Long Distance Love Letters

Unsolicited Confessions

The next few months went by a lot quicker than the couple had expected.

Due to Anne's petite figure, she began showing quicker than expected and soon, all of Summerside knew and had extended their congratulations.

Though Anne's morning sickness was quite intense and Gilbert spent most of his off days holding her hair back, she absolutely loved being pregnant, mostly because of their miracle baby that was growing inside of her, and partly because she was allowed to forgo her corset. Thankfully, her sickness did not cause her to take many days off of work.

As for Gilbert, he had been on cloud 9 ever since Anne informed him of her pregnancy. However, in between getting her food cravings and holding her as she cried over burning pancakes, he was silently terrified. Though he and Anne were taking every precaution known to man, he would often lay awake at night dreading the idea of a miscarriage. The two had never had an actual conversation about this shared fear, but it showed every time they looked at each other.

Gilbert would meditate on this for a bit before glancing over at his peacefully sleeping wife. Every night he would smile, wondering what she was dreaming about. He would then move over and wrap his arms around her, resting his hand on her ever-growing bump.

"Sweet dreams, little one," he would whisper before drifting off to sleep.

•••

"Class is dismissed," Anne announced to her thirty young students as the bell rang. "Have a nice weekend, everyone!"

The classroom became an uproar of overlapping conversations as her kids rushed towards the door and out into the spring air. A couple of them came over and bid her farewell which she happily returned.

Once she was alone in the room, she began packing her things when the door opened. She looked up to see Ms. Patterson walking in, her heels clicking on the wooden floors.

"Good day, Mrs. Blythe," she greeted cordially, her expression seeming a little strained. "Would it be alright if we spoke?"

Anne smiled. "Hello, Ms. Patterson. I wish I could, but I promised that I would meet my husband at the hospital. We haven't had a proper dinner together in a while, so we decided to righten that."

Ms. Patterson did not return Anne's sunny mood. "Mrs. Blythe, I would not be asking for a conversation despite your plans if its contents were not of utmost importance. I hope you understand."

Anne's smile faded, a pit of worry forming in her stomach. She hesitantly nodded. "Alright."

The two women sat down at a desk and Ms. Patterson took a moment to speak. "How have you been feeling? In terms of your pregnancy, I mean."

Anne glanced down at her stomach, not expecting that question. "As well as one can expect in the first trimester, I suppose."

Ms. Patterson nodded, blowing a breath out through her mouth. "Alright, Mrs. Blythe. I hope you know how much I respect you and your teaching style."

"Of course," Anne replied. "You have been very expressive in that regard."

Taking a page from Muriel's book, Anne used a very hands-on learning method with her students. The desks were pushed to the side and rarely used, the class tending to sit in a circle on the floor. She made 100% sure that the boys and girls were getting the same education and that they all knew how much potential they had in their futures. She took so much pride in knowing that she was spreading Muriel's practice beyond Avonlea.

Ms. Patterson nodded, wringing her hands together. "Yes, well...the rest of the school board does not share my respect."

Anne furrowed her brow. "I don't understand."