The Three of Us

76. Back to Green Gables, and Marilla's Complaint

At last the doctor thought Anne was well enough to travel, and Marilla booked their train trip home.

When Anne caught her first sight of Matthew, she began to cry. Finally they all had to sit down on a bench and wait, because Anne could not stop crying. Matthew held her on his lap and didn't say anything. She just clung to his neck tightly and would not let go.

After a long while, Anne finally loosened her grip on Matthew and just rested against him, sniffling and trying to breathe. Matthew stroked her hair and whispered, "Let's get you home."

In the buggy, Matthew thought he'd finally get a glimpse of the baby, but Marilla set his basket on the floor of the buggy and mouthed, "Later."

Seeing Green Gables in the distance was something to behold, and Anne felt the tiniest glimmer of hope as it came nearer and nearer.

But then her thoughts turned to her other home, and she asked, "Could you take me to see Gilbert's father, before we go home? I've missed him almost as much as I missed you, Matthew. And he's gone so long feeling so poorly, I think it'll lift us both up to see each other."

Matthew and Marilla looked at each other.

"We need to get the baby settled at home, Anne," Marilla finally said, her voice too bright, too cheerful, too forced. She cleared her throat. "Besides, you've had a long trip. You ought to have a rest now."

In the house, Marilla and Matthew set down their things but did not put them away. Marilla wanted to get Anne into bed first thing, as the doctor had told her the trip out would be tiring, and that just because she was well enough to travel, did not mean she was fully recovered.

So Anne was put to bed in Marilla's room, where she would be staying until she was all better. The baby's bed was already there, next to Marilla's bed, where Matthew had put it together after it had been shipped to them.

"Are you all right, dear?" Marilla asked kindly once Anne was settled.

Anne said, "After I've rested, then can we go to see Mr. Blythe? It's been ever so long since I've seen him, and I want to try to make him feel better."

Marilla's breath caught in her throat. "Uh- well, we'll talk about that later, dear. You might not feel up to it. You need your rest."

"But-"

Matthew spoke up. "Aren't you going to show me the baby?"

"Oh. I suppose."

Marilla set the baby in Anne's lap, but Anne squirmed away from it and said quickly, "Matthew wants to hold it."

So Marilla guided Matthew's arms- because he was holding the baby like one would hold a sack of potatoes- and she smiled at how obviously enraptured he was. His hands, rough with a lifetime of farm work, and a fair bit of dirt under the fingernails, clashed with the baby's clean white head supported in the palm of his hand. Matthew hardly ever spoke, but now he was thoroughly speechless. Anne couldn't help smiling just a little bit at Matthew's adoration. Marilla noticed, and hoped that maybe knowing how much Matthew loved the baby would prompt Anne to love it too.

--

When Anne woke up, she was disappointed to see the little creature only a few feet away from her, in the bed she'd picked out for it.

"Hi," she said glumly.

She had sort of thought that once she returned home to Green Gables, everything that had happened before would feel like a bad dream and things would be right again. But it hadn't been a dream, and here he was.

Walter was staring straight at her, and though his eyes weren't really focused, Anne felt uncomfortable. She turned away from him and went back to sleep.

--

With Anne sleeping, and the baby content for a little while, Marilla had time to fill Matthew in on her own frustrations.

"Do you know how many times she's changed his diaper in the past month?"

Matthew didn't say anything.

"Twice, Matthew- twice in a month! Do you know why I haven't bothered to make her do it any more?"

Matthew just waited.

"Because she doesn't do it properly! Do you know how she changes his diapers, Matthew?"

Matthew waited again.

"She literally changes it- she takes the old one off, and puts the new one on! And that's all she does! The first time she changed him I didn't see, but the second time I did, and I asked her 'Is that how you changed him the first time?' and she told me 'yes', and I said, 'Well, Anne, you've got to clean him, you can't put the new diaper on without cleaning him first! You know how to change a diaper- didn't you wash the Hammonds' babies?' and she answered, 'yes,' and I asked her, 'If you know how to change a diaper properly, then why aren't you doing it?' and she just shrugged and put it on anyway!"

Matthew said quietly, "I feel bad for her, having soiled diapers to clean when she already spent her childhood cleaning them."

"I understand that, but, Matthew, he didn't soil the diaper, he only wet the diaper. And it terms of cleaning a baby, a wet diaper is a lot different than a soiled diaper."

Marilla went on, storming around the kitchen as she began boiling water for Walter's next bottle, "And giving him a bath- I have to do it. Would you like to know the way she gave him a bath?"

Matthew didn't answer, he was pretty sure that his sister would tell him whether he said anything or not.

"First of all, she didn't even undress him before she put him in the water. I said, 'Anne, you can't give him a bath with his clothes on' so I got them off, and then do you know what she did?"

This time Marilla did not even pause as if waiting on him to reply. She continued, "She poured water on his head, and it went in his eyes. I told her to be more careful. She said 'oh' and proceeded to wash his arms!"

"What's wrong with washing his arms?" Matthew said, finally speaking.

"Nothing, except that that's all she did! After she washed his arms, she took him out of his bath, dried his head and arms, and dressed him. Oh, I gave up and did it myself!"

Matthew was quiet. He wished he had a solution, but he didn't. "Maybe with more time," was all he said.

"I hope so," Marilla said. "Because if she can't start doing a little more to take care of him, I don't know how much longer I'll last."