Baker - G. BLYTHE

|02|

-ˋˏ *.·:·. [TWO WEEKS LATER] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

MEETING JOHN BLYTHE TOOK A TURN ON CHARLOTTE'S LIFE, A GOOD ONE. Instead of only seeing Gilbert on the few days he came into the bakery, she saw the two of them quite frequently at their home. It took a lot of convincing for Mother to let her go, she eventually relented after multiple questions. The first visit both Mother and Charlotte went, Mother wanted to see that she would be safe in the future and Charlotte was too nervous for her not to come. The Blythe's house stood around a ton of unfarmed land, Gilbert's father was too sick to farm. She loved their home, it was the typical farm house in Avonlea and yet it felt so different to all the others. She always left their home with a smile, even though she was growing to be more and more worried for John. Making a connection with a dying man was a risk, she knew it to be a risk but she did it anyway. He was too kind, too thoughtful not to want to spend time with him and his son. Gilbert and Charlotte had quickly become friends, he insisted to walk her back home after the visits as the trek through the forest wasn't something she liked to do alone. During those walks, they would talk about books or he would tell her tales about school. Gilbert had a rather horrible teacher, who didn't help to further anyone's studies at all. Gibert seemed awfully vexed by even the mention of the teacher, it killed all of her schooling curiosity (the opposite effect of what he wanted it to have.)

One particularly gorgeous early morning, Charlotte had woken early and watched the sun rise from her bedroom window and the mixture of colours still felt etched on the backs of her eyelids, Mr Gilbert Blythe walked into the bakery in a hurry. Despite the sun overhead, it was still cold in Avonlea. He walked in wrapped in a coat and with a slightly pink nose, proving that it wasn't as warm as she thought it was this morning. They greeted each other, like usual only this time he didn't buy anything. He asked her if she would like to go on a walk with him, something they had done a few times before. She quickly moved to the kitchen to ask Mother's permission to go. Charlotte couldn't just walk out randomly during the day, she felt it was rude.

"Mother?" Charlotte called into the kitchen unable to see even a glimpse of Mother. From that she gathered that Mother was either out in the small garden they kept for ingredients or taking something out of the oven, it was the latter and her head soon popped up from behind the table.

"Is everything alright dear?" she asked before blowing a single curl from the front of her face, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the fire. Mother had a head of tight blonde curls which she pulled into a tight updo daily. If you hadn't known her with her hair down you wouldn't have known she was curly. They shared the same green eyes and freckled face but Charlotte knew she was beautiful, there's no doubt about that.

"Gilbert Blythe asked me for a walk, may I go?" she asked politely, hoping that she would say yes. Gilbert looked awfully flustered as if he had too much on his mind. She hoped the walk would help him with that, if anything it would be a nice break in the day. "I won't be very long, promise," she added after Mother looked apprehensive. Mother nodded with a hidden smile etched between her features, Charlotte having a friend to run off with at any given opportunity was something new for the both of them.

Charlotte happily walked out of the kitchen untying the ribbon which held a white apron on her waist. Gilbert waited by the door, knowing that her Mother had permitted her to go, as she placed her hat upon her head. Putting a coat on whist half running through an open door created much difficulty for Charlotte, keeping a single foot flat upon the ground quickly seemed impossible. After not so gracefully nearly tripping over a large rock she managed to catch up to Gilbert, who had laughed at her stumbling and failure to put her coat on properly, they walked through the flowers swinging in the wind, edging closer and closer to the thick forest at the end of the dirt path. He seemed to ramble on about whatever came to mind, he talked only of his father and their plans to go to the District of Alberta. The flustered talking ceased and only the conversation of the birds and the earth underfoot could be heard. They stopped and sat on a fallen tree decorated with fiery leaves from the trees so she could lace up her left boot.

"You can ask me anything you would like, Mr Blythe," she spoke softly but confidently after glancing at him as she tied her shoelace, it brought Gilbert out of a deep thought.

"Why would I ask you anything?" he asked with knotted eyebrows of confusion. From the way he had been acting since arriving in the bakery, it was easy to tell he needed a question answered and Charlotte knew that.

She flattened her skirt over her knees and as her back straightened back up she met his confused gaze. "Because your eyes are full of questions." He sighed deeply nervous to finally say what he had been thinking about for a while, it worried her.

"Why won't you go to school?" Gilbert and John Blythe had many conversations about Charlotte and her lack of proper education, it worried them both. They both knew the importance of education and neither wanted the girl to be poorly set up in life. John had been pressuring Gilbert into asking this very question for days and on every occasion, the boy simply refused not wanting to create awkwardness in this new friendship. Though he was curious what rational reason she could have for not going to school, from what they had discussed Miss Rayhill seemed clever in most circumstances, she certainly knew a lot from books. The other things would be easy enough to teach her and that was his plan. Offer to help her get up to speed so, that if she decided to go to school, she wouldn't feel too far behind. The conversation topic stirred in his head and today he just woke up wanting to bring it up.

"I haven't been in so long, it just doesn't make sense for me to go. I would be so far behind everyone else and they would..."  Charlotte started to rattle off all the reasons that she had used over the years, all the excuses that she used to stop herself from going to school but stopped herself before she said something she regretted. After clearing her throat and once again smoothing nonexistent creases in her skirt she continued, in a much smaller voice, refusing to make eye contact. "Mother needs help with the bakery too."

"I could help you catch up." Gibert offered choosing to ignore the change of emotion in her voice, he would ponder over it for days to come but right now he just wanted to give Charlotte every opportunity in life. He wanted for her to feel comfortable enough to go back to school, he could use a new face at school to talk to too.

"That's very kind of you but I cannot accept," she replied quickly knowing that he was probably likely to make that offer. Charlotte didn't want to accept someone else's help, she felt she was doing well enough on her own.

"And why might I ask?" he questioned looking at the girl who only stared at a rough stone across the path. Luckily his question hadn't created any awkwardness between the two, something Gilbert was very happy about. The two fell into a silence which lasted just under a minute, Charlotte tried to come up with a good enough reason to not accept his help, one which Gilbert would actually listen to and knowing him it would have to be a good one.

"It would be too much of a burden on you," she replied finally making eye contact with him, Gilbert quickly noticed the serious look on her face and grew concerned that this decision wouldn't end the way he wanted it to.

"It wouldn't be a burden and with your book knowledge you wouldn't be too far behind some of the other students," he replied with the intent of convincing her to change the decision she had so clearly already made. Charlotte thought over this, not being smart enough to keep up with everything she hadn't learned for years was one of the main reasons she never walked through the school house's doors. This newfound reassurance from Gilbert soothed that worry, thus one of her main reasons for not going to school was discarded. Charlotte fell silent with thought again and Gilbert worried he had vexed her, he knew the subject was one that she didn't like to discuss.  

"I'll think it over and ask Mother," she shrugged clearly not very into the idea, Gilbert however turned toward a tree to hide the grin forming on his face. The two stood almost simultaneously and discussed a lighter subject whilst he walked her home. By the time they reached the worn light wood fence at the end of her land, they were breathless from laughter and pink in the face.

"I have another question," Gilbert spoke loudly so she could hear after they had said goodbye to each other, Charlotte turned back around and urged him to continue. "What's your name, Miss Rayhill?"

"Not a chance Mr Blythe." She shouted back laughing as she spoke, Charlotte spun on her heels and continued walking up to her house as the laughing from him quietened down.