Anne with an e- a new version of the story

Part 19- The wait

GILBERT

Gilbert breathed the fresh morning air and looked at the blue sky illuminated by the sun of that magnificent Saturday. That's how he also felt at that moment, sitting on his balcony with a coffee mug in his hands.

Bash hadn't returned home the night before, but Gilbert knew his friend would be spending the weekend with Mary. Then he would have the house to himself, a fact that made him quite happy, for as much as he appreciated Bash's presence on the farm, that morning he preferred to keep his thoughts to himself since he awoke.

He felt exultant, drunk with a range of emotions that hit him at every moment. He could hardly believe that in a few hours he would be with Anne again, and that memory left him in ecstasy as if he had reached his particular nirvana. He would have the opportunity to show her the unique and absolute truth about what he felt, and how deep this love was that had sprung up without him waiting, but had put down strong roots in his heart and made him think that a life without her was impossible now.

He knew that he had to be careful. Anne was not the kind of girl who was content with empty words. Gilbert would have to win her trust little by little before she could confess all his love. After that he wouldn't have to hide that part of himself anymore and would make Anne love him in the same way.

Before this thought, Gilbert smiled. Anne was an intense person, and for this reason all her actions and emotions were expressed by her in an equally intense way. It was enough to remember how she had surrendered to the moment they shared the night before to understand that there was someone there who was moved by her own passions.

Yes, Anne Shirley Cuthbert was a passionate human being! There was no drop of superficiality in her blood, and to be loved by her must have been something so sublime that it made Gilbert think he would be lucky to be worthy of a small portion of her affection, for Anne would never offer her heart for free to anyone if that someone did not prove worthy of her love, and Gilbert sincerely wanted to win the gift of being with her for all the days of his life.

He knew they were young and that there were many things to live and experience, but he also knew that Anne was what he had always sought and wanted to share with her every moment and every new discovery, he wished that they could grow and mature together, for that was how he imagined his future would be.

Building a worthwhile existence was what most people longed for, and that was how Gilbert's father had lived a full life with his mother. For this reason, he also wanted to share all his desires with someone else who was his other half, and for him Anne was his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Gilbert felt a light breeze shake his hair, taking him out of that moment of reflection. He still had some work to do there on the farm before he met Anne, so he left his coffee mug on the kitchen sink and headed for the barn to look after the horses. He never wanted to be a farmer, and his travels around the world proved that to him, but he promised Bash that he would help him learn everything he needed to take care of the farm until he could throw himself completely into his goal of becoming a doctor. It was what his father would want and it was what he also had in mind for his professional and intellectual growth.

He spent a few hours entertained with his work and it was already after midday when he entered the house again. He prepared a quick meal and ate it right there in the kitchen as he looked out the window again admiring the beautiful day outside. Then he washed the dishes for lunch, and saw on the table the picnic basket he had asked Mrs. More to prepare for him when she came to take care of some household chores. She was a very kind person who took care of Gilbert since he was a baby, so she treated him like a second mother, and he respected her very much for that.

At exactly half past two in the afternoon, Gilbert left the house and headed for the forest where he had arranged with Anne to wait for her. He had given her a note at the end of Diana's cousin's wedding party very discreetly, with the place and time for them to meet, and he was looking forward to this moment. She arrived at Anne's book club in 15 minutes. He knew He was a bit early, but he didn't want to risk being late. So he sat on a rock and waited impatiently for the moment of her arrival.

The minutes passed slowly, and Gilbert tried to distract himself by looking at the surrounding landscape, but he couldn't divert his thoughts from Anne, and his heart was squeezed by her delay. Almost forty minutes of the appointed time had passed, and Gilbert began to feel nervous, and then disappointed when he realized that Anne was not coming.

He  couldn't believe she did that to him. She had accepted that encounter only to leave him there in the middle of the forest, waiting for her without even a word. Why would she do that? Did she want to punish him? That could only be the explanation for Anne not showing up.

Could he have been wrong? He thought she felt the same way about him as he felt about her, but now he understood he was wrong. He had been sincere, had opened his heart and Anne had rejected him. Maybe she was in love with Cole. The two of them were always together and practically did everything together, and even now that he was living in Paris the affinity between them seemed the same. Maybe Anne wasn't thinking of going to Paris too in order to get closer to him after all? That would explain Cole's presence there in Avonlea after all that time. Gilbert shook his head to stop the flow of thoughts that were driving him mad.

He needed to get out of there, go home and try to get over the wave of depression that threatened to take over. He wouldn't think about it anymore. Anne had hurt him, and  he urgently needed an antidote to placate the poison of rage that was consuming him.

He slowly got up and took the picnic basket that lay there on the ground he had forgotten and started walking back home. He felt defeated and that was the worst feeling in the world. He didn't want to think about what he would do when he got home, he just wanted to disappear from that place as soon as possible.

Then he heard a voice calling him and turned slowly, surprised to see Anne coming towards him almost running. He did not see the distress on her face, for his anger was so great that he only thought of wounding her in the same way he had been wounded. He waited for Anne to come closer, looked her in the eye and said with all the anger he was capable of:

- What are you doing here?

Hello, guys. I hope you like this part. And pleae, comment it. Kisses.