Baker - G. BLYTHE

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

CONSTANCE AND JOCELYN ARRIVED BRINGING HAPPINESS BACK INTO THE HOME. The cloud of melancholy thinned with every face that appeared through the door. Mary had somewhat come to terms with her death, making jokes which somewhat comforted those around her. Maybe it was a way of dealing with it, maybe she was just pushing the thoughts of her looming death away. That's something that everyone understood, knowing that you're going to die and leaving those you love behind couldn't have come easy for even the strongest of souls. Mary's head swam with thoughts, things she wanted to say to her loved ones before she passed on. Advice that needed to be give, words of comfort that she needed to express to those who needed to hear it. Above all, she wanted her babies - her Delphine and her Elijah. She wanted to know that they knew they were loved, that she had loved them to the complete end. With Delphine being a baby the words could not be spoken, Elijah had gone missing so once again the words could not be spoken.

Her laundry sisters bought recipes upon recipes into the home, amazing recipes that had the home filling with such wonderful scents that Charlotte's stomach rumbled almost all the time (even if she wasn't hungry at all.) During the cooking of all this delicious food, Charlotte poured her heart and soul into the painting of Mary and Delphine. She painted mostly in the kitchen, talking with Anne, Marillia and Mary's laundry sisters and painted sometimes in the room with Mary as she held Delphine. She didn't want to interrupt any conversations Mary had with anyone, those sorts of things were completely private and she had no right to be present for them. The atmosphere remains light, even though the air seemed to thicken when the context of death or loss came up in a usual conversation. Many thought it was better to know now, to be able to prepare yourself for the imminent event that would break everyone's soul a little, so it wouldn't be such a shock to the system. This way nothing was left unsaid and no feelings were unshared.

Charlotte sat in the chair next to Mary's bed as they had a short discussion about the gossip at school and how the paper was going. Even in current circumstances, Mary insisted that both she and Gilbert kept going to school because their education was of the utmost importance. The two fought this decision, wanting to spend as much time with Mary as possible before her death, but they eventually stopped as even when she was weak in bed Mary could still win in any argument. 

The atmosphere became heavy and she knew the turn the conversation was about to take, this would be her goodbye and piece of advice. Mary gulped, trying to fight back the almost always prominent lump in her throat so she could get out the things that she needed to say. "Make sure you never marry unless you are happy Charlotte, don't let anyone force you into everything," she began with a very serious expression, this was something that she felt so strongly about and wanted to make sure the idea stayed in her head forever.

"No one will ever force me into anything, I can promise you that Mary," she chuckled softly, lightening the emotion ever so slightly. Every word of what she said drummed itself into the long term part of her memory, she would never forget a single conversation that they had over the years but this one would stick into her head always.

"Just make sure you are happy, happy with whoever and happy on your own," Mary laughed slightly and placed her bandaged hand on top of Charlotte's paint-stained ones. Even though it was spoken in laughs Charlotte knew she was beyond serious, the tight grip on her hand told her so."You have been the best friend I could have asked for in Avonlea, remember that you're a beautiful young woman Charlotte Rayhill," she smiled tearfully and spoke slowly, it was as if she thought that taking her time with the words would prolong her time away from death. It was as if she thought the world would wait for her to have said everything to everyone, for her to be ready to go. A few more precious pieces of advice were given, many tears fell down both their faces and Mary felt that she had said her goodbyes to Charlotte. Another important person in her life was crossed off the list.

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

EASTER ROLLED AROUND AND WITH EASTER CAME THE CELEBRATION THAT EVERYONE HAD BEEN WORKING SO HARD ON. Everybody wanted to create the perfect day for Mary since no one knew how many days she would have left on this Earth. Masses of food had been cooked and baked all over Avonlea, the many lives that Mary had touched all wanted to contribute something to the celebration. Charlotte stood in the kitchen of the Blythe-Lacroix household helping with Delphine whilst everyone else got ready to leave for the Barrys. Constance came over and took the baby to Mary for a little while so Charlotte was left to ponder over her finished painting for the umpteenth time that day.

"Do you think it's okay? Do you think she'll like it?" she asked Gilbert, who had walked into the kitchen at that specific moment while pulling on a jacket. He quickly noticed how her eyebrows were furrowed with concern and took a look at the painting. He could honestly say it looked like something you would find in a museum, it was one of the best paintings she had ever done (that he had seen anyway.)

"It's perfect, she'll love it, Lottie," he assured with a prideful smile as he noticed the finer details on the painting. She had really captured the love that Mary held for her baby, the beauty of their ever so short relationship. Charlotte smiled nervously then wrapped the painting up in a protective piece of fabric for the walk to the Barry's for the Easter celebration.

The Barry's beautiful garden had been made even more beautiful with the abundance of decorations that had been placed around it. Folded paper birds and butterflies hung from the trees, blowing softly in the wind above the comfy seat that they had prepared for Mary to sit in. Everything was used to either add to the beauty of the garden or to make it perfect and comfortable for Mary, this after all was all for her. The sun hung perfectly in the sky, dousing everyone in rays that their skin had missed over the colder months. Everything was perfect, apart from the illness currently taking over her body.

It's a funny thing to see such a smile on a dying woman, to see the light that used to be behind her eyes momentarily return when she forgets about everything for a few seconds of complete bliss. That's what Charlotte witnessed when everyone began to sing in a semi-circle around her, everyone but Charlotte since she had an utterly terrible voice and didn't want to ruin the moment. It brought tears to her eyes to see her like that, happy and without any pain in her eyes, like how her life should have been. Once the singing had stopped, Charlotte decided it would be the perfect time to give her the painting.

She nervously took the canvas out from underneath the protective fabric, checked it once over for smudges or imperfections then handed it to Mary with slightly trembling fingers. Something like this had to be completely perfect, it had to express the right emotions and bring up the right memories - that pressure had made her work harder than ever before. So much pressure on one painting created very strong nerves which wracked her body as she handed it over.

"Oh Charlotte, it's perfect," Mary gasped with teary eyes as she looked over the canvas. She watched as Mary traced her fingertips across the painted surface, Charlotte felt her heart swell at the look of pure joy on her face. Doing something that could soothe someone's fears for even a second and something that Delphine could have to know her Mother was well worth the pain that she had put into that piece.

Mary took her bible from Sebastian, deciding to read her favourite prayer to everyone. Mary took a deep steadying breath, trying to control the tears that had threatened to fall from the very beginning of the Easter celebration. "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace," she began tearfully, fighting the grief-filled lump forming in her throat. "Where there is hatred, let me sow love." The lump in her throat had swallowed her voice completely, silent tears slowly fell down Mary's face. Marillia walked forward, reciting the rest of the prayer from memory until she had a book handed to her. Everyone joined in after a few lines, creating a chorus of prayers which sounded like music to Mary. Her favourite prayer spoke by her favourite people, she couldn't have imagined a better gift on this Earth. Mary glanced once at the people who surrounded her, her gaze falling onto Delphine before looking up to the sky above. "And it is in dying, we are born into an internal life."

It's always been said that when people are naturally dying, they often wait for one thing. That one thing is unknown to them and everyone around them at the time. It's the one thing that makes slipping away feel not so terrible. For John, it was Charlotte, the girl that would bring his son comfort. For Charlotte's Father, it was the promise that his family would live the best life they could and experience everything that life could bring. For Mary, it was the Easter celebration surrounded by her friends. The promise that Delphine would have a family, even if it wasn't biological. 

So Mary let herself slip away into a peaceful forever rest.