Play the Love Away

Another Goodbye

Sending the letter with Anne almost made her want to vomit at the sight if Anne saw through her facade. The facade that Elise no longer cared for the dashing Gilbert, nor that she had ever cared.

But she placed the letter in Anne's delicate hands which then wrapped around the thick envelope that Elise had secretly placed a dried yellow flower from her garden that grew a tree that miraculously held flowers in the midst of winter. He said he always loved them in the thick of snow.

A few days later, Charlie called a doctor.

Elise sat in the hallway with a book that she was certainly not reading. It sat in her cold hands, the same page she had been on an hour ago. She hadn't changed out of her nightgown and tugged the red blanket closer to her body. Her hair was done in some messy braids that always failed in keeping stray hairs out of her eyes.

She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but she heard the hum of male voices including the slightly higher one of Michael's. She remembered looking up at the doorknob as it slowly turned and when her father and the doctor slowly walked out with somber looks on their faces. She remembered them talking but then, it all faded into background noise.

~~~

They had been expecting it. But that's the thing about those horrible and sad expectations, they don't hurt any less when they come to pass.

Elise was supposed to be happy now. She was supposed to have it easier now. She was supposed to abandon saying permanent goodbyes after her mother, after John. But it seemed like life had a wicked plan for her.

The funeral was somber, as it should have been but she knew Michael wouldn't have wanted that. He would've wanted everyone to celebrate his reuniting with his mother. His reuniting with God.

Elise locked herself in her room for most of the gathering in her home for everyone that was supposed to be mourning her baby brother. Many people had never even met him, let alone heard of him. It wasn't like the Clarks were hiding him but he couldn't even walk outside the house by himself. So naturally, no one really had anything meaningful to say. Except Anne.

"Michael was a kindred spirit. He bragged about you the first time we met at dinner. You had gone to help with the dishes and he tugged me aside. He told me, 'My sister is one of the most stunning girls, inside and out. She really likes you, I can tell. Can you tell her something when I'm gone? Tell her that I'm happy and that I love her.' I never knew what he meant until now, but Elise, he thought of you as his mother. He looked up to you like no other. He loved you so much, he loved you with every bit of his lasting heart and wanted you to be happy without a doubt."

When everyone left, she cried on her father's shoulder on the certain step on the stairway where he had etched his initials. MC

~~~

The next weekend, Elise found herself at Green Gables.

Elise had scoped out Jerry, who was working on the second floor of the barn with Mathew. She had been waiting for Anne to return with the Barry's from the journey to the mainland where her letter was going to be sent to Gilbert. Mathew had given her a sad smile as Jerry had ran to her and scarfed her in a hug.

He almost crushed her tight blue coat and scarf that didn't do much to hide her shivers. His hug was much appreciated as Jerry was there for as long as she needed. Elise didn't want to pull away from her dear friend but she reluctantly did as he gave her a big smile that contagiously spread. He then walked her down to the ground floor as he was dismissed for the day. He lightly complimented her before asking, "Would you like me to walk you home?"

Elise didn't usually take to the likings of needing a man to walk her home besides for her dear Gilbert, but that was besides the point and she loved his company. She nodded and they set out on the beautiful fields towards her house. They mostly talked about her life, leaving Michael out of the conversation and not really talking about Jerry's life at home. He seemed to avoid all her questions but she didn't mind, happy to have a normal conversation with someone that wasn't giving her a pity smile or an apology for his death. She had had enough for a few lifetimes.

They walked rather slowly and Elise was surprised when Jerry looked back and tripped to the ground. They were passing Nate's strange working gold contraption as she helped him up, finding Nate and Mr. Dunlop behind them. Elise pulled Jerry to his feet swiftly and tried to make them walk away as she spotted their cold and mean looks. Jerry pushed her behind him, placing his tall frame to protect hers. But it wasn't enough.

Nate smirked and punched him out cold, making Elise shriek and run to his side. Nate didn't dare touch her as Mr. Dunlop pulled out a gun. Elise pulled Jerry's body to the side, the only thing she could do now was stay out of the way. She watched as they argued, back and forth about the money and the grift that had fallen apart. She almost felt bad for Mr. Dunlop when he preached of his desires to make a life in Avonlea. And then it all went wrong.

Mr. Dunlop tried to shoot but the gun had no bullet, the chamber clicking. Nate seized his moment and pushed him into the digging site, grabbing the money, sparing a short glance at Elise and running away.

It was only until dark when they found the two of them. Elise had placed Jerry's head on her legs as she looked around for help. Finally, horses broke out into the distance as Mathew stumbled off of one. "Careful now. There's someone on the ground. Jerry? Elise?"

"I'm down here!" Elise could hear Mr. Dunlop cry for help at the bottom of the pit as Mathew rushed over. Jerry finally started to wake and Mathew helped him up, "Are you all right? Got yourself a nice goose egg there." His lantern shown on his purple turning eye as Jerry almost spat at the memory, "At least this time I tried to stop them."

"You're a good lad," Mathew smiled as he turned to Elise. "You're alright?"

She nodded sadly as she still cradled Jerry, who then sat up and let out a breathe of gratefulness that Nate had spared her. Elise looked between Mathew's old eyes and Jerry's dark swirls, "They're the ones who robbed you, in Charlottetown."

He nodded sadly as Mathew patted him on the back, "Then you had a feeling." Elise pulled Jerry to his feet, holding him up and walking him over to one of the horses. Mathew gestured it was for him and her to take as Jerry assured her that he could get home by himself. She wanted to stay with him and talk to him but she could tell he didn't want to speak about it until another day. So he insisted and dropped her home, sending a longing glance as she thanked him for protecting him.

Thanks to him, she could go back to her father tonight.

~~~

The next morning, Elise visited Jerry at Green Gables. There was a golden sun this morning that kissed everything in sight, including her hair, which now had a red aura surrounding it.

Jerry jogged over to her as she hopped up onto the fence. He placed his pail on the ground and walked over, towering over her by a few inches. "Thank you for protecting me. I don't need protection, but I'm not sure what would have happened if you weren't there," said Elise, who got a smirk from Jerry as she defended her pride but knew that she appreciated what he had done.

"It's no problem. All this time, I I couldn't remember who they were. And then, all of a sudden, like, I I did." He looked up and smiled at her again as she pulled him into a hug. He melted into her arms as she pulled away, "It was very brave of you."

~~~

Meanwhile on a steam ship across vast oceans, Gilbert held parchment decorated with beautiful and neat cursive. Elise's handwriting.

Bash looked over his shoulder as he held the letter in one hand and the flower in the other. The envelope that had been addressed had been forgotten on his bed was snatched by Bash and humphed, "Hm. Fancy. So what it say?"

Gilbert snatched it back, smiling to himself after reading the letter and staring at the flower that he could recognize from anywhere. He decided to answer Bash with the least important part in the letter, "There's gold in Avonlea."