The one, the only... {Gilbert Blythe Fanfiction}{Discontinued}

5.Trinidad

Third-person pov

"Take this one now. Tie 'em up right there" One man yelled.

Bash and Gilbert got off a tiny boat. They both picked up large barrels.

Bash carried it with ease but Gilbert on the other hand was struggling.

Gilbert stopped for a second and looked around admiring the beautiful landscape around him.

"Boy, stop skylarkin" Bash yelled carrying the barrel.

"Wow, this place looks amazing," Gilbert said breathlessly.

"Just the beginning, my friend" He chuckled while patting Gilbert's back.

"You look underwhelmed" He looked at Bash with one eyebrow raised.

"What you want me to do, dance?" Bash said jokingly.

"It's been two years" Gilbert replied with a frown.

Gilbert wobbled struggling to carry the heavy barrel.

"Yes, I'm very happy to be home. But you? You'll cry when you have to leave. Trinidad will get into your soul. Now we have to get these barrels where they're going" Bash chuckled walking slowly with the barrel on his shoulder. 

Gilbert wobbled struggling to carry his barrel.

"Oh! Sea leg and seashore ain't friend, you know" Bash said helping his friend.

"I just need to... get my balance" Gilbert put his barrel down.

"You need more than that with your mawga self. You catch a stiff breeze, you're gone"  Bash laughed.

"I'm not that skinny," He said in defence chuckling slightly.

"I'll find you some good Trinidadian bush medicine"

They kept walking into what looked like a market.

As they walked different aromas filled their nostrils.

"When I was a boy, I would come down here every day" Bash explained to the brown-haired boy.

"I had no idea such a place could exist!" Gilbert exclaimed looking at the sights in front of him.

"Bet you never thought you'd find yourself this far from... Hey, what the name again?" Bash questioned.

"Avonlea" Gilbert replied.

"I used to shop here for my mom. Every ingredient she cooked with had to be fresh. Nothing stale in her kitchen" Bash said.

They reached a large truck and set their barrels down inside it.

"All these smells are making me hungry" Gilbert chuckled.

"You have anything good to eat up on Prince Edward?" Bash asked in the curiosity of the white boy.

"I like potatoes" Gilbert replied.

"C'mon, potatoes? Give me something to work with here!" They looked around walking to where every their feet would take them.

"Well... Mrs Kincannon would serve crab every once in a while" 

"Now we're gettin' somewhere! How'd she prepare it?" Bash asked again.

"Boil it, I think. Add some salt" He replied as his eyes wander around the place.

"That's it? Crab with... salt?" Bash asked with a smile. Laughing lightly.

"What's wrong with that?" the brown-eyed boy asked.

"Nothing. Crab nice when you cook it up right. Like Mommy's crab callaloo. Sunday food. She'd boil down a pile of dasheen leaves in coconut milk, throw in some onions, garlic, okra, a pig tail and then the crab. Add a whole pimento pepper and let it simmer" Bash boasted about his mother's recipe.

"I don't think I've ever had a hot pepper in my life," Gilbert said.

"Yeah, you? Your little dry-up body would go to war against itself!" Bash exclaimed.

"I think I could handle it" 

"Mommy'd say, "Bash, come for a taste." I'd tip my head back and she'd feed me a spoonful. I can almost taste it now, sliding down my throat like spicy green medicine" Bash stated.

"Sounds delicious" Gilbert responded.

"Oh, it was. But it was always just the one taste. Then she'd serve the family... and I'd be given the scraps that were left" He said.

"Why didn't you eat with the family?" Gilbert asked.

"It wasn't my family," He said sadness crossing his voice slightly.

"Whose family was it?" He asked with a frown.

"The white people she worked for, Blythe" Bash said.

There was no longer the goofy happy smile on his face. Now it was replaced with a sad frown.

"I feel like an idiot. I'm so sorry" Gilbert apologized seeing the look on his face.

"Don't be. Still got more flavour from one spoonful every Sunday than you had in your whole life, from the sounds of it. Crab with... here it comes... The secret ingredient: salt" Bash chuckled.

While they were walking Gilbert's eyes landed on a horse. She had a beautiful mane that looked soft.

"Oh, wow. What a beauty. Hey. I used to ride one just like her. Come on over here, Bash. She's friendly" He said going up to the horse petting it.

"I have a thing about horses"  Bash said staying a good distance from it.

Then a man came out from a building in front of them. He looked wealthy.

"You, boy, since you're already sniffing around my horse, go on to the stable and fetch her some feed. Angling for a tip before the job's even done?" The man snarled at Bash giving him a dirty look as he leaned over the porch fence.

Bash furrowed his eyebrows.

"I am not your boy. I am a free man, sir. Since 1834. I'm sure you can find assistance inside the hotel" he replied walking away as Gilbert watched in shock slowly walking behind him.

"That was messed up. He just assumed you were a servant" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Way things are. If we cried every time that happens, the whole of Trinidad would be flooded. Now let's get us to a better neighbourhood. You still need some medicine"

~

Word count : {971}

Hello, my little roses. I am so sorry that this chapter is really short. I just didn't feel like writing this week. And I have a few chapters that I have to finish up so I can post on Enchanted. I hope you enjoy today chapter. Stay safe my lovelies!

Xoxo

-Rose