Baker - G. BLYTHE

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-ˋˏ *.·:·. [THREE DAYS LATER] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

CHARLOTTE DRESSED IN HER BEST DRESS, THE ONE SHE HAD WORN AT CHRISTMAS, FOR PRISSY AND MR PHILLIPS WEDDING. It took a lot of convincing for her mother to let her go as she had been rightfully punished for disappearing without asking. But with it being a wedding her attending was something she quickly came to a decision about. Mother and Charlotte headed to the church that morning talking about the joys and hardships of marriage. Charlotte had only ever been to one wedding, her aunts back in Ireland, so she wondered if they had any different traditions here. That wedding basically turned into a huge party and it was a very vivid memory because of how amazing the day was. The bride dressed in an ivory/white gown with multiple heirlooms glittering her body (a necklace which was supposed to be handed down to Charlotte for her wedding was the prettiest of the bunch) and she walked down the aisle to her husband dressed in a handsome suit. Weddings to her were a proclamation of love, something that she looked forward to even though the man at the end of the aisle didn't have a face.

They sat in a row with Tillie and her parents, Charlotte and her engaged in a quiet conversation as they waited for the festivities to begin. The room quickly filled with people, the Cuthberts sat on the row behind them and Gilbert sat a few rows back on the opposite side. Anne, Charlotte and Tillie had hushed conversations of excitement, talking about things to do with the wedding. She learned that most of the traditions were the same but here they didn't have the straw boys.  They would suddenly appear at a wedding, usually uninvited, and dance with the bride and groom before disappearing. Keeping their identity concealed behind stylised hats made of straw was where they got their name. It was one of the stronger memories that she had from Ireland and felt rather disappointed that they didn't have them here.

Prissy looked beautiful in her gown as she walked down the aisle, though she looked rather nervous. Everything about it was beautiful, her dress, her veil, the flowers and the music that played. Gilbert found his glance landing on Charlotte after Prissy walked past, she had such a smile on her face that it made her heart swell. Charlotte caught him looking at Anne, he smiled as he watched Anne who stood directly behind her. A part of her wanted Gilbert to look at her that way, to look at her with so much love in his eyes. She didn't know that Gilbert had actually been staring at her the entire time, not Anne.

The two were so distracted with their separate thoughts that they hardly noticed Prissy's flowers falling to the ground, they certainly noticed her running out of the chapel though. Most of the girls ran after her but Charlotte stayed, the feeling in her stomach had her feet grounded. The wedding never happened and everything returned to how it had been, except that most students were overjoyed that Mr Phillips would no longer be teaching.

-ˋˏ *.·:·. [THE FOLLOWING DAY] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

CHARLOTTE AND TILLIE SAT ON THE FLOOR OF HER BEDROOM, SNACKING ON VARIOUS PASTRIES FROM THE BAKERY. Tillie had come over to the Rayhill's for a sleepover for the evening as her parents were due into Charlottetown for some reason that she did not know. Despite that, Charlotte was extremely glad to have been able to have her first sleepover at her own house.

"Tillie!" Charlotte exclaimed in outrage, watching as she erupted into laughter with pink dusting her cheeks.

Tillie laughed while plucking a pastry from the plate in front of them, "He did look divine Charlotte, you cannot deny it. Ruby practically swooned!"

She gasped, laughing, "Gilbert Blythe did not look divine!"

"Now I would agree with you on a daily basis however, he wore a suit," Tillie grinned, clearly picturing the sight in her head.

Charlotte remained silent, not quite knowing what the girl was talking about. " I honestly do not see it in the slightest."

Tillie gasped in fake horror, as if this was the worst thing in the world, "Then we must take you to an oculist!"

They both laughed then, giggles erupting down the corridor and even into the parlour downstairs. Mother, who was sitting at the table balancing books for the bakery smiled to herself at the sound and almost miscalculated an extremely important detail.

Once their laughter died down and a few more deserts had been eaten, the two girls laid on the floor of her bedroom with their backs against the floorboards. They stared up at the cieling, Charlotte counting specals of paint on the surface. "Do you think Mr Phillips will ever show his face in school again?" Tillie asked at just above a whisper, half dazed from all the sugar within her system.

"I don't believe he would, how could he?" Charlotte answered quickly, wondering who would take over the school in his absence. "Being left at the altar must be horrid."

Tillie, who compltely misread her tone of wonderment, quickly turned her head in Charlotte's direction, "Do you feel bad for him?"

"Oh of course not! He was and is a rotten character," she answered back quickly and without a second thought. Now normally Charlotte would feel awful for such a comment, given that she favoured being nice and kind to everyone, but she could never forgive Mr Phillps for anything. Not how he taught, not how he treated his students and certainly not how he treated Cole. " I am rather glad for Prissy though," she added, truly feeling such joy for the girl that had manged to escape such an awful marriage.

"Me too," she nodded in agrrement, turning back to the cieling. "It must have taken such courage to run like that."

She sighed, "Imagine if that happened at your own wedding..."

"I would simply die of mortification."

"Well, " Charlotte paused, sitting up from her spot on the floor with a swish of the fabrics of her skirt. Tillie followed suit, sitting oposite her with crossed legs. She picked up her teacup, near empty now and gestured for her to do the same. "Here's to us finding men that we never feel we have to run from," she grinned, extendng her hand with the tea cup towards Tille's. The girl grinned as they clinked their tea cups together, the sound being ever so satisying.

"That felt grown up."

"I did, didn't it?" Charlotte replied, sharing the grin that fell onto Tillie's face after they had both drunk from their cups.

"I can't wait to grow up," she paused and Charlotte looked for an explanation, wondering why someone would want to leave the simple aura that surrounded childhood. "I want to have a perfect house and a lovely family who all care for each other. And a beautfiul wedding where I get to wear a stunning dress and profess my love for my husband infront of everyone."

"Will I be there?"

"Of course! Front row bridesmaid," Tillie chuckled, imagining the perfect day in her mind. "And what about you?"

Charlotte thought for a moment and then shrugged, not being able to picure her own future. "I don't mind how I end up, as long as I have some company. And I would like to see my brother more, maybe go back to Ireland for a few weeks every year."

"Is Ireland pretty?"

Charlotte nodded, "It was where my house was. The most beautfiul hills and trees. There was this mountain that my entire family used to frequent, we would sit at the top and just look over the beautfiul landscape. I miss how peaceful it was, how easy it would be to just think. I haven't found a place like that in Avonlea."

"I have," Tillie grinned. "Shall we take a trip tommorow?"

"How about a trip later this evening?" Charlotte grinned, feeling excitement bubble in her stomach. "After Mother has gone to bed?"