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Anne was so excited.
For one, Gilbert was back and had been back for a few months. He had gotten enough money abroad so he didn't have to plant anything in the field this year. He still had to figure out what to do next year, though, so he always had his eyes open to new possibilities.
That was all well and good, but Anne was specifically excited about Midsummer Ball. It was a church function, something they did every year on first Saturday after the midsummer solstice, but this was the first year Anne was in Avonlea so it was the first one she attended. She heard from Diana all the wonderful tales, and in her imagination, they were beautiful and magical. Marilla and Matthew never attended, they didn't care for such frivolous things. Jerry was going to attend as an escort for his sisters, just like last year. He was very sorry he mentioned it, as it leads to nearly daily visits from Anne, begging for details.
Diana was coming over at 4 with dresses for both of them. They were going to do each other’s hair and makeup, then eat. After they eat they get dressed, then walk over to the church at 7. When Diana arrived, she showed Anne the lovely light purple dress she was planning on wearing. It had puffed, three quarter length sleeves and white lace along the collar and hem. It also had some blue embroidery on the sleeves, in a design Diana called “paisley” but Anne had never seen before. Diana had the dress made especially for the Midsummer Ball. Diana gave Anne a light green dress. It didn’t have any sleeves, leaving Anne’s arms bare. It had some beautiful dark green leaves embroidered on the front. Their dinner was simple, there would be rich deserts and refreshments at the ball. Diana looked so beautiful in her dress, and Anne loved her’s too. They twirled their way to the church, they loved the way the dresses swayed an moved in the breeze. They couldn’t wait to be twirled around the dance floor. They had both let their hair down to make it even more magical.
“Probably by some rich Prince,” Anne commented.
“Anne, there are no princes in Avonlea,” Diana reminded her. “There is no one at that dance that we don’t already know from school.”
“Very well. I will dance with my classmates and imagine they are princes,” Anne conceded. “It would be better if this was a masquerade ball.” Diana laughed at that.
“Perhaps if you were head of the planning committee it could be,” Diana suggested. They both laughed at the idea of Anne ever being head of anything. The entire town seemed determined for her to never be in charge of anything.
When they arrived at the church, it was magical. There were flickering candle lights everywhere, making it look like fairies were dancing with them. All the girls were in beautiful dresses with puffed sleeves and all the boys in handsome suits. There was a band playing a soothing waltz at one side of the room. A few couples were already dancing, but most were still clinging to the walls.
“Should we dance?” Diana asked.
“Let’s get a drink, first.” Anne pulled her over to the drinks table. They got cups and watched everyone.
“Ruby looks nice,” Diana commented. Ruby was in a nice pink dress standing with her family.
“So is Tilly,” Anne added. Tilly was in a blue dress and standing near the door, like she wasn’t sure she was welcome. “Let’s go talk to her.”
They went over to her.
“Hey, Tilly,” Diana started.
“Hello, Diana. Hello, Anne.” Tilly looked around nervously. “So many people,” she commented, looking around.
“You look lovely,” Anne said. There was something off about Tilly. She was nervous for some reason and Anne wanted to comfort her. She thought she knew what it was about, so she said: “I’m sure someone will ask you to dance.”
Tilly perked up at that. “You really think so?”
“Of course,” Diana added. Tilly smiled a lot at that. “Oh look, a boy is coming over right now.” She pointed to Gilbert, who was confidently walking over.
“Hello ladies,” he said once he came over. Diana pinched Anne’s arm. “May I interest one of you in a dance?” He addressed it to the group, but his eyes were trained on Anne.
Anne blushed. “I don’t think I want to dance just yet. Maybe someone else.”
“Very well,” Gilbert accepted the soft rejection with ease, he was used to it. “Tilly?”
Tilly giggled and accepted Gilbert’s hand. They went out into the dance floor and started floating around the room.
Just then, Josie walked in. She had on a pink dress with purple lace and undertones, but her dress wasn’t the most stunning part of her. She had a beautiful and clearly expensive gold necklace with a ruby in the center and diamonds framing it. It sparkled like a thousand stars around her neck. All the room stared at her, most of the dancers stopped where they were and watch her make her grand entrance.
Anne looked down at her own neck. There was nothing there. Diana had a simple chain of pearls around her’s. Anne scanned the room, no one in the entire church had jewels to match Josie’s. If she was snooty before, she would be insufferable now.
With all the eyes on her, she scanned the room and spotted Anne and Diana. She strutted over to them and announced, in her loudest most condescending voice, “Oh Anne, you look lovely. I am glad you decided to make your dress simple.”
Anne looked at the floor. It was mean what she did. Josie put herself next to the plainest girl to make her jewels look even more special.
“Anne,” Josie continued, “I didn’t want to say anything, but your dresses a little ill-fitting. Wait,” Josie said in mock surprise, “is it actually Diana’s? Could you not afford a dress?”
Anne looked down at her shoes which were splattered with mud, as Diana wrapped an arm around Anne to comfort her. Josie was being particularly mean this time.
“Josie,” they heard a voice call from the doorway, “Remember to be nice.”
“Yes, Father,” Josie replied. They stood there for an awkward few seconds, but Josie realized that if she couldn’t insult Anne, there was no point talking to her and went off to talk to Ruby.
A few seconds later, Gilbert and Tilly showed up again.
“Are you O.K.?” Gilbert asked, genuinely concerned.
“We heard the awful things she was saying to you,” Tilly added.
Facing a bully like Josie was bad enough but now everyone, including Gilbert, was looking at her like she was a wounded animal. She didn’t want their pity and she didn’t want them to think of her as weak. She was strong, she reminded herself as hot tears slid down her face. “I’m fine,” she said, “I just need some air.” She ran out of the room.
She didn’t run home. She wasn’t going to give Josie the satisfaction of knowing she ruined the entire evening. There was something still salvageable, she just needed a moment to breath. Instead, as soon as she was out of the church, she went to the right, into the open area. There was a hill and she headed to the top of it. She could vaguely hear Diana and Gilbert yelling behind her, but she didn’t care. She was running. The wind was flying through her hair and dress. With every step, she got farther and farther from Josie and everyone at the party. Overstep got her closer to the summit of the hill, closer to heaven and the sky. She finally got to the top of the hill and stopped. She could imagine herself continuing to go, continuing to climb, higher and higher, above the clouds, the moon, and everyone at the stupid party. But she wasn’t up there. She wasn’t a bird, she was a girl. An ugly, poor, stupid girl.
She collapsed on the top of the hill and broke down crying. It wasn’t tiny tears, like back at the party, and it wasn’t silent either. It was messy, snot-filled tears, with sobbing and groans. It was ugly.
Just then, Gilbert arrived. He took it all in. She was lying down on her side, almost in the fettle position, sobbing. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to do. Should he hug her? Rub her back? Talk to her? He decided talking was probably best.
“Anne?” he asked. “Are you O.K.?” Anne continued sobbing. “Anne, Josie was being mean. You shouldn’t let it bother you.” Anne sobbed some more as Diana arrived beside Gilbert. Diana, being closer to Anne, knelt beside her rubbed her back. Gilbert stayed at a safe distance, speaking in a soothing voice. “You are way more beautiful that she could ever be. And smarter. Braver too. I don’t care how expensive the necklace was, you have something she could never buy, respectability.” Anne stopped sobbing, and slowly sat up. Gilbert took this as a good sign and knelt beside her. Anne went to rub her nose on her sleeve, but Gilbert stopped her. “Here,” he handed her his handkerchief.
“Thank you,” Anne said, taking it. She blew her nose and gave it back.
“Thank you,” Gilbert responded. In the back of his mind, he hoped she had kept it. As a way to remind her of the evening. Nevertheless, he put it back in his pocket for safe keeping.
“We should be getting back,” Anne said, getting up.
“Not yet,” Gilbert said hastily, not wanting the moment to end between them, “your nose is still a little red. Come and wait here a moment, with me.”
“OK,” Anne agreed. Gilbert extended a hand and led her a bit farther away from the church and Diana, towards the moon.
“It’s beautiful tonight,” Gilbert commented. The moon was almost full, would be in a few nights time.
“It is. It’s a shame it’s not full, then it would be truly poetic.”
Gilbert was taken aback slightly this. “Just because something isn’t how it’s described in poetry or books doesn’t make it any less special.”
“I suppose your right,” Anne looked down at her feet, but then regained her confidence and looked back at him. “But shouldn’t it? I mean, it’s not every day that the stars align and the heavens speak. When it happens, you should listen.”
“Your right,” Gilbert agreed, thinking back to the day in the woods when he first saw Anne. “But what if it happens to you but not them. What if the heavens speak to you, telling you that the girl in front of you is who you are going to marry, but she didn’t hear it? Are you supposed to give up? Press on? What should I do.” Over the course of the speech, it became abundantly clear Gilbert was not speaking in hypotheticals. He was looking directly at Anne, who continued to look at the moon, partly embarrassed, partly thrilled at the compliment.
“I suppose…” she started hesitantly, “I suppose… If it is truly love, as you believe it is… Then maybe you just need to give her time… Time to catch up. It may be that her Cupid is just late, not absent altogether.”
Gilbert beamed with joy at that. He could still win Anne’s heart. He was fine taking his time, giving her her space. He was going to end up her husband, not her first love.
“We should go back,” Diana said, interrupting them. After carefully examining Anne’s face she concluded: “Your nose is no longer red and your eyes aren’t splotchy.”
The three of them headed back, Anne and Diana in front, having linked arms, and Gilbert in the back, walking slowly, biding his time.
They got back into the church and all the girls of Avonlea School flocked to Anne, as well as numerous mothers.
“It was horrid what Josie did,” Ruby said.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I were you,” Tilly added.
“You are so brave for coming back,” Jane assured her.
“It was quite rude of my daughter,” Mrs. Pye said, “We do apologize. I assure you I had a stern talking to her.”
Anne doubted how stern the talk was but said thank you nonetheless. Then excused herself, saying that she wanted to dance. She and Diana walked onto the floor and started to dance. Soon, Fred Wright came by, asking Anne if she could take Diana. Anne said yes, seeing the excitement on Diana’s face at the thought of dancing with a boy, and Anne found herself alone again.
She went to the side of the dance hall, scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Gilbert was in a corner, talking to Charlie and Moody. Then she spotted Jerry. Anne perked up and made his way over to the French boy.
“Hello,” she greeted him. He was with his little sister, a girl around 8. “I’m Anne,” she extended a hand towards the young girl. She looked exactly like Jerry, only younger and female. Her hair was up in a fancy bun braid with ribbons on the top of her head. Her dress was dark blue, as was Jerry’s tie. It was nice that they co-ordinated, though Anne suspcted it was because their mother couldn’t afford multiple fabrics and made the tie out of the bits of leftover fabric from the dress.
The sister looked nervously at Jerry. Jerry explained “C'est la fille de famille pour qui je travaille. L'un qui est amoureux.” Jerry’s sister giggled at that.
“Bonjour,” she said, taking Anne’s hand, “Je m'appelle Colette.”
“Nice to meet you,” Anne said. She then turned back to Jerry, “Did only one of your sisters come?”
“Isabelle est la,” Jerry pointed to the dance floor, where a very pretty girl of around 16 was dancing with Billy Andrews. “Suzanne and Marie-Claire are at the snack table,” he directed his finger over to where two girls, both a little younger than Jerry and Anne, are looking at all the delicious food, deciding what to eat first. If Anne had to estimate their ages, she would say 10 and 11. “My brothers are out of town at their apprenticeships, et Maman stayed behind to watch the store.”
“You are fortunate to have such a big family,” Anne said, “but where’s your dad?”
“Papa died a few years ago,” Jerry said solemnly.
“I’m so sorry Jerry.” Anne immediately said, reaching forward to pat his arm reassuringly. “I didn’t know.”
“It’s ok. Today is a day of fun,” he ruffled his sister’s hair, trying to cheer her up.
Anne agreed with him, bending down to talk directly with Colette. “Your dress is a lovely shade of dark blue. Where did you get it?”
Jerry translated but translated Colette’s answer instead of providing his own. “It’s her older sister’s dress,” Jerry translated, “It was passed down to her… and renewed for the latest fashion. She likes the ruffles on the chest the best.”
“I think the ruffles are very fashionable. I also like the puff sleeves,” Anne commented.
“Merci,” said Colette.
“Have either of you gotten an opportunity to dance?” Anne asked.
“We started the night with a few dances, but got tired,” Jerry explained. “Have you?”
“A bit with Diana,” Anne said. “Gilbert also asked me, but I declined.”
For some strange reason, Colette burst out laughing at the mention of Gilbert’s name. Jerry tried to hush her but she kept on saying “Les amoureux! Les amoureux!” drawing the eyes of a few surrounding eyes. She finally calmed down, and asked Anne, “Pourquoi tu ne danses pas avec ton amoureux? Gérard dit qu'il est si élégant et agréable.”
Anne looked at Jerry to translate. “Umm, she’s asking where you got your dress.”
“Oh, Diana gave it to me to wear for tonight.” Before she could continue, Ruby popped up at her elbow.
“Anne,” she said, “tonight isn’t off to a good start. No one’s asked me to dance yet.”
Anne noticed that Jerry adjusted his jacket as soon as Ruby arrived, and deduced the crush. “Tell you what,” she proposed, “I’ll look after Colette and Jerry can dance with you.”
Jerry and Ruby both looked shocked, and Ruby pulled Anne in and whispered in her ear “But he’s a French boy. I wouldn’t be caught dead with him.” Jerry heard all this because Ruby wasn’t that good at whispering.
“He’s a good man and a strong dancer,” Anne protested on Jerry’s behalf, “and the least it could do is make another boy jealous.”
“Very well,” Ruby conceded, as they rejoined the group. “I’ll dance if you will.”
“I’d love too,” Jerry said, speaking weirdly as though trying to force his accent out by sheer willpower. “One moment.” He knelt down by his sister and told her what was happening. He asked her to stay exactly where she was, and she nodded obediently. He then offered his arm, which Ruby took reluctantly, and they headed over to the dance floor.
Anne took her place beside Colette. She didn’t think of the language barrier as being much of a problem, they were both so animated when they spoke, you could deduce the meaning without knowing the language.
“Do you like having Jerry as an older brother?” She asked.
Colette looked up with wide eyes, confused.
“Jerry,” she pointed at him. “Good?” She asked, showing the thumbs up sign, then thumbs down, then up again.
“Oui!” Colette said enthusiastically. Anne knew enough French to know what that means. “Gérard est génial!”
“What’s that word?” Anne asked, to Colette’s confusion, “You said it before. Gerard. Is that brother?”
Colette was confused again. So she pointed to Jerry again and said “Gérard.”
“That’s Jerry,” Anne corrected.
“Jerry en Anglais,” Colette corrected Anne. “Gérard en Francais.”
Anne knew enough French to guess the meaning of the little girl’s sentence. Jerry had 2 names, but why keep it hidden from them? She tried to pronounce it. “Gerard.” She butchered it with her English tongue.
“Gérard,” Colette corrected her, emphasizing the rolling of the r. They went back and forth for a while, trying to get Anne to say it properly. Eventually, they were just rolling their rs at each other, laughing.
“Hello again,” Gilbert said, approaching the two ladies with a tip of his imaginary hat.
Colette tugged on Anne’s sleeve. “Qui est?”
“That’s Gilbert,” Anne responded, “Gilbert Blythe.”
Colette looked like it was Christmas morning and she had to bit her hand to stop herself from screaming with delight. Her eyes darted back and forth between Anne and Gilbert expectantly. Anne didn’t know what to make of the little girl, and neither did Gilbert. He knelt down in front of her.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
Colette didn’t know what to make of him, but she giggled and hid in Anne’s skirt.
“Her name is Colette,” Anne said for the little girl who was too busy smiling to form a sentence.
“She’s Jerry’s sister. I’m watching her while he dances with Ruby.”
Gilbert stepped beside Anne and looked out on the dance floor and spotted the pair. Ruby was no longer reluctant to be with him. In fact, they were talking quite joyously.
“They are quite the pair,” he commented. Colette had come out of the fold of Anne’s skirt and took her hand.
“I thought so,” Anne agreed, feeling Colette’s little hand in her’s. “It was my first experiment in matchmaking and I think it turned out quite well.” While this was happening Colette’s other hand found Gilbert’s. The three were quite a pretty picture. Anne and Gilbert with a child in-between.
“I suppose I must compliment you, then,” Gilbert said. “Planning on attending their wedding?”
“Of course,” Anne went along with the joke, “If it hadn’t been for they wouldn’t even be together.”
“Look over there,” Gilbert pointed with his free hand. “Tilly is dancing with Moody.”
“That’s nice,” Anne commented. There was a moment of silence, as they scanned the crowd looking for more matches. Suddenly, Anne felt a jostling in the hand holding Colette, then the hand is replaced by a stronger, more calloused one. Anne looked down and she was holding hands with Gilbert. Colette had put them together while they weren’t paying attention. Colette had such a big smile on, Anne couldn’t help but smile too. She looked at Gilbert, who was also smiling. She knew she should take her hand back, but Colette was having so much fun she didn’t want to. She kept it there as she turned her attention back to the crowd.
“Diana and Fred are still dancing together,” Anne commented as Colette came and held her other hand.
“That’s a match that doesn’t need any matchmaker.”
“Anne,” came a voice from a way beside them.
Anne quickly took back her hand as Charlie pushed through the crowd. “I was wondering if you’d like to dance.”
Anne was surprised, and her shock got the better of her as she quickly replied “Sure.”
“Really!” Charlie was excited.
“Really?” Gilbert was shocked.
“Can you look after Colette?” Anne asked Gilbert, kinda wanting him to say no, he didn't feel comfortable, so she could have an excuse to take back her yes.
“If that’s what you need,” he responded. If this was what Anne wanted, he wasn’t going to stop her. He just wanted her happy, even if it wasn’t him that made her happy.
Anne was swept onto the dance floor by Charlie. It was a fast song, so it didn’t give them much time to talk. It took them a while, but eventually, they found their groove and moved together. He twirled her, dipped her and she could imagine she was a beautiful princess and he a knight in shining armor. The song ended and Charlie asked if she wanted to stay on. She said yes, she enjoyed dancing though it did leave her a bit breathless.
Just after she agreed to a second dance, the song started playing. It was a slow one. Charlie pulled Anne close and they swayed together. It was a little uncomfortable, they weren’t talking at all. Anne looked around. Diana and Fred had gone for drinks. Jerry was across the room, holding Ruby close. Anne waved at him. Jerry looked concerned, but Anne pointed to where Colette was playing with Gilbert. Jerry sighed with relief and shot her a thumbs up. Anne turned back to Charlie they still had no idea what to talk about, and everyone around them was whispering sweet nothings to each other. They briefly passed Mr. Phillips and Prissy Andrews and overheard a snippet of Mr. Phillips promising to “love you intensely and eternally till the day the good lord claims my soul for heaven above.” They eagerly steered away from him.
“So, how are you,” Charlie asked.
“Good,” Anne assured him, as they fell into another pause. “The weather is lovely.”
“Yes it is,” he agreed. More silence. “Who was that you were with?”
“Colette,” Anne answered. “She’s Jerry’s sister. She’s so cute and so much fun.” They fell into more silence. Anne couldn’t explain it but for some reason, she felt like she was betraying herself by dancing with Charlie. “You know what?” Anne said hurriedly, pulling away “I think I need some air.” She turned away from Charlie and left quickly.
She went out into the cool night and felt relief when the cold night air touched her burning cheeks. It was a warm night, but inside was warmer, with all the candles and bodies. She wanted to walk some more, so she headed to the left, where the graveyard was. She was always interested in graveyards. Seeing all those names and dates, imaging the lives that the people must have lived. Maybe there was a pirate among the bodies under the earth. Or a spy. Did this man love his wife, or did he marry her out of obligation? This boy was only 14 when he died. Did he have his first kiss yet? What about her, dead at 67. Did she have a full life? She lived longer than the boy, but did she live more? And what about this tombstone, from 100 years ago. Did he ever imagine the town would look like this? Did he have any children who carry his memories? It’s weird to think of people as a collection of dead people, but in many ways, that’s what they are.
Anne glided among the tombstones, each of them a special shape, made just for that person.
“Anne!” she heard a voice shout from behind her. It was Diana, running up to her. Fred was behind her, trying to keep up. “Anne, are you OK?” Diana was very worried.
“Yes,” Anne responded. “I just need a bit of air. You really didn’t need to come.” Fred caught up with them, but as Anne looked back, she spotted Gilbert and Ruby running over as well, with Jerry and Colette walking behind them. Once everyone had caught up, she told them all “I’m fine. You should all go back in.”
“You looked like you were going to faint,” Ruby said.
“Or puke,” Jerry said.
Anne rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. The night air is doing me good.” She noticed Tilly, Moody, and Charlie coming over.
“Are you alright?” Charlie asked, hesitantly guilty.
Anne groaned. “For the last time, I’m fine. I just needed to get some air.”
“It… It wasn’t anything I did, was it?” Charlie was worried.
“You were a perfect gentleman,” she assured him.
“Honestly,” came a loud voice from behind them, “I don’t know why you are all fawning over this pathetic orphan.” They all turned around to find Josie standing there, the jewels around her neck gleaming in the moonlight. “She needs some air and suddenly half the party is gone.”
“Leave her alone, Josie,” Gilbert warned.
“Now why would a handsome young man like yourself want to associate yourself with trash like this?” Josie asked. She was being especially cruel, but Anne was determined not to cry. Still, Josie continued. “Her family could never afford anything as spectacular as this,” she touched her neck.
“Your family could never buy what her family has,” Diana said. “Happiness.”
Josie laughed at that. “Happiness!” She took off her necklace so everyone could get a better look. “Solid gold, not gold plating. Diamonds, with a ruby in the center. My birthstone,” she said smugly. “Daddy bought it for me in Charlottetown, because no one in Avonlea could make it.”
“You should put it back on your neck before you lose it.” Anne warned.
“How would I lose it?” Josie laughed, holding it up and tempting fate.
Fate was, indeed, tempted. Just then, a crow came down and snatched the necklace right out of Josie’s hand.
“Follow it,” Anne shouted quickly, thinking fast. They all ran after the bird. It flew to the other side of the graveyard and into the trees. The bird was certainly fast, so fast most kids couldn’t keep up. Eventually, it was just Anne, Gilbert, and Jerry. Anne and Gilbert started to fall behind, losing steam, but Jerry kept pace with the crow and his treasure. Eventually, Anne had to give up, she was so out of breath. Gilbert stopped too. Anne collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
“You... Shouldn’t… Shouldn’t have… Have stopped…” Anne said between breaths. “Not… Not for me.”
“Jerry’s got it,” Gilbert said, also a little out of breath.
Anne smiled up at him but they were interrupted by Jerry yelling “Ici! I found the nest!”
Gilbert helped Anne to her feet and yelled back at everyone else, “Jerry found the nest! Come on!”
They walked over together, taking their time because they were tired from running. They realized they didn’t exactly know where they were going, so they played Marco Polo till they found Jerry. He pointed out the nest, in a tree where the first branch was at least 10 feet up, and they waited patiently for everyone else. Ruby was the last to arrive, escorting the young Colette whom Jerry embraced feverishly when he saw her, chiding himself for forgetting about her.
“She was safe with me,” Ruby said, “and it was a good thing you did, anyone else would have lost the bird. You're so fast,” Ruby praised Jerry.
“Merci,” Jerry said automatically, still fawning over his sister, ignoring the hearts in Ruby’s eyes.
“There’s still the question of how to get up there,” Gilbert said, examining the tree.
“Couldn’t you just climb it?” Anne asked.
“There aren’t any branches,” Gilbert pointed out.
“Then you can just use a rope,” Anne said like it was the most obvious thing.
Everyone was taken aback. That tree was positively unclimbable. “How?” Gilbert asked.
“You seriously never learned about this?” Anne was baffled. “It’s the first thing you learn in the circus.”
Everyone was shocked. “You were in the circus?” Diana asked, dumbfounded.
Anne shrugged, “For a few weeks.”
Everyone erupted into questions. “When were you in the circus?” “What was you act?” “What circus was this?” “Where were your guardians?” “ Did you get to pet any animals?” Gilbert calmed them all down.
“I’m sure we have a lot of questions for Anne,” he said, “but right now we need to concentrate on the necklace. Anne, do you have a plan to get up there?”
“I do,” she confirmed, “I just need your belt.” She held out her hand, waiting.
“My belt?” he asked. She nodded. “Fine,” he said, undoing the straps. he handed it to her.
She approached the tree and wrapped the belt around it, so she held one end in each hand, making a circle around the trunk. She leaned back, pulling against the straps so they were tight. She put a foot on the trunk, keeping herself up by the tension on the straps. She took the other foot off the earth and placed it above the first foot, shimmying herself up a bit. But something was off, she couldn’t lean back enough. She let go and let herself fall to the ground.
“What’s wrong,” Gilbert asked. “You were doing it!”
“Something was off,” Anne tried to put her finger on it. “I need another belt. Fred?”
“I have suspenders,” Fred answered.
“Charlie?” Anne asked.
“Suspenders too,” Charlie said, showing his.
“Jerry?” Anne hoped.
“On it,” Jerry said, taking off his belt and handing it to her.
Anne attached the end of one to the start of the other and wrapped it around the tree again. That was much better, but she still didn’t feel comfortable. She didn’t have enough traction on her feet. She took off her boots and hesitated. If she went up there, she would ruin her dress for sure. She looked around and decided to take the plunge.
“Diana,” Anne said, “can you unbutton me?” She pointed to the back of her dress.
“Why?” Gilbert asked. Everyone else looked taken aback as well.
“If I make that climb, I will ruin my dress,” Anne explained, as Diana undid her buttons. “This dress is so beautiful, I would rather lose my dignity than it. Not to worry, I have clean underthings. Still, you can avert your eyes if you feel like it.”
Gilbert, Fred, Charlie, Tilly, and Ruby looked away. Jerry had already seen Anne in her underthings while working on the farm during laundry day, so she didn’t mind that he watched. All the other girls held their breath and watched as she wrapped the belts around the tree and started to climb. Anne tried to take it slowly. Better to have sure footing but take your time than to rush and fall. On the ground, Gilbert was getting nervous.
“Diana, what’s happening?” he asked.
“She’s climbing,” Diana responded.
“Good. How far is she?”
“About halfway.”
“Very good… Wait, halfway to the first branch of halfway to the nest?”
“To the first branch.”
“Good.” He waited patiently for a few more second, before asking “Is she there yet?”
“No.”
“Guys,” Anne shouted down, “all the talking is distracting. If you want to see, turn around.”
“Fine,” Gilbert announced, “I’m turning around.” He turned and found an athletic figure around two-thirds of the way to the first branch. She was a good climber, so he knew once she got to that first branch she’d be fine. She was also surprisingly muscled, he noted, looking at the strong arms. She continued climbing steadily towards the top.
When Anne go to the first branch, she knew things were going to get tough. It would be difficult to transition from one way of climbing to another. She approached the branch head on, so she directly below it. She came as close as she could to it, so close she could kiss it. She brought her feet up so they were directly between her and the tree. Her body was almost horizontal now. She tried to balance so that she only needed her left leg to not fall. With her right leg, she swung it over. She had one leg over the branch and another supporting herself, with her arms still holding the belts.
She considered what to do next. She could try swinging the other leg over. Or she could shimmy the belts up and grab the branch with her arms. After a moment’s consideration, she decided to do the first one. She worked to secure her right leg and worked her left leg up. As she did so, her arms wobbled. She tried to secure her hands but they wobbled more as her leg got closer to the branch. Suddenly, the belts fell away. She didn’t have enough tension and they slipped. Everyone on the ground gasped. Instinctively, Anne reached out and grabbed the branch with her arms as the belts fell the long way to ground. She twisted herself and pulled herself up so she was sitting on the branch and took a breath. She looked down. Everyone was looking up at her, even the ones who said they wouldn’t had turned around when they heard everyone gasp. She looked at the belts, lying pathetically in the dirt. She didn’t need them anymore. She saw Gilbert go and reach for them, untying the belts and giving Jerry back his. Anne leaned back against the tree and took a moment of rest after that experience. She closed her eyes and tried to make the throbbing in her arms and legs go away.
“Are you alright?” Gilbert asked up to her, concerned.
“I’m fine,” she called down, “just resting for a bit.”
She took another few seconds before standing up on the branch and looking at the nest. It was about 6 feet up and 4 feet out. Getting to the nest’s branch would be easy, there are a lot of paths she could take, but once she gets up there, she would have to scoot along the branch and hope she doesn’t lose her balance. She quickly made it onto the branch and everyone below cheered. Anne gave her friends below a little nod, not telling them that the hardest part was probably ahead of her. The nest was a little less than her height out. She crouched down so that her belly was on the branch. She bent her legs behind her so that they looked like butterflies. She scooted along the branch, careful to keep her legs as far apart as possible to keep her balance. She reached out, trying to grab the necklace but couldn’t. She went out a bit more and tried again, but she couldn’t see anything. She went out a bit more, enough that she could look in. She found way more than she bargained for.
“What is it?” Diana yelled up.
“There’s the necklace,” Anne yelled, picking it up and showing it off. “Dropping it down, alright?”
“Send it down,” Josie told her. Anne dropped it but didn’t dare look down to see if someone caught it, lest she loosed her balanced.
“Got it!” Gilbert told her. “Come down.”
“There’s more stuff here,” Anne told them, dropping the stuff as she told them what was in the nest. “There’s three tea spoons, a silver pocket watch, a gold bracelet, and two brooches, one ruby, and one emerald.”
“Cool,” everyone said, probably admiring the new finds.
“That’s nice but how are you getting down?” Gilbert asked.
Anne wanted to answer, wanted to tell him her amazing plan to get down safely, but then she realized she didn’t have a plan. She cursed under her breath.
“You don’t have a plan, do you?” Gilbert knew her too well. “Listen to me. If you fall, I will catch you.”
“WHAT?” Anne was shocked and horrified. How could he propose this?
“Stay calm,” he soothed her, “and do what I say. Turn around so that your belly is still facing the branch, but instead of having your back to the sky, your back is to the ground. Like you are clinging to the branch, exactly. Now, you are going to drop your legs and so you are just hanging by your arms. Good. Now, you have to trust me. Let go and I promise I will catch you.”
Anne hesitated. “You promise?”
“On my honor,” he assured her.
“Gilbert, if you drop me and I die, so help me God my ghost will haunt your ass from the beyond.”
Gilbert laughed a little at Anne's rhetoric but he wasn't sure it was all rhetorical. “I won’t drop you.”
“Fine,” Anne conceded. “On the count of three.”
“One,” they said together. “Two.”
“Three,” Anne said, releasing her arms. She was briefly in free fall, watching the branch get smaller and smaller as she spread her arms open like a bird. The wind whipped past her as she fell, her hair was flying past her. Suddenly it all stopped. She found herself safely in Gilbert’s arms back on earth. She smiled up at him and he smiled back. She was suddenly very aware that he was carrying her like the knights carry princesses in the old stories, with one arm behind her knees and the other at her shoulder blades. She was also very aware of the fact that she was in her underthings. She swung down her legs and stood up on her own. She smoothed out her clothes, mumbled thanks in Gilbert’s direction, and walked briskly over to Diana who helped her back into her dress.
“You were right,” Diana assured her, “Judging by how shredded and dirty your underthings got, the dress would have been destroyed.”
Anne nodded, and the two girls joined the gathering of shiny objects. Josie got back her necklace, and the rest were trying to divide up the rest of the booty.
“These three spoons obviously belong to the church,” Moody said. “You can see the little cross on the handle part.”
“They are also identical to the ones they give everyone when they hold teas,” Tilly added.
“Can we all agree they should go back to the church?” Gilbert asked everyone. Everyone nodded along. No one wanted to steal from the church. “Who do you suspect owned the rest of this stuff?”
“Does anyone recognize it from their parent’s collection?” Ruby asked, “Maybe one of them lost it?” No one recognized anything. “If not, then I propose we decided up among ourselves.” Ruby reached for the ruby brooch.
“No,” Diana said, making Ruby’s hand away. “They should be divided based on merit, not who wants it most.” Everyone agreed with that.
“Jerry should get something,” Anne said. All eyes turned to her. “If he hadn’t been the fastest runner we wouldn’t have found the nest.”
“True,” Gilbert seconded. “All in favor?” No one could point out the flaws in their logic, so everyone said aye. “Jerry, you get to pick first.”
Jerry had never seen such a collection of treasures in his life, so the thought of being able to take one home was too good. He studied them carefully. In his mind, he was estimating the worth of each item. The pocket watch was the most useful, it was still working, but the ruby brooch was by far the most expensive. He could pawn it for a lot. But then he looked down at his little sister who was eyeing the bracelet like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. He chooses the bracelet and gave it to her. Colette squealed with joy and put it on her wrist. Everyone smiled at seeing the joy on her face.
“All those in favor of giving Jerry the pocket watch too, because he’s such an amazing older brother?” Anne asked. Most said aye, but Josie said nay.
“Why should he get two things?” Josie asked Anne.
“Because he deserves it?” Anne responded. “Are you saying you helped more than he did?”
“Besides,” Gilbert added, “It doesn’t even work. If he can fix it, he deserves it.”
“Fine,” Josie sighed. “It’s not like I’d have any use for it, anyway.”
Anne would have thought almost losing her previous necklace would have thought her some humility, but apparently, lessons don’t last long with her.
“Anne should pick next,” Gilbert proposed. “She was the one who climbed the tree to get us this stuff.” A chorus of ayes made Anne blush.
Anne carefully looked at the two brooches in front of her. The Cuthbert's weren’t desperate for income anymore, so she didn’t need to pawn whatever she took. The ruby was beautiful, but wouldn’t match well with her red hair. Instead, the emerald would compliment her hair well. She chooses that one and pinned it to the front of her dress.
“Very well,” Josie sneered, “Gilbert was the one who caught Anne, let's give him the final brooch.”
There was a chorus of ayes as Gilbert objected. “I have no use for a brooch.”
“You could give it to a girl you like,” Ruby offered, looking at it longingly.
Gilbert accepted the brooch and stuffed it in his pocket. He would give it to Anne. Not yet, but eventually.
“We should head back,” Charlie announced. “They must be getting worried.”
The entire group started heading back to the church. Colette was super excited to have the bracelet and was running around showing everyone, even if they’ve already seen it five times.
Everyone was really good sports, acting surprised and amazed every time she showed it to her. Anne walked with Diana, who was admiring the brooch.
“It’s really nice, Anne.”
“Thank you,” Anne responded.
“You were really brave up there,” Diana commented.
“It was nothing,” Anne commented.
“Everyone down here was really worried,” Diana told her, “Especially Gilbert. He grabbed my hand when it looked like you could fall and wouldn’t let go till you were safe. He was very concerned.” She made her accusation eyebrows in Anne’s direction.
Anne laughed. “What do you mean by that?”
Diana shrugged. “I’m just saying, I heard you two talking when you were looking at the moon earlier. He basically proposed marriage.”
Anne laughed harder she should have. “If you heard it you must have heard me reject him.”
“But you left him with hope. It was a soft rejection. Face it, he’s head over heels in love with you and you are falling for him.”
Anne and Diana looked over at the boy in question. He was playing with Colette. Pretending to be a dragon chasing after Colette for her mighty treasure. Colette was running as fast as she could to get away while still laughing her head off. Anne had to admit, he was good with kids. He caught her and raised her high above his head, then spun her around really fast, making her laugh even more. He finally held her close and pretended to eat her up. Eventually, she told him to stop because she wanted to go talk to someone else and he let her down without an argument. She rushed off to talk to Josie and Ruby and Gilbert turned around to look at everyone else. He caught sight of Anne and Diana staring and waved at them. This caused Anne and Diana to erupt into giggles. They walked the rest of the way, arguing about how many children Anne and Gilbert will have. Anne said they will never get married, but Diana insisted they will have at least 8.
When the came back to the graveyard, Fred approached Diana again, asking for her hand in the next dance. Diana accepted and raced inside with Fred. Everyone seemed so anxious to get back inside, but Anne stayed a moment outside. She didn’t like the church. There were too many people. It was too hot. There were constantly eyes on her. She preferred being outside, with a few friends. She watched as everyone rushed into the church.
“Hey there,” Gilbert said with a touch at her elbow.
“Oh. Hi,” she smiled back. They stood there in silence for a while, looking at the church and hearing the faint music. It was loud enough to make out the melody, but not overpowering like it was inside the church. She realized that their silence wasn’t like the silence with Charlie. It wasn’t uncomfortable. She didn’t feel the need to fill it. It was a nice silence.
“Do you want to go inside?” Gilbert asked, after a while.
“Not really,” Anne responded.
“Do you want to dance?” Gilbert offered his hand.
“Here?” Anne asked, shocked.
“You can hear the music, can’t you?” He was right, and Anne took his hand. It was a slow song, so they swayed together.
Dancing with Gilbert was so much better than dancing with Charlie, or anyone else, Anne suspected. They were immediately in rhythm with each other. Anne liked it, liked the feel of Gilbert’s hand at the small of her back, and though there were only a few inches of space between them Anne felt like it was too much.
The song changed to a faster one, and Gilbert swept her off her feet. He twirled her, making her dress spread out and her hair whip around. They danced so fast, their feet barely stood still. After that, there was another fast song. This time, Gilbert tried to lift her. The first time she wasn’t prepared, but they tried it again and they nailed it. They both laughed, out of breath but never happier.
Then another slow song came on. Anne smiled at Gilbert shyly as he pulled he closer than they were before. Now their chests were touching each other. Gilbert analyzed every freckle on Anne’s face. Anne looked deep into Gilbert’s eyes. They were the sort of green that could be mistaken for brown at a distance. She memorized them, but still wanted to be closer. She turned her head and rested it on his collarbone. They were so close now. Anne could feel his heart beating fast underneath his suit. She could also fell him plant a gentle kiss on her hair, before also resting his head on her’s. They swayed there, completely resting on each other. It was impossible for them to get any closer, so Anne closed her eyes, not wanting this moment to end. Eventually, the song did end, but Anne and Gilbert were in such a deep state of denial, they didn’t separate till after the next song started up. They pulled away but kept holding hands and looking deep into each other’s eyes. Gilbert leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Anne’s lips.
The feeling was like nothing Anne ever felt. It was so beautiful, she didn’t know what to do. When she felt Gilbert pulling away, she desperately kissed him back. Encouraged, he put a hand on her back and she threw her arms over his shoulders. They stayed there for what seemed like an eternity of bliss, and could have stayed there for an eternity more had it not been for a little voice yelling “Les amoureux!”
They quickly separated and turned to see Jerry, Diana, and Colette standing there. Jerry and Diana were too shocked to speak, but Colette was too excited not to speak. She ran over to the two embarrassed lovers yelling “Les amoureux! Les amoureux! Gérard, tu l'as prédit, n'es pas?”
“Hello, Colette,” Anne said, “Hey Jerry, Diana. What are you all doing here?”
“You two weren't inside," Jerry explained. "We thought something happened to the two of you so we came out looking for you.” He was staring intently at Gilbert like he wanted to beat him up.
“Obviously something did happen,” Diana commented, unable to contain her smile at the possibility of Anne kissing Gilbert. “Something miraculous.”
“Let’s go inside,” Anne said, breaking away from Gilbert and grabbing Diana’s hand to lead her inside.
“We will meet you inside in a minute,” Jerry said, stopping Gilbert as he attempted to pursue Anne, “run along Colette.”
Colette ran inside quickly, no doubt intent on telling everyone who spoke french that Anne and Gilbert kissed. Sure enough, by the time she and Diana made it inside the church, Anne was accosted by the schoolgirls of Avonlea school.
“Is it true you kissed Gilbert?” Ruby asked.
“That was fast,” Anne commented. “How?”
“I speak French,” Josie answered. “Is it true?”
“Yes,” Anne confessed. The girls around her erupted in shouts. Some congratulatory, some in disbelief. Josie ran over and told Charlie and the schoolboys, then came back. Soon enough everyone in the church knew. It would only be so long till Matthew and Marilla found out as well. Still, she wasn’t too worried about that, everyone seemed to be surprised but not shocked. As though they were expecting it, they just weren’t expecting it so soon. Anne prayed Marilla would have a similar reaction. She also prayed that Matthew would approve of Gilbert.
Just then, Gilbert came in with Jerry. Jerry made a beeline back to his family and Gilbert was accosted in a similar fashion to Anne, only with the boys. Eventually, he was able to calm them down and approached Anne. All the schoolchildren held their breath as he approached her.
“You have quite the protective older brother,” Gilbert said with a faint smile. He was nervous, you could tell by the way he rubbed his hands together.
“What?” Anne was confused. She was an orphan.
“It’s nothing. Never mind,” he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Anyway, would you like to dance?” The band started playing a jig as he extended his elbow.
Anne felt a million eyes on her as she said: “I’d love to.” They danced most of the night away, with only brief breaks to get snacks or drinks, or to dance with Diana because Anne felt like she was neglecting her friend.
At the end of the night, Anne and Diana planned to walk home together, but Gilbert asked to walk Anne home, so Diana had Fred walk with her.
Anne said her goodbyes to Diana, her friends, Jerry and his family, and everyone else and meet Gilbert outside. They walked side by side, neither speaking a word, happy to be with each other. When they were able to see Green Gables they realized their walk would end soon, and their step slowed considerably. They didn’t want the night to end.
“I had a lovely night,” Anne said.
“Me too,” Gilbert said. “You were absolutely beautiful dancing.”
Anne smiled at the complaint. “And you were quite handsome yourself,” she returned.
Gilbert beamed proudly. “It was really nice, dancing with you tonight. And… Doing other things with you.” He smiled slyly at her as she blushed.
“It was a nice kiss,” she admitted, as they approached the front steps. Anne went up to the first step and turned around to face Gilbert, standing a step below her.
“Can I see you again?” Gilbert asked hopefully.
“I’ll be at school,” she said, avoiding the point of the question and taking a few more steps up so she was on the porch and he was still on the ground. She moved to the side, and he followed on the ground.
“When can I see you again like this?” Gilbert followed over to where Anne stood by the railing. She was on the porch, leaning over. He stood on the ground, looking up at her. He was used to being a few inches taller than her, now she was around a foot taller than him. “When can I see you alone, in the moonlight, looking at me like that.”
She smiled down at him. “Like what?” she mocked.
Gilbert smiled knowing, “Like how I look at you.”
Anne smiled at him and at his loving gaze as she ran her hand through his hair. “I should go inside,” she said, not moving.
“Then I should go too,” he said, also not moving.
Anne's hand went down from the hair till her hand cupped his face and with her thumb stroked his cheek. “I don’t want this night to end,” she whispered to him.
“Me neither,” he whispered back, gently. He stood up on his tiptoes as she bent down and kissed him. It was a beautifully soft kiss. She pulled back for air, releasing them.
“I should get going,” Gilbert said, stepping back. “I hope to see you to at school on Monday.”
He started walking away. Anne knew the night had to end but wanted to make some sort of a plan. She couldn't leave everything so... unfinished. “Gil!” she shouted, as he turned around. “How about if you walk me to church tomorrow?”
Gilbert smiled at her like all his dreams came true. “I’d love too. It’s a plan.” He waved at her as he ran off, happily this time.
Anne sighed and went back inside, thinking of dancing, kissing and happily ever after.
Marilla was still up. She was in at the dining table with a cup of tea in front of her. “Have a nice time at the ball?” Marilla asked.
“It was lovely,” Anne answered truthfully, not sure if she should tell Marilla about Gilbert. Turns out she didn’t have to.
“Mrs. Rachel Lynde came by earlier,” Marilla said. “She took a break from the festivities to tell me that you were seen kissing the young Gilbert Blythe.”
Anne was not surprised. “I was going to tell you,” Anne started, but Marilla cut her off with a wave of her hand.
“Gilbert Blythe is a good man,” she told Anne. “He is strong and smart and loves you. However, you must be wary of any man who-”
“I know,” Anne interrupted her, not wanting to hear her finish that thought, “I will be.”
“Very well,” Marilla said, “Best go upstairs and get to bed.”
Anne rushed upstairs and changed into her nightclothes. She would have to explain to Marilla how her underclothes got so dirty and scratched up, that’d be a hard conversation to have. But Anne put out of her mind the conversations of tomorrow and went into bed. That night she dreamed happy dreams. Balls, gowns, and princes in shining armor with Gilbert’s face.