Long Distance Love Letters

A Break From It All

Gilbert watched as Moody straightened his tie in the mirror for about 15th time in the past hour with an amused smile playing on his lips.

For the past hour, Moody and the groomsmen had been rushing around trying to make sure everything was ready for the ceremony. As the best man, most of the responsibility had fallen on Gilbert yet he seemed to be the calmest. Maybe it was because he had already been in Moody's position.

Chuckling, Gilbert stood and walked over to the groom.

"Moody," he called. "I promise your tie is straight. You look great."

Moody sighed. "Thanks, Gil. I'm just so nervous."

He pat the groom's shoulder. "I know how you feel. But I can assure you that it is not as daunting as you think. You get to share life with your best friend."

Moody finally let out a shaky smile. "I suppose you're right."

Bash came in and gave them the signal to go out and meet the ladies in the hallway. Moody and Ruby had decided that they wanted the groomsmen and the bridesmaids to walk out together.

Together, the boys walked out. Gilbert smiled as he saw Anne, who was the matron of honor, walk over to him in a frilly pink dress.

"And you thought you would never be able to wear pink," he complimented. "You look beautiful."

Anne rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her blush. "I should have expected that Ruby would have all of us wear her signature color." She gave him a once-over. "You look pretty dashing yourself."

The two shared a kiss before watching as Moody walked into the church room. Slowly, everyone entered: Jane with Paul, Josie with Brian, Tillie with Joseph, Diana with Charlie, and finally, Gilbert and Anne.

The two walked down the aisle arm in arm, smiling at the audience, both remembering their own wedding with a nostalgic gaze.

Gilbert even teared up slightly as Ruby walked down the aisle with her father, her dress seeming like it was made to be worn by her. The look that was exchanged between her and Moody was indescribable.

And as he watched the two pledge themselves to each other just like he and Anne had done just over a year ago, Gilbert was incandescently happy.

•••

Gilbert and Anne watched as guests travelled over to congratulate the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon when Muriel approached them.

"Hello, you two," she greeted happily, hugging both of them. "It's good to see you home."

"It's good to be home," Gilbert replied.

"Really good," Anne added. "We sure miss Avonlea."

"Well, Avonlea sure misses you, too," she replied. "Anne, would you mind if I talked to Gilbert for a moment?"

Anne donned a curious expression before hesitantly nodding. "Alright. I'll...go over and get another piece of cake. Do you want one, Gil?"

Gilbert shook his head and Anne walked off.

"So," Gilbert started. "Have you found someone to replace Anne at Avonlea School?"

Muriel sighed. "That's actually what I wanted to tell you about." She guided them over to a table and they took a seat. "Avonlea is having some...budgetary issues and is therefore considering pulling back some of its funding for the school."

Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows together. "I'm not sure I understand. They wouldn't shut the school down, would they?"

"No, they wouldn't. However, they are considering...changing its standards to cheaper proportions."

"Meaning...?"

Muriel sighed. "They are considering...only allowing men to attend."

Gilbert's eyes widened. "That can't be true."

She shrugged. "Unfortunately, it is. The male side of the board is claiming that it won't make an earth-shattering difference considering not much education is required to be a wife anyway. Of course, Marilla and Rachel are furious and are doing their best to change their minds, but with the board being equally male and female, it's not as if they can outvote the men."

Gilbert shook his head. "Unbelievable."

Muriel nodded in agreement. "Just please promise me you won't tell Anne."

"Muriel, I-"

"Yet," she added. "Of course I want her to know, but you know our Anne. She would start a revolution whether or not a decision has been made, and right now, a revolution would only fuel the fire. We're still trying to fight back and we could win. If we don't, then we can tell her. For now, can you promise to keep this to yourself?"

Gilbert looked over at Anne, who was laughing and dancing with Ruby.

Finally, he sighed. "Alright, I promise."

•••

Their last night in Avonlea before heading back to Summerside, Gilbert was reading by the fire in their living room when Anne came in and sat down next to him.

He looked over at her and smiled, closing his book.

"Hey, you," he greeted.

She smiled back and kissed his cheek. "Hi."

There was a moment of silence before Anne said quietly. "Hey, Gil?"

"Yeah?"

"How would you feel about...moving back here?"

The question took Gilbert off guard. "Moving back here."

"You said you missed Avonlea," she added quickly. "Both of our families are here and it's nice and quiet."

Gilbert sighed and took some time to think about it.

Finally, "Okay, yeah, sure. I can see us moving back here. Maybe in a couple of years or so."

Anne breathed a laugh. "That's amazing, but I was kind of hoping it would be sooner."

"Anne, we both have jobs in Summerside and we haven't had them for very long. We can't just accept them then say we're moving back-"

"I'm pregnant."

Anne's sudden statement stopped Gilbert in his tracks as every molecule in his body froze.

Anne bit her lip and sighed in frustration. "I'm sorry. I was waiting for a more special way to tell you."

Finally, Gilbert was able to get out, "You're pregnant?"

She sighed and smiled in relief, nodding as tears came to her eyes.

His heart started to race as his breathing became labored. "You're-You're certain?"

She let out a teary laugh. "I'm certain. I took fifteen tests to confirm. They're all positive, Gil."

When he didn't respond, she continued. "And I just think we should both be close to our family right now just in case something hap-"

"Oh, my word, Anne!" he finally shouted, his mind and heart finally bursting with joy, beginning to cry. "You're pregnant!"

Anne laughed joyfully as he picked her up and spun her around. As he set her down, they simply cried tears of joy in each other's arms, in such utter shock that this was their reality.

They really beat it.

They beat the "highly unlikely".

———
AN: anne's pregnant yay!!!

also i'm super excited about this new storyline with the school so stay tuned for that 😁😁

love you my kindred spirits ❤️❤️❤️