Anne with an E The Next Chapter

Perhaps Love

"I don't really know where to start...maybe the beginning I guess. Anne knows a lot of this already, and you'll understand why, but I'll get to the other parts later" Jerry explained.

Once he was done blabbering in every direction, Jerry finally admitted to his mother that he and Diana had fallen in love over the course of the last few year. He explained that it began when they were young, he'd always noticed her and liked her, but then the night at their house, he'd really developed a significant crush on her. His mother recalled fondly the young girl.

"She was awfully sweet," she said. "But Jerry, this was years ago... I don't understand?"

Jerry looked at his mother with affection.

"Maman, you know when Anne went to school last year and I was very sad... I kept telling you it was because Anne had left and you tried to distract me with Amélie's company... well the truth is, Diana and I had a terrible falling out. We fought about the fact that we couldn't ever be together in this life, because I am a farm hand and she's... well she comes from money."

His mother furrowed her brow. It didn't make sense to her because Jerry was a wonderful, hardworking gentleman who would be perfect for anyone in her eyes. She swallowed, remembering that Diana's parents had given her husband money when Diana had been to her house and had looked to be in shock when they found Diana in their home. Mrs Baynard was so warm and good natured, that snobby and judging behaviour often went over her head because she was oblivious to that type of mindset. She had lived an experience recently that had immersed her in this type of thinking. At church a few weeks ago, she had been very late because she'd been up half the night with their youngest who had a bad cold and couldn't sleep. She had insisted they head to church regardless of their fatigue and walked in at 2 minutes to mass, with the pews already full. Her usual seat, 4th row from the front, was taken, and she and the rest of the Baynards had to split up and pile in with some other families. She'd made her way into the second pew with her oldest daughter and excused herself to Mme. Cormier, a friend of the Pies and the Barry's.

Mme. Cormier had looked at her with disdain, it seemed her appearance was not to her liking. She had whispered to her husband and the two of them had looked aggravated and moved pews to squeeze in with another well to do family. The feeling of shame and hurt came back to her with a vengeance now.

"And, what of it?" she asked Jerry.

"Mrs. Baynard, may I interject?" Anne asked respectfully. She went on to tell Mrs Baynard about Diana's evolution in the last few years. Yes she's always been raised by a rich family with very high expectations - but Diana wanted more. She wanted to be a free spirit and in the last year and a half she'd come to the realisation that she could never be happy in that world. She loved Jerry, more than anything and had recently made herself sick and was hiding from her family to avoid being forced into a marriage with a man named James Andrews. Mrs Baynard listened wide eyed and a little bit inspired.

"If she comes home to her parents, they most certainly will force her to consider the marriage and Jerry will inevitably come up which will cause a bit of a scandal."

"We can handle a scandal darling... don't worry about that, we're behind you" his mother soothed.

"Diana doesn't care about my background, that I am French and she's English or that we have different religions... but her parents and their friends, that's another story. I hate to tell you maman, they will never accept me. They think I'm trash... that we're poor and unworthy of their daughter. Maman, she doesn't believe that, Diana, she loved the family, she felt so happy and at home with us and she wants a life like ours. Her parents will refuse and she's terrified".

His mother looked pained hearing this. To think that people in her community thought of her family as unworthy or scandalous was hurtful. But for them to think of her sweet Jerry, her incredible son, being anything less than perfect, that was a knife to her heart.