The first thing that Gilbert noticed as he woke up the next morning was that he was alone in the bed. Confused, he rubbed his eyes and looked around. He was alone in the whole room.
"Anne?" he called groggily. He got no response.
As he allowed himself a moment to fully wake up before getting out of bed, he remembered the previous night with a smile. He truly felt as if his life was perfect.
Finally, he made himself get up and carelessly throw on a shirt. Walking out onto the balcony, he smiled as he found his answer.
Anne was standing on the beach watching the sunrise, her hair and dress billowing out behind her.
There's my wife, he thought, the new word sending happy shivers down his spine.
He made his way downstairs and headed out onto the beach.
Coming up behind Anne, he wrapped his arms around her torso. She gasped but relaxed into him when she realized it was him.
"Good morning, Mrs. Blythe," he murmured happily, kissing her temple, her cheek, and her jaw.
"I didn't want to wake you," she whispered, leaning against him and resting the back of her head against his shoulder. He continued to kiss her face and she smiled, humming contentedly.
"I can't believe we're married," she said softly, adjusting her position so she could wrap her arms around him.
He smiled down at her, wondering how on earth someone could be so beautiful. "What are you talking about? We've been married for years."
She chuckled and reached up, placing a kiss on his chin which he responded to by kissing her lips.
They smiled at each other for a moment, Gilbert's heart filling impossibly full with love.
"Ready to begin our honeymoon?" he asked.
She seemed to consider it for a moment. "I will be once...you catch me."
With that, she broke away from him and started running towards the water.
"Oh, no you don't!" he yelled back, laughing.
He ran after her, catching up to her quickly due to his longer legs.
He caught her and the two laughed hysterically as they fell to the ground in a flailing heap.
•••
The next week was spent in perfect bliss. The couple drank tea out on the balcony and watched the sunrise by morning, went sightseeing and walked down cobblestone streets by afternoon, tried every restaurant, fancy and humble, and walked along the beach by evening, and laid in each other's arms by night.
It was absolute heaven. Gilbert even tried to convince Anne that they should stay a few times. Anne would always simply laugh and kiss his nose before shaking her head.
God, he loved it when she did that.
A week into their two-week honeymoon, Gilbert was trying to think of those sweet moments as much as possible to keep himself from leaving his wife and going to dinner by himself.
"Aaaaaannnnneeeee," he groaned from his place on the bed, laying on his back. "You're seriously still not ready??"
Anne laughed from the bathroom. "Hold on, Gil. You're so impatient."
"I'm not impatient, I'm hungry!" he whined.
"Oh, poor baby," she coddled. "How will you ever survive?"
He sat up. "You know, if I wasn't sure of how much you love me, I might actually think you just made fun of me."
She poked her head out the door to look at him, her hair half done. "How insightful."
She smiled before disappearing again.
He rolled his eyes but couldn't stop his own smile as it tugged at his lips.
"Mr. and Mrs. Blythe?" a voice called, making Gilbert turn. There was then a knock on the door and he realized it was coming from outside the room.
Getting up, Gilbert went and opened the door. The hotel employee that had escorted Gilbert and Anne to their room stood there with a letter in his hands.
Gilbert smiled. "Good evening."
The employee bowed his head. "Good evening, sir. There was a letter sent here for you." He handed the envelope to Gilbert.
The brunette looked down at it briefly and smiled. "Thank you very much."
The employee bowed his head again and walked off as he closed the door.
After getting a better look at it, Gilbert was surprised to see the sender.
"Anne," he called. "We've received a letter from Marilla. Do you want to read it?"
"Would you be able to?" she called back. "I'm just finishing my hair."
Gilbert obliged and opened the envelope before removing its contents and beginning to read.
As his eyes progressed down the letter, his heart froze as he digested what Marilla was telling them.
Anne walked out. He must have had a worrisome expression because she immediately noticed.
"What is it?" she asked, suddenly concerned. "What? Did something happen?"
He forced himself to look up at her. "Matthew had another heart attack. He's in serious condition."
Horror slowly glazed Anne's expression and she walked forward, taking the letter from him and sitting on the bed as she read it for herself.
Several minutes passed before she looked up at him, sadness filling her eyes.
"She said she doesn't want us to come home," she told him, her voice almost deprived.
They looked at each other and something unspoken passed between them.
Gilbert nodded. "I'll start packing."