeks.

Anne was looking forward to some time alone with Gilbert. Jerry had plans to see his family on Sunday evening as did Diana,  and Bash, Muriel and Delli would be visiting Elijah. She and Gilbert were looking forward to cooking together and and catching up on everything they hadn't been able to write about in the last two months. 

Early Sunday morning, Anne packed up her batch of butternut squash soup, a jar of pickles, a fancy cheese and dried bread and the cured sausage Matthew had made last winter. She also packed up Marilla's plum puffs and a bottle of cordial from the batch she and Marilla had prepared. Gilbert had purchased a fresh chicken to roast in the kitchen's wood stove along with some new heirloom carrots from the farmer next door to the Orchard.  They would be in for a feast but, first they needed to winterize the cottage before the snow fell.  Gilbert wanted to spend the weekend resting as well as he had been working day and night since September.

Anne had borrowed Muriel's bike and basket for the weekend to get around quicker and she arrived bright and early. She was glad she left early because the wind was picking up and a cold Atlantic gust was making it feel like December instead of October. When she arrived at the cottage, she stood at the door step shivering.

"Oh my goodness, what is with this weather?" she said as Gilbert greeted her at the door.  He check the outdoor thermostat which read -10 degrees celsius.

"I don't know, it's showing below -10. That's pretty cold for October" said Gilbert. As he helped Anne get her things into the house & noticed snowflakes starting to fall.

"Oh man, you have to be kidding me" he said as he looked out.
"It won't last" said Anne "there will be a thaw between now and Christmas".
"Yes but I only have this weekend to get this done". 
Anne smiled at him "NO problem, we'll get it done...I'll tackle the flowerbeds". They layered up and headed out. Gilbert brought in the outdoor tables and chairs into his future doctors office as there was nothing in the room and it would be a good as place as any to keep the furniture. Anne had offered to come and refinish them over the winter and they would be as good as new when the spring came.  Gilbert started chopping wood and stacking it for when they would be back throughout the winter.  They didn't have any animals, other than Gilbert's horse to tend to and Willow was staying in the orchard stable for the season. They also had no veggie garden, which made things easier and they worked quickly and efficiently with Anne going to help Gilbert stack the wood after she finished with the garden beds.