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ladybell101
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Chapter 7: Awkward Glances
Anne spent the weekend with Roy before he headed off to Redmond to begin the fall semester there. During their time spent together, Roy realized his true feelings for Anne. It hadn't been a week yet since he'd met her, but he was falling for her. He wanted to make her happy and to protect her from that buffoon Jack Garrison, who was making his life (and Anne's) miserable. While it would be hard to part with her, he promised himself to make every possible effort to see her as much as possible. Anne, on the other hand, had a sense of security whenever she was with Roy. She wasn't sure if it was love or anything, but it was better than nothing. She wanted to take things slow to avoid another fallout like the one she had with Gilbert, which she still didn't understand.
When it was time for Roy to leave, Anne gave him a kiss goodbye.
“Don't kill yourself studying now, okay?” she advised him.
“Don't worry about me,” he told her. “Call me if you need anything, even if it's at three in the morning and especially if you have to deal with Jack. Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Good.” Roy kissed her one last time. “Take care of yourself, Carrots.”
Carrots? Anne thought. Did he just call me “Carrots”?! That's Gil's name for me! You can't take that away from him!
Roy noticed that Anne started to look a bit pale. “Anne, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied. “I'm just a bit tired; that's all.”
“Rest now. I'll be fine I assure you.” He kissed her forehead. “Bye, Anne.”
“Bye.”
Roy left, leaving Anne to go back into her apartment. She still wasn't over the shock of Roy calling her “Carrots.”
“How dare he call me that?” she yelled to no one as she plopped down on her couch. “Doesn't he understand that that name belongs to Gil? As much as I hated it before, it strictly belongs to him!” She sighed. This is going to be one heck of a week...
**************************
Gilbert arrived on the Redmond campus eager to begin his classes. Maybe with school starting again he could get his mind off of Anne, but that was easier said than done. He went into his dorm, hoping to meet his new roommate. Maybe that guy would know a girl that could distract him from Anne. When he walked in his room, he noticed that his roommate was already in there unpacking his things.
“Umm...hi,” Gilbert managed to say.
“Hey,” his roommate greeted. “So I guess you and I are stuck together for the rest of the year?”
“Yeah.”
He stuck out his hand. “I'm Roy Gardner.”
“Gilbert Blythe.” He took the hand and shook it.
“So what are you studying?” Roy asked.
“Medicine,” Gilbert replied. “You?”
“Business.”
“Ah.”
Gilbert put his bags on his bed and started unpacking. Roy finished unpacking his belongings and placed a picture near his bed. Gilbert looked over and saw the picture. He saw a redhead standing next to Roy in the photo; he went over to take a closer look and couldn't believe his eyes. Anne?
“Hey, Roy. Who's the girl in that pic?” Gilbert asked.
“That's my girlfriend, Anne Shirley,” he replied.
“Ah.” Oh my God, she's with him?! “I thought she looked familiar.”
“You know her?” Roy was curious to know if he had another Jack Garrison on his hands.
“Yeah. Anne and I grew up together in Avonlea. We went to school together and would always tie for first place on our exams, so you're dealing with a tough cookie.”
“That's nice. So tell me, was she always this beautiful when she was young?”
Gilbert's heart sank. How should he answer that without revealing his true feelings? “Well, all the guys in school would run after her because she was intelligent and quite different from the other girls. I thought she was cute, but nothing happened between us. We became friends and have been friends for quite some time. I haven't seen her in awhile though. The last I heard of her was that she's teaching in Kingsport.”
“That's where I met her. I'm glad to know a friend of her's since she seemed a bit lonely not knowing anybody and all.”
Gilbert nodded his head. I came here to get away from her, yet I'll still be thinking of her since I'm rooming with her boyfriend!
“I hear there's a dance on Saturday. I tell you what, I'll bring her along with me so you two can chat about old times. Does that sound good?”
“Yeah. It sounds good.” You really wanna torture me, don't you?
“Okay. I'll call her up then.” Roy took his cell phone and went out of the room to call Anne.
Gilbert sat on his bed with a blank stare on his face. Somebody get me out of this hell...
******************************
Anne had motivation to make it through the rest of the week. Roy had called her asking her to come with him to a Redmond dance, and she accepted. He told her he had a surprise for her. Anne couldn't think of what he had up his sleeve, but she was sure that didn't involve Jack Garrison. At least she hoped so.
Rehearsals for the play went relatively smooth besides that fact that Jen Pringle would act out her lines like a drunk Paris Hilton. Anne was desperate to get through the week and to avoid any more conflict with Jen, so she let it slide. Morgan Harris was nowhere to be seen, which made Anne feel so much better. Even Jack couldn't been seen. At least he wasn't parked in his usual spot. He had learned his lesson and decided to park even farther back so Anne couldn't see him. Maybe then he could catch her off guard and hopefully sweep her off her feet.
Friday night finally came, and to Anne's delight, Roy came back to get her. He asked that she come back with him to make the trip back to Redmond, but Anne put her foot down and insisted that they make the trip the next day. Roy couldn't say “no” to her and reluctantly agreed, so the next day Roy and Anne both woke up early to make the drive. Anne wore a green dress that brought out the rich tints in her hair and the color of her eyes, which was met to Roy's approval. She got into the Thunderbird and enjoyed the ride to Redmond.
***************************
Gilbert debated about going to the dance. While he wanted to see Anne, he couldn't bare the fact of seeing her with Roy. But then again, they were friends. Just friends, nothing more. In order to keep himself from going insane, he called Christine Stuart and asked her to be his date for the evening. She gladly accepted. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad having her by his side. At least the annoying Josie Pye types would leave him alone.
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1/14/2007, 12:28 pm
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ladybell101
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
The purpose of the Redmond dance was to have the students mingle and get to know each other contrary to the popular belief of showing up to get wasted. Anne and Roy arrived at the dance hall with everyone's attention turning to them.
“So that's why Roy wouldn't pay attention to me!” whispered one girl. “He already has somebody!”
“What I would do to get in her shoes,” whispered another girl.
“He looks so fine!” checked out another girl.
Anne had her arm around Roy and simply smiled. It was nice to go out and not worry too much about what people thought about her unlike in Kingsport where everyone judged her. She was sure every girl wasn't looking at her, so she felt fine.
Gilbert, in the meantime, had entered the hall with Christine. He saw Roy and waved at him in acknowledgment. Roy saw the gesture and signaled with his hand for him to come to where he was standing.
“Anne, remember that surprise I told you about?” Roy asked.
“Yeah,” Anne replied.
“Well, close your eyes.”
She closed her eyes, and Gilbert walked towards her with Christine following him. His heart was racing. This was their first meeting since the rejected second proposal, and he didn't know how he or she would react. He assumed Anne didn't tell Roy the whole story because of his generosity towards him. If he did know, there was no way that he would have invited Anne to see him. Roy stood in between Anne and Gilbert to make sure Anne wasn't peeking.
“Are you ready now?” Roy asked.
“Yes.”
“Open your eyes.”
Roy moved to the side while Anne opened her eyes. She was caught totally off guard. Gil?
“Gil!” she yelled. Her eyes widened in surprise. He was the one of the last people she expected to see. Not knowing what to do, she embraced him in a hug. Gilbert just stood there frozen in time. She's hugging me again? What is this? But I must say she looks beautiful in that dress...
“Hey, Anne,” he said.
“You remember Gilbert Blythe, don't you?” Roy asked. “He's my roommate.”
“Of course!” Gil's rooming with Roy? Why didn't he tell me this before? “How can I forget you, Gil, when we tied for first place so many times?”
“You remember Christine Stuart, right?” Gilbert asked. “She was with me at Diana's wedding.”
“I remember.” I remember it quite well, thank you very much. You little skank! “It's nice to see you again, Christine.” Not!
“You too, Anne.”
“Christine, why don't we let Anne and Gilbert talk for a little bit?” Roy suggested. “It's been awhile since they've seen each other, and they have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Okay,” Christine said. She allowed Roy to take her on the dance floor.
This is a little awkward, thought Anne.
“How are things going with you?” Gilbert asked.
“Pretty good. I'm teaching, and that's always an adventure.”
“So is Kingsport as tough as everyone says it is?”
“A little rough, but I'm hanging in there.”
“I know you will. I believe in you, Anne.”
She grinned. “Thanks, Gil.” She looked across the room to see a familiar figure staring at her. She gasped. “Oh my God!”
“What is it?” Gilbert asked.
“It's Jack Garrison. He followed me from nowhere to Kingsport and has been stalking me ever since. Now he's here!” Anne cried.
Gilbert glared at Jack. “I have an idea, Anne.”
“What?”
“Take my hand.”
“What?”
“Just do it.”
He took Anne's hand and led her to the dance floor. They began dancing, knowing that Jack would stop in his tracks. It was just like old times. Anne was enjoying herself but not as much as Gilbert. He had Anne back even if it was for a short amount of time. Because Jack was watching, Anne felt free to flirt a bit with Gilbert, and he didn't mind. He did it right back at her. Roy looked over and saw the two dancing and flirting with each other. He was about to confront them until he saw Jack in the background.
Go figure, thought Roy. I knew it had to be something involving Jack Garrison in order for Anne to act like that. Will that man ever go away?
Gilbert looked at Anne and longed to kiss her, but he knew Roy was keeping a watchful eye on Anne even though he was with Christine at the moment. He couldn't take it anymore.
“Anne, I'm sorry,” he said. He went to go find Christine, but just then Jack approached Anne.
“Hey, Gorgeous.”
“Jack! What are you doing here?” asked Anne. “Don't even tell me that you have a girlfriend or ex-girlfriend that goes here.”
“I wanna talk to you. You've been avoiding me.”
“Well, duh. Any normal person would avoid someone who's been following them constantly.”
A slow dance came on, and Jack saw this as an opportunity to enchant Anne. “Dance with me.”
“No.”
“But Anne -”
“She said 'no!'” yelled a booming voice from behind Jack. “When a lady tells you 'no', it means 'no.'”
“Morgan Harris, what on Earth are you doing here?” demanded Anne. She couldn't believe that all four men that she had tried to avoid were in the exact same room at the exact same time.
“My business associate, Elvira Evans, works here, Miss Shirley,” he explained. “She invited me here, and so I came.”
“Oh.”
“Now may I have this dance?”
“Hey! Back off, Grandpa. She's mine!” shouted Jack.
“Actually, she's mine,” Roy stated while coming up to the group with Gilbert and Christine.
“Then what was she doing with pansy boy?” asked Jack.
“Hey!” Gilbert yelled. “Anne is my friend, my best friend from school, and I could knock you out any day, pretty boy.”
Anne stood back and watched the scene with disgust. How dare they fight in a middle of a dance...and over her! She couldn't believe Morgan and Jack could ruin a night like this. Seeing Gilbert was hard enough but all four men? Anne couldn't take it anymore and ran out of the hall as fast as she possibly could.
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1/14/2007, 12:28 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Chapter 8: The Aftermath
Anne didn't stop running until she reached the benches on the outer perimeter of the garden surrounding the hall. There she met a comforting, familiar face.
“Phil?”
“Anne?”
“Hey!”
Seated on one of the beaches was Phil Gordon, a friend of Anne's that she had met the year before. She was a student at Redmond and knew both Gilbert and Roy pretty well. She gave Anne a hug and scooted over on the bench to make room for Anne to sit.
“Phil, what are you doing here?” Anne asked. “I thought you'd be at the dance.”
“Well, I didn't want to deal with the crowds in there, and besides, I wanted to avoid Alec and Alonzo.”
“Are they still after you?”
“Pretty much, but I'm over them now. I'm now engaged to Jo Blake.”
“Really? Congratulations!”
“Thanks, Anne. What brings you here to Redmond? I didn't expect to see you tonight.”
“Well, I came here as Roy Gardner's date.”
“Well aren't you a lucky girl!”
“Not exactly.” Anne looked down at her feet.
“Why? What's the matter?”
Anne told Phil her tale, beginning with her dreadful last three weeks in Avonlea and ending with the debacle inside the hall with Morgan, Jack, Roy, and Gilbert. When she was finished, she looked like a wreck.
“Oh you poor thing,” Phil commented as she patted Anne on the shoulder. “What are you gonna do?”
“I have no idea,” Anne replied sadly. “I wish I could get myself out of this mess. If only I could get a ride back to Kingsport, but it's too late now. I could ask Roy to take me back home, but then I'd have to deal with the other three men that are fighting around him. And God knows what Jack Garrison's going to do when Roy takes me back home.”
“I tell you what, Anne. Why don't you stay at my apartment for the night? My roommate's out of town, so that'll be no problem. And I could drive you back in the morning.”
“But Phil, you'll have to drive yourself back after you drop me off. That's a long way! You'll be exhausted once you get home, and there's no way you can pay attention in class the next day.”
“I'll be fine. I promise. Besides, there's nothing really going on on Monday, so I could always skip.”
“Philippa Gordon!”
“What?” She laughed.
“Let me guess. There's something due that day, and you haven't started it yet.”
Phil nodded. “Yep.”
It was Anne's turn to laugh. “In that case, I'll take you up on your offer.”
“Yay! Now on that note, let's hurry up and go before the crazy quartet catches up to you like a hungry pack of wolves.”
“Okay.”
The girls hurried up and went into Phil's car just in time to avoid the Fab Four running outside. Phil hit the gas pedal and sped off into the darkness, heading towards her apartment complex.
********************************
“Will you stay out of this?” yelled Jack to Morgan.
“You don't even have business being here,” Roy snapped.
“That's right,” agreed Morgan. “You're just here to ruin everything.”
“Exactly. I couldn't agree more,” Roy commented bitterly.
“Excuse me?” Jack asked.
“Well, everything was going fine until you showed up.”
“If Grandpa over here hadn't ruined everything, then everything would have been fine.”
“Hey!” Morgan snapped.
“Uh guys?” Gilbert interrupted. The remaining three stopped arguing to look at him. “You know Anne's gone, right?”
“What?!” they all exclaimed.
“Where'd she go?” asked Morgan.
“I don't know, but she's not in here,” Gilbert replied.
“I'm gonna go find her,” Jack proclaimed.
“Oh no, you're not,” Roy said. “If anyone's gonna find her, it's gonna be me.”
“Since you two won't stop bickering, I'll go find her,” stated Morgan.
“You know what, if we keep fighting like this, Anne could make it to Michigan by now with her determination,” Gilbert added.
“He's right,” Roy admitted. “I say we all look for her before she makes it to the border.”
“Fine,” stated Jack and Morgan.
Together the four men quickly came out of the hall and searched for their beloved redhead.
“Anne!” they cried.
It was of no use. As soon as they got outside, they saw a car speeding off in the distance and somehow knew Anne was in it.
“Way to go, guys,” Roy said sarcastically. “Way to go.”
“It's your fault,” Morgan pointed to Jack.
“My fault?” asked a stunned Jack. “Excuse me?”
“I'm gonna go,” Gilbert declared. “I'm worn out. I'll find Christine first, and then I'll go back to the dorm. I'll see you later, Roy.”
“Later, Gil.”
He left the remaining three standing there, bickering and arguing like a bunch of little old ladies fighting over the only available man at a nursing home. Gilbert found Christine and told her that he was tired, so he made his way back to his dorm after dropping off his date. He felt guilty about neglecting Christine and putting Anne in such an uncomfortable situation; he felt that the whole mess was his fault. If he hadn't agreed to come, then Roy wouldn't have brought Anne. Without her, Jack wouldn't have followed them from Kingsport, and Morgan would have stayed the entire night with Elvira, making everyone's life a bit easier. Gilbert slapped his forehead.
I knew I shouldn't have come, thought Gilbert. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!
He made it into his dorm room and took out his cell phone.
Should I call Anne? He asked himself. I really want to tell her sorry for getting her into this mess. After debating the matter for another couple of minutes, he decided to take a risk and make the call before kicking himself for not doing it.
“Hello?”
“Anne, it's Gil. Please hear me out.”
After a few seconds of silence, Anne decided to hear him out. “I'm listening.”
“I just want to say that I'm sorry for tonight and everything I put you through. I feel as if it's my fault for starting this whole fiasco with Morgan, Jack, Roy, and me. It's not fair to you, and I should have realized that. Can you forgive me?”
Anne just sat there breathing heavily.
“Anne, say something.”
She looked over at Phil who was sitting next to her on the couch in the apartment. She gave her a shrug.
“Please!” Gilbert pleaded.
“Are you with the other guys right now?
“No. I'm alone in my dorm room.”
“Oh.”
He didn't know what to do or say next. “Well...”
“I forgive you, Gil.”
He was a bit shocked at getting a response from her without having to get on his hands and knees. “Really?”
“I mean it. It's not your fault. I don't blame it on you, Gil; I kinda blame it on myself actually.”
“Don't do that, Anne. It's not your fault.”
“But it is! If I didn't agree to go with Roy, then I wouldn't have to deal with Jack or Morgan. But...I have to admit that it was nice seeing you, Gil.”
He smiled. “You, too.”
“I'm just kind of shocked that Roy wasn't the first one to call, but it's nice to hear from you.”
“We're friends, remember?”
“Yeah.” Just friends...
“So where are you right now?”
“I'm at Phil's.”
“Phil? She was at the dance?”
“Oh no, I just met her outside while you goof balls were fighting like crows.”
“Ah.”
“She's going to drive me back to Kingsport tomorrow morning.”
Gilbert hated to ask this, but he had to know. “But what about Roy?”
She sighed. “He can fend for himself. If he asks where I am, don't tell him, okay? Have him call me on my cell so I can yell at him.”
Gilbert laughed. “Whatever you say, Anne.”
“Thanks, Gil. It was great seeing you again, and that dance we had was fun even if the main purpose was to scare off Jack.”
“Yeah. Well, take care of yourself, Carrots.”
“You too, Gil.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Now that's the person who should be calling me “Carrots”, thought Anne.
“Are you okay now?” asked Phil.
“Yeah,” Anne replied.
“That's good.” Anne, just go back to Gilbert. You know he loves you!
“I'm going to go to bed now,” Anne declared. “I'm tired from tonight. Good night.”
“Good night.”
***********************************
Tired of feuding with Jack and Morgan, Roy finally made his way back to the dorm and looked exhausted.
“You alright?” asked Gilbert.
“Yeah. I should have came back when you did,” Roy admitted.
“Ah.”
“So do you know where Anne is?”
Yeah, I know where she is, but I'm not telling you! “Uh no, I don't; I'm sorry. Why don't you try calling her on her cell?”
The light bulb in Roy's head went off. “Why didn't I think of that before? Thanks, Gil.”
“No problem.”
Roy headed out into the hall before turning around. “I'm sorry for tonight, man. I know you weren't trying to hurt Anne or anything since you two have been friends for a long time, but it's just that I wanted to keep her away from that Garrison character, that's all.”
“I know.”
“Thanks for doing what you did. You're a great friend.”
Gilbert shrugged. “Thanks. Don't mention it.”
“If you ever need anything, let me know.”
“Okay.”
Roy turned around and left to make his call while Gilbert sat on his bed. So maybe this year won't be that bad after all. His roommate was friendly...except he had the one thing Gilbert wanted the most: Anne. He sighed. I could use a vacation...
Last edited by ladybell101, 1/14/2007, 12:35 pm
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1/14/2007, 12:33 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Registered: 12-2006
Posts: 100
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Chapter 9: Fun With Phil
“Let's keep score here,” suggested Phil as she was driving Anne home to Kingsport.
“What?” asked Anne.
“Oh c'mon, Anne. With four handsome and eligible bachelors chasing you around, you gotta have a bit of fun with it. I mean, do you know how many girls would kill to be in your shoes right now?”
“But I don't want four guys going crazy over me! It's hard enough with just one, let alone four of them! And besides, two of the four are extremely annoying.”
“Like how?”
“For one, Jack Garrison helped jump start my car back at a gas station in some town that I've never even heard of, which was fine by itself, but he just had to follow me to Kingsport. He knows nothing about me, yet he claims that he loves me.”
“Psycho and a stalker. That's 1 point for being nice, -5 points for being psycho, and -10 for being a stalker.”
“Huh?”
“That means the score is now Jack: - 14 and the others: 0.”
“Oh.”
“Anne, admit it: you know this is fun,” Phil said with a grin.
“Well, I guess you're right,” Anne admitted. “I get to rant about them somehow and kind of make a competition out of it.”
“There you go! Now, what about this Morgan guy? What's he like?”
“Umm...he's the father of one of my students.”
“Ooh...old fart. That's a -3 points.”
“Phil!”
“Sorry!” She laughed. “I can't help it! Anyway, go on.”
“Where was I? Oh yeah, besides being the father of one of my students, he's apparently rich since he was a major sponsor of the school.”
“Rich, eh? Hmm...that's a plus. That gives him another 5 points.”
“But he yelled at me on several occasions.”
“For what?”
“For badly influencing the children of the Pringles, who are absolute snobs, by the way, and don't care for anyone that aren't like them. Another time he yelled at me for not being responsible enough, and the last time he yelled at me is was for having his daughter audition for the play that we're putting on as a school fund raiser.”
“What a jerk! That's -9 points there.”
“But he did try to reconcile things over with me at the dance or at least tried to be nice.”
“But that's because the other three were there, and that makes him a showoff. So...that's another -3 points, making our total so far out to be Jack: -14, Morgan: -10, and the others: 0.”
“Woohoo!”
“Yeah! So what about Roy?”
“Hmm,” pondered Anne. “I met him the first day I arrived at Kingsport. He's sweet and an absolute gentleman, not to mention tall, dark, and handsome.”
“Ooh,” commented Phil. “He gets 2 points for being sweet, 2 points for being a gentleman, and 3 points for being a looker.”
“He's also romantic, too. Did I tell you about our first date?”
“No! You need to tell me the details, girl!”
“Well, it was on top of our apartment complex. He decorated the roof with lights and created an intimate setting in an open space. There were two violinists standing in a corner, serenading us throughout the night. He ordered Italian food, my favorite, and asked me to dance. So we did and chatted afterwards, and when it was time for me to leave, he walked me down to my apartment and kissed me goodnight.”
“Aww...how cute! He gets 5 points for being a romantic.”
“But...”
“But what?”
“He wasn't the first to call me after the four way fight last night, and you would think since he is my boyfriend and all that he would be the first to do so. Or he could have at least suggested that we get out of there to avoid a potential disaster, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, and you're right. He definitely should have done that, so that's 6 points off his score, making our totals be Jack: -14, Morgan: -10, Roy: 6, and Gilbert: 0. Now for our last eligible bachelor, Gilbert Blythe. C'mon, Anne. Spill the beans now!”
She chuckled. “I've known Gilbert ever since I first came to Avonlea. I remember the first day of school where he tugged on one of my braids and called me 'Carrots.' Boy, I hated that. So you know what I did? I took the nearest object I could find, which was a small white board, and whacked him over the head with it.”
“You did what?”
“I smacked him over the head with it, and it broke. I didn't mean for it to break, but it did.”
“Aww...poor guy. What happened then?”
“I had to endure the torture of copying down 100 times, 'Ann Shirley has a bad temper.' What made it even worse was that my name was misspelled 100 times because our teacher forced me to copy it down that way. Gilbert tried to stick up for me, but that didn't work. I wouldn't speak to him afterwards because I was so mad.”
“Aww. I'm giving him 2 points for sticking up for a gal when she was in trouble and another 5 points because I feel bad for him.”
“Hey!”
“What?”
“Oh nevermind.”
“I know that's not all of it, Anne. There's gotta be more,” whined Phil.
“I'm not done yet,” Anne said.
“Good.”
“Okay then. Well, Gilbert and I would always tie for first on our exams.”
“A guy who's intelligent and good looking...another 5 points.”
“It took us awhile to finally become friends, but we did it. He's always been there for me, and I can always count on him whenever I need anything. He makes me laugh, and I can act silly around him without feeling embarrassed or fearing that he'll make fun of me.”
“Reliable and funny...4 more points. He sounds perfect, Anne.”
“But I turned him down twice.”
“Why?”
Anne sighed. “He's too good for me. Gil's always been a good friend, and I don't know if I can ever thank him or repay him for that. I don't know if I can ever love him though. He's just, I don't know, not my ideal kind of guy that I'd want to marry.”
“And what is your ideal kind of guy?” Phil wondered.
“Dashing and handsome and strong and brave. He's willing to go out of his way for me, my knight in shining armor so to speak.”
“Oh.” Phil was silent for a moment. “Well, if you tally up all the points, Jack has -14, Morgan has -10, Roy has 6, and Gilbert has 16. I think we have a winner, Anne.”
“I don't know, Phil. Gil will always be dear to me but maybe not in that kind of way.”
“I see.”
Oh my gosh, Anne, thought Phil. Gil is perfect! He loves you and adores you and absolutely worships the ground you walk on. Can't you see that? Just be with him, so you can be happy!
The car ride was silent for a few minutes until Phil noticed a speeding red vehicle in her rear view mirror.
“Who's this idiot in the red Corvette trying to catch up to me?” Phil asked.
“Oh no! It's him!” Anne cried. She immediately unbuckled her seat belt and slid down in her seat to hide.
“Don't worry, Anne,” Phil reassured her. “I've got him.”
Jack's little red Corvette pulled up next to Phil's SUV. Jack looked at Phil to see if Anne was in her car, but he didn't see her. Phil gave him a nasty look before he sped off in front of her and was miles away from her view.
“Is it safe to get up now?” Anne asked.
“Yeah.”
Anne got back up in her seat and put on her seat belt. “Whew.”
“That's another -10 points for him!” Phil declared.
Anne laughed. “Hey, at least the old fart's ahead of him in that department!”
Both girls laughed and enjoyed the rest of the ride to Kingsport.
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1/14/2007, 12:36 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Registered: 12-2006
Posts: 100
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Chapter 10: In The Spotlight
Three weeks passed since the quarrel among the four men vying for Anne's affection. Anne had since forgiven Roy, and things went back to normal. Sort of. Back at KLC rehearsals for Mary, Queen of Scots had not been going as well as planned. Jen Pringle would often show her diva like attitude, demanding that certain roles go to her friends even though they weren't as talented as the girls who were awarded the parts and would show up late because she could. Anne grew more and more frustrated the longer the rehearsals went on but couldn't give up on Jen due to the constant threat of parent backlash. She calmly kept things under control and stood her ground, making sure that she had the upper hand in this game and not the competition. Tickets to the benefit were already sold out, and each Pringle parent wanted to see their daughter on stage with the makings of a future Hollywood star at hand. As hard as it had been for Anne to get this far with little to no support, she couldn't give up now. The play was scheduled to open on Friday night to high expectations, and Anne knew her job was on the line.
Ms. Brooke called Anne into her office the day of the scheduled opening to deliver shocking news.
“I'm afraid Jen Pringle has been forced to pull out of tonight's play,” she told her. “She has come down with strep throat and has been ordered by a doctor to stay at home to rest. I'm afraid your play is in jeopardy, and you will need to cancel.”
“Cancel?” shouted Anne. “I will not cancel this production because of Jen Pringle!”
“And why not? She is your star, and you cannot continue without her.”
“Jen is only doing this because she wants to get rid of me. I will not let her get the best of me this time. She has tried to get of me once, yet she will not win this time. There is an understudy for this production, and we will go on with the show. I'm sorry, Ms. Brooke, but there is nothing you can do about it.”
“I am not responsible for any negative outcome of this, do you understand?”
“I agreed to that when I suggested putting on this production, didn't I?”
Katherine sighed. “You do have a point there, Miss Shirley.”
“Thank you, Katherine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach. Good day.”
As much as I hate to admit it, thought Katherine, I think she'll pull this off.
***********************************
“Emmeline,” called Anne after class.
“Yes, Miss Shirley,” said Emmeline.
“I need you to perform tonight. Jen's called in sick, and we need someone to play Mary. You're our only hope, Emmeline, or else we'll have to cancel everything. Do you think you can do it?”
“Of course I can. I know I haven't been able to rehearse with everyone else that much since Jen's been hogging up everything, but I've been studying this role really hard. I don't care what Dad or anyone else thinks. We're going to put on this show, and we'll show those Pringles who's boss in this town. Miss Shirley, don't fret. It will all be fine, I promise.”
“Thank you, Emmeline. I know I can count on you, but what about your father? I know he's been against me and the production since the very beginning.”
“After countless hours of careful planning, I've finally persuaded him to come. He'll be fine and so will you. Don't worry.”
“I won't.” Anne gave Emmeline a hug and proceeded to get ready for the night's events.
******************************
The highly anticipated premiere of Mary, Queen of Scots debuted without a glitch, and any worry that Anne had beforehand vanished. Emmeline Harris' interpretation of Mary moved so many Pringles that they choked on their previous criticisms of her, her family, and her teacher. At the end of the play, the entire house was on its feet. The director of the school board went up on stage and signaled Anne to come up on stage with him.
“Miss Shirley,” he said, “I am honored to present you this check made out to the Kingsport Ladies College in the total of $10,000 from tonight's benefit.”
Anne gladly accepted the check on behalf of the school and turned around to applaud her students. She was proud of each one of them and couldn't be any happier. She took this opportunity to address the audience.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I just want to say that it's been an honor teaching all of your daughters, and it has been a rewarding experience from Day 1. I would like to thank you all for making me feel welcome to this town, and I hope that we could provide another wonderful play like this for you all in the future. Thank you again.”
Anne walked off the stage and met the parents of her students. After flooding the KLC office with complaints and demands of firing her, the parents complimented her on the way she handled things and urged her to put on a second play before the year ended. It seemed as if she won over the entire Pringle clan in over a span of two hours, and she finally had them on her side. After meeting with all the Pringles, Anne came face to face with Morgan Harris.
“Forgive me for all that I've said,” he said. “It was rude of me to jump to conclusions like that without considering the facts, and I'm truly sorry. I want to make it up to you, Anne.”
“That's awfully kind of you, Morgan, but I'm afraid I have to go now.”
“Is there anything that I can do?”
“Could you possibly put your funds back into supporting the school?”
“You're asking me to reconsider?”
“Yes.”
Morgan stuck out his hand. “You have a deal.”
Anne shook his hand. “Thank you.” She smiled, gave Emmeline a hug for a job well done, and walked away. Knowing that her job and reputation were now secure, Anne could now go home with a heavy burden lifted off her shoulders.
****************************
“Hey, Gil. Did you see this?” asked Roy as he read the morning paper.
“See what?”
“There's an article about Anne in the paper.”
“Oh.”
Roy threw the paper at Gilbert as he was getting out of bed. He saw her picture on the front page and smiled. He read about her success with the opening of the play and couldn't have felt more prouder of her; Gilbert knew she could do it all along. That was the Anne he knew and loved; she could do anything if she put her mind to it.
“I knew she could do it,” Gilbert said.
“Me, too,” commented Roy. “I'll be back, Gil. I'm gonna send Anne some violets as part of my congratulations.”
“Okay.”
You know violets aren't her favorite, right, buddy? Gilbert thought. You have a long way to go, my friend.
After eating breakfast and getting dressed, Gilbert went over to the nearest flower shop on campus and sent Anne a bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley, her favorite. He included a card that read, “Congratulations on your success, Carrots. From your good pal, Gilbert.” He hoped she would like it. After all, she deserved all the success in the world and deserved nothing but the best.
********************************
Anne came back to school the next day after forgetting a stack of papers that desperately needed to be graded in her classroom. When she entered, she was shocked to discover four bouquets on her desk, each from a different man pursuing her heart. Her eyes wandered from Roy's bouquet of violets to Morgan's bouquet of roses to Jack's bouquet of irises to finally Gilbert's bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley. She assumed the other three knew of her success because of the story written in the paper. Anne noticed Gilbert's arrangement immediately as well as his card. She opened the card, read it, and smiled. Good ol' Gilbert. So he hadn't forgotten her. How sweet of him to send her her favorite flowers! And she thought maybe Roy would have sent her that particular bouquet himself. Anne sighed. With her hands full of papers, she could only afford to bring home one arrangement of flowers. Without hesitating, Anne grabbed her lilies-of-the-valley, locked her classroom door, and headed for home.
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1/14/2007, 12:40 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Chapter 11: Home for the Holidays
“Are you sure you don't want to come home with me for Christmas?” Roy asked Anne for one last time.
“I'm sure, Roy,” Anne said. “It's nothing against you or anything, but I have to be home at Green Gables for Christmas. Marilla's been stuck with Rachel since I left, and I'd feel really guilty if I leave them again. Coming home is the least I could do. Besides, don't you have family that you have to go see?”
“I do, but I'd rather see them with you. I know my mother and sisters would love to meet you.”
“I know that, but I'm homesick. I need to go home.”
“Okay then.”
This was practically the same conversation Roy and Anne had for Thanksgiving break. He wanted to take her home to meet his family, and hopefully judging from their reactions to her, he would get the green light to pop the question. She had opted to go back home to Avonlea instead of coming with him, and when he would propose the option of coming with her, she refused, saying that she had so many things to do back home that she would feel guilty just leaving him there and looking after her. Roy said that he wouldn't mind, but Anne insisted. He wanted to make her happy and decided not to object; he figured that he'd have his chance sometime soon down the line.
“Since you're not coming with me, Anne, I want to give this to you now.” Roy handed Anne a small box wrapped in red and green wrapping paper. “Open it.”
Anne carefully opened her gift and was stunned with what she saw inside the little box. Roy had given her a pearl bracelet from Mikimoto, the most distinguished name in the pearl industry in the world. It was exquisite.
“Thank you, Roy!” She put her arms around him and kissed him. “I love it.”
“I'm glad you do,” he said with a grin.
“You didn't have to spend that much on me; I would have been happy with whatever you would have picked.”
“Anne, the bracelet is nothing. You deserve so much more than this.”
She blushed. “I have something for you, too. It's nothing much, well at least compared to what you gave me.”
“I'm happy with whatever you choose to give me.”
Anne handed him a box wrapped in blue wrapping paper. “Open it.”
Roy opened his gift and smiled. “Coldplay tickets? Anne, you shouldn't have!”
“I know how much you love them, so with the help of a few of my connections, I was able to get them before they even went on **** to the general public.”
Roy kissed her. “I love you, Anne. I really hate to leave, but I have to get going if I want to beat the upcoming snow storm. Call me as soon as you get to Avonlea, so I know you're all right, okay?”
“I promise.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
*******************************
Anne made her journey from Kingsport to Avonlea. On the way, she reflected on what happened over the last semester at KLC. After nearly escaping disaster with Jen Pringle's firecrackers in the trash can, she had survived and won over the hearts of the town with her successful play and with her gutsiness and determination. Since then, there was smooth sailing, and even Jen turned out to be a decent human being to the shock of many who knew her. The relationship between Emmeline Harris and her father grew a bit stronger, which made Emmeline a very happy camper, and she would no longer show up to class looking depressed as she was in the past. Morgan Harris would come by Anne's classroom every now and then to say hello and to check on things. He was friendly – far too friendly. He even invited Anne to accompany his family in their annual trip to Boston, but she declined, saying that she had too many things to do back home. In reality, she didn't want to join him. First and foremost, she was his daughter's teacher, and she did not want to put that in jeopardy. Second, she felt uncomfortable whenever she was around him. He was twenty years or so her senior, and the fact that Morgan was around her so often scared her a bit. Anne sighed. At least she had Marilla back at home waiting for her, so she wouldn't have to deal with the mess for two weeks.
As for Roy's recent proclamation of love to her, Anne didn't know how to feel. Did she really love him? She knew that she liked him for who he was, but was that love? She didn't know. All she did know was that he was no Jack Garrison, and that fact alone gave her a comforting feeling. Roy was the epitome of her ideals that she had set ever since she was a little girl, yet Anne didn't know if it was as satisfying as she originally dreamed of. It was all new to her, so she was learning everything in the process.
When Anne arrived at Green Gables, she was immediately greeted by Marilla and Rachel, who were ever so happy to see her. Marilla knew Anne was tired from her trip, so she didn't bombard her with questions unlike Rachel who wanted to spill all the details about the current events in Avonlea. Anne didn't mind though. She was glad to be home.
**********************************
Gilbert made his way home from Redmond for Christmas break. He too was glad to be back home. He studied hard throughout the semester and aced every one of his final exams. It was a tough task, but he managed to pull through somehow. With two weeks off, Gilbert could finally get the rest he deserved. He wouldn't have to hear his roommate rambling on about his relationship or the constant rumors of him being engaged to Christine Stuart or Roy being engaged to Anne. Every time that he heard murmurs of Roy being on the verge of asking Anne to marry him, he would bite his tongue. It was so often that his tongue bled on several occasions. Gilbert just wanted to be left alone. Was it too much for him to ask for? He didn't think so; at least now he could have some piece of mind while being back home. All he had to do was to avoid Josie Pye and her entourage, and he would be fine.
Gilbert shook his head. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day. That meant that his family would go to church for the Christmas service in the afternoon after opening gifts in the morning. The only thing that was bugging Gilbert was that he wasn't sure if Anne was even in town. Knowing that she was with Roy almost killed him, and for all he knew she could be spending Christmas with Roy and his family. Gilbert had picked out a present for Anne before he left Redmond and hoped to give it to her after the service, but if she wasn't there, then he would mail it to her afterwards. He wished that she was still in town, so he could see her one more time. Their last meeting was on that dreadful night where he along with three other guys had nearly scared Anne half to death, and he hoped he could make it up to her this time.
***
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1/14/2007, 12:44 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Christmas Day arrived. Both Anne and Gilbert woke up early to open presents with their families and anxiously awaited the time when they would go to service. Neither one knew if the other would be in town or not, but they both prayed that they would be. The Blythes arrived to church with Marilla, Anne, and Rachel arriving shortly there after. Gilbert was looking away when Anne took her seat across the aisle from him, but when he looked sideways, he saw Anne looking straight at him.
“Gil!” Anne cried.
“Anne!” he cried back. Thank goodness she's here! And Roy isn't with her!
Christine's not with him! Anne noticed happily. I shouldn't be this happy about it, should I?
The service began so Anne quickly mouthed “Merry Christmas” to him while Gilbert mouthed “You, too” back. It was a wonderful service, and the snow began to fall in the background. It was a beautiful scene, but Anne and Gilbert couldn't have been happier when it was over. After the saying hello to the Wrights and congratulating them on the news of expecting their first child, Anne waited for Gilbert outside the church. He went up to her and hugged her.
“I didn't expect you to be here,” Gilbert said. “I was honestly expecting you to be with Roy.”
“Well, we both have to see our families,” Anne explained. “Besides, just because you're with somebody doesn't mean you have to be with them 24/7. By the way, where's Christine?”
“She's visiting her family in Halifax.”
“Ah.”
Gilbert quickly changed the subject. “I have something for you, Anne.”
“Oh, Gilbert. You didn't have to -”
“I know I didn't, but I wanted to.”
He pulled a small box out from his pocket and handed it to Anne. She opened it and gasped. It was a gold heart shaped pin.
“Aww...” Anne said while staring at the pin.
“Remember when I gave you that candy heart in school to make up for calling you 'Carrots', and you crushed it? Well, this way you can keep the heart with you and not feel guilty about smashing it years ago. I know it's not much -”
“But I love it, Gil! The fact that you gave me this just to make up for that incident so long ago makes it even more special than it already is.” Anne gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I have something for you, too.” She pulled out a small package from her purse and handed it to Gilbert. “Here.”
He took the gift and opened it. It was an autographed hockey puck by Joe Sakic, the captain of the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL. “Wow.” He didn't know what to say.
“I remember you telling me awhile back about the hockey game you went to when you were little, and you caught a puck flying into the stands only to have some selfish fan steal it out of your hands. I figured this way you could at least feel a little better about that and have something signed by an NHL superstar.”
Gilbert hugged Anne and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Anne. This means a lot to me.” He looked back and saw his parents waiting. “I gotta go. My parents are waiting for me. I'll talk to you later, Anne. Merry Christmas, Carrots!”
“Merry Christmas, Gil!”
Anne watched as Gilbert got into his parents' car and drove away. She was sad to see him go yet relieved that she had such an opportunity to meet with him.
“Are you ready to go now, Anne?” asked Marilla.
“I'm ready.”
With that, Anne got into the car with Marilla and Rachel and went back to Green Gables. She spent the rest of her vacation relaxing at home, reading, and helping Marilla out with chores. She didn't mind it really. The only down side was that she rarely got to see Gilbert. His parents decided to take a family vacation to Toronto, and he went with them. She couldn't complain, of course; it wasn't like she owned him or anything. Besides, he was Christine now or so she thought. Things were different now, but at least he still remembered her.
With the arrival of the new year, that meant that a new semester at KLC was about to begin, meaning that Anne had to make her way back to Kingsport. She said goodbye to Marilla and Rachel and began her journey again. Hopefully with the beginning of a new year, she would have better luck with things.
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1/14/2007, 12:44 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Chapter 12: One Down, Three More to Go
“Your homework assignment for this weekend is...” announced Anne at the end of class. She looked up as each one of her students looked at her with weary eyes. “Well, I tell you what. If you girls promise me that you'll come to class on Monday looking refreshed and relaxed, I'll give you no homework this weekend. Deal?”
“Deal!” agreed her students. “Thank you, Miss Shirley!”
“You're welcome. Class dismissed!”
It was the end of another week for Anne, and she couldn't have felt more thankful for it. Now she could go home, stay up late and finish that novel she was meaning to get through, and sleep in. Nothing could get in her way of doing it. Well, almost anything.
“Hey, Dad!” called Emmeline to her father as she was walking through the parking lot to his car.
“Hi, Emmeline,” Morgan greeted back.
“Why are you more dressed up than usual?”
“No reason.”
Emmeline laughed. “Right...”
“Why are you laughing?” asked Morgan.
“Because it's so obvious why you're dressed up like that! You want to ask Miss Shirley out on a date.”
“I do not!”
“You do, too. C'mon, Dad. You haven't been this dressed up since Mom died, and I was a baby then. Besides, you don't even look this sharp when you claim to be going out with Elvira, so don't even try to deny that you want to go out with her. You can't fool me.”
“Since when have you been this smart, Emmeline Harris?”
“Since always, Dad. I bet you $5 and a pizza that she won't go out with you.”
“I'll take you up on that bet, and I'll make it $10 and a pizza that she will.”
“Make it $20, a pizza, and buffalo wings, and we have a deal.”
“Okay.”
Emmeline and Morgan shook on it and waited for Anne to come out into the parking lot. Emmeline spotted her right away.
“There she is, Dad. Go ask her!” Please say no, Miss Shirley! I want pizza! And plus it'd be weird to have my teacher going out with my father...eww.
Morgan walked up to Anne as she was unlocking her car. “Hello, Anne.”
“Hello, Morgan. How are you today?”
“Very fine, thank you. Listen, I was just wondering if you had any plans for tonight. I know of this great place in town, and I would love for you to join me.”
Morgan Harris is asking me out on a date? Anne thought. Are you kidding me? What?! Didn't he meet the other three clowns at Redmond? Wait, two clowns. I at least like Gilbert.
“I'm sorry, Morgan,” Anne began, “but I'm very exhausted from today. I really want to get home and rest.”
“That's understandable,” Morgan said, not looking too disappointed. “How about tomorrow night?”
“Morgan, I'm all ready seeing somebody. You remember Roy Gardner, don't you? You met him at the Redmond dance and was one of the three men who you had a lovely conversation with.”
“Yes, I remember him. I remember him quite well.”
“So I guess you understand then?”
“Yes. I'm sorry I disturbed you. Good day, Miss Shirley.”
“Good day, sir.”
Anne got in her car and drove home. Morgan went back to the car where Emmeline was and put his head down in shame. He couldn't believe Anne was with someone who no where near his stature and had little to offer her (or so he thought), and he also couldn't believe that he lost a bet to his daughter. Emmeline was smiling and held out her hand.
“Pay up, Dad.”
Morgan sighed. “Fine.”
******************************
For the next couple months, Morgan would come and go, trying to charm Anne every now and then but was met with little success. Like Jack Garrison, Morgan often had his way with women, so when Anne had ignored him like she had, he was dumbfounded. It was as if he wanted something he couldn't have, and that made him want her even more, but unlike Jack, he had no intentions of actually stalking her. He would win her over the old fashioned way and show the young gun how it's supposed to be done.
After pondering over the issue, Morgan decided that he couldn't take it any more, and he would finally tell Anne how he felt. Yes, he knew he was putting himself up for rejection, but it was a risk he had to take. At least he wouldn't kick himself later with all the “what if” questions.
“This won't be hard,” Morgan told himself one day after school was over. “All you have to do is say 'I love you. Will you -'...gosh, it's hot out here.”
He waited for Emmeline and Anne by his car. Emmeline was the first to get out.
“Emmeline, get in the car,” he said as soon as she was near the passenger side door. “You can put on one of those rock stations if you want. I'll be right back.” He hurried off to meet Anne who was coming out of the school quickly.
That's funny, thought Emmeline. He never lets me do that. She looked through the window and saw her father grabbing a hold of Anne's hand. She shook her head. Dad, what are you doing now?
“Morgan, what are you doing?” asked Anne once she felt him grabbing her hand.
“I need to ask you something,” he said.
Oh boy. “What is it?”
“Anne, this has gone on long enough. I love you. I've loved you since you stuck up for yourself on the first day me met, and I would love to spend the rest of my days making you happy. Will you do me to honor of being my wife?”
Anne took a step back in disbelief. What was he thinking? He barely even knew her, and now he was asking her to marry him? For once, she was speechless.
“Anne, what is it?” Morgan asked.
“I...I....”
“What?”
“I can't marry you. I don't even know anything about you, and you don't even know anything about me.”
“You're a lovely and wonderful person -”
“But that's not enough. I care a great deal for you and Emmeline, but that's all I can give, Morgan. I'm sorry.” Anne looked away.
Morgan released her hand. “It's okay.” He took one last look at her before going back to his car. Emmeline was waiting for him and saw that he looked dejected. She wisely said nothing as they went home.
Anne was still in shock. What just happened? Was this for real and not just some horrible nightmare? She made her way to her car and put her things on the hood. It was as if she didn't have any energy left in her to unlock the door to get in. She put her head on her arms on the edge of the door frame only to hear someone coming up to her.
“Hello, Beautiful.”
Anne looked back and saw Jack. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” he said honestly. “What happened to you?”
A tear went down Anne's face. “Nothing, Jack. Nothing.”
“It doesn't seem like nothing when you're crying.” He took a step towards her and took her into his arms, and to his surprise she didn't resist. “Shh, Anne. It'll be all right.”
Anne nodded her head. She was dazed and confused and completely oblivious to her surroundings. It felt good to be comforted by someone who cared about her, even if it was Jack Garrison. Huh?
Wait! Anne thought. What am I doing? One minute I'm upset, and the next minute Jack's holding me. I need to get out of here!
Anne quickly let go. “I'm sorry, Jack, but I need to be home to complete some things that I meant to get done earlier.” She took her things from on top of the hood, unlocked the car, and got in. She sped off, leaving Jack to look after her in the distance.
“At least she lets me hold her now. That's some improvement.”
***
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1/14/2007, 12:57 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Registered: 12-2006
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
“Anne, you are so stupid!” she scolded herself as she made her way back to her apartment after eating dinner. “How could you let your emotions get the best of you? You're lucky all Jack did was hold you because if he went over the line, you could have been in deep trouble.”
She went in straight through the door and immediately laid down on the couch. It had been one heck of a day: Morgan proposed to her, Jack held her, and Roy was nowhere to be seen. Roy...what was she going to do about him? Should she tell him about the day's events, or should she leave it alone? Anne decided not to tell him partly in fact that she was scared of having another showdown like the one back at Redmond. She sighed. A good night's rest sounded wonderful, but before she could even get up, the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Anne, it's Roy.”
Great. Just great. “Hi.”
“You don't sound too well.”
“I'm a bit worn out.” It wasn't exactly a fib; she was tired after all the drama.
“I'm sorry to bother you when you're so tired, Anne, but I just had to call. I'm going back to Kingsport tomorrow for the weekend, and I'm bringing a few people you have to meet.”
“Who?”
“My mother and my sisters. Since you couldn't come and meet them for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I'm bringing them to you.”
“Oh.” Anne became cold all of a sudden.
“What's the matter?” Roy asked with concern.
“I don't know if they'll like me.” She looked down at her feet.
“Anne, they'll love you! You'll make them fall in love with you just as you did with me. Don't worry.”
“Thanks, Roy.”
“No problem, hon. I'll let you get to rest now since you sound like you need it. Take care.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Fun, Anne thought. I'll get to meet the family.
She forced herself off the couch and took a shower before going to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and she needed all the rest she could get.
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1/14/2007, 12:58 pm
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ladybell101
Dance Card Stealer
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Re: Where My Heart Belongs
Chapter 13: Meet the Gardners
“Roy, are you sure they'll like me?” Anne asked for the last time.
“Anne, I'm sure,” he told her. “They'll love you. I know I do.” He gave her a wink. “Just relax.” He put his arm around her shoulder and led her to his apartment where his mother and sisters were waiting.
Anne was nervous – very nervous. She wanted to make a good impression on Roy's family not only because she didn't want to embarrass Roy, but she wasn't like the Gardners at all. She grew up on Prince Edward Island, far away from the luxury that they were accustomed to, and she wasn't familiar with aristocratic society. That didn't mean that she couldn't adjust to it though, but it would get some getting used to. She just hoped that she wouldn't make a fool out of herself.
Roy opened the door to his apartment and walked in with Anne. He then led her to the sofa where his mother and sisters were sitting.
“Everybody, this is Anne Shirley, my girlfriend,” Roy stated proudly. “Anne, this is my mother, Karen. My sister Aline is sitting to her right, and my other sister Dorothy is sitting next to her.”
“Hi,” Anne said timidly. She was scared now. She noticed that all three women were wearing top end designer clothes like Versace and Dolce & Gabbana while she was wearing the best dress she had from a brand that she could afford. Roy's mother's examining eye didn't make her feel any better.
“Hello. It's nice to meet you,” Dorothy said while holding out her hand.
Anne took the hand and shook it. “You, too.”
Aline, on the other hand, didn't say anything to Anne. She was too busy talking to her rich boyfriend back in New York on her cell phone. “Uh huh...yeah. Well, did you at least get me those Gucci sunglasses? You did? Aww...baby, I love you! Uh huh...”
Anne's face started to go pale. She didn't know to do in a situation like this.
“Forgive, Aline,” Dorothy said. “She's always like that.”
Oh great, Anne thought. She nodded.
“So tell me, Royal,” Karen began, “what have you been doing with yourself lately?”
“Studying for exams and spending time with Anne,” he replied.
“I don't see how you have the time to study when you have this beautiful girlfriend of yours on your arm,” Karen said in a matter of fact tone.
This is going to be a long night.. thought Anne.
“I don't want to keep you ladies waiting, but I do have a reservation for four for dinner booked at La Strada. I don't want to be late for that, so do you all care to join me?” asked Roy.
Anne, Karen, Aline, and Dorothy followed Roy out to his car. Anne sat in the front seat while Roy's family sat in the back of his Thunderbird. The ride to La Strada was relatively quiet except for Aline conversing with her personal hair stylist back in New York.
“But I hate being a blonde!” Aline cried. “People think I'm stupid! Do you think I'm stupid? You don't? You're just saying that. I love you.”
Anne shook her head. What did I get myself into?
Roy looked over at her once he arrived at the restaurant and gave her a sympathetic look.
Once they arrived at La Strada, Roy spotted Michelle, the same hostess that helped him kick out Jack Garrison at the same restaurant earlier. He handed her a $50 tip in advance.
“If Jack Garrison appears, you know what to do,” he told her.
Michelle took the money and led to group to their table. Once everyone was seated, Karen took the opportunity to interrogate Anne.
“So Anne, what do you do for a living?” she asked.
“I'm a teacher at Kingsport Ladies College,” Anne replied.
“A teacher? Well, we all know how much they make!” Karen laughed.
Trying not to let her temper get the best of her, Anne simply stated, “Yes, that's true, but just knowing that you're making a difference in someone's life is simply a reward within itself.”
Impressed with Anne's remark, Karen decided to go on. “Where did you meet Royal?”
“I met him on the top of our apartment complex.”
“Oh. How lovely.”
Before Anne could say anything else, the waiter appeared at the table. “Hello, my name is Kevin. I'll be your server for the evening. May I interest you in our wine collection before we get to the entrees?”
“Roy, I want a pinot grigio,” Dorothy said.
“I want...hmm...I don't know what I want,” Aline said. “You have any vodka here?”
“Aline!” Karen scolded. “You don't ask for that sort of thing.”
“All right. Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “I'll take an apple martini.”
“That's better. I would like your finest white wine,” Karen said.
“What about you, Anne?” asked Roy. “What do you want?”
“Water's just fine,” Anne said.
“Anne, do you not drink?” Dorothy asked.
“No. I just don't like the taste; that's all.”
“Well that and she can't afford that much,” Karen mumbled to Aline.
Anne overheard her and turned red from her anger.
The entrees were then ordered, and afterwards Roy took a moment to get away from the growing tension.
“I'm going to use the restroom. I'll be right back.”
Once Roy was away, Karen spoke up. “Anne, Royal is my son. I love him, but there are faults with him. He's been with a lot of women, and he can get carried away with babying them. Just know what you're getting yourself into.”
Anne couldn't take it anymore. “Excuse me for a moment.” She walked past the restrooms and went up the stairs that led up to the roof. Roy came out and saw Anne going up, so he went after her.
“Anne!”
She didn't look back. She made her way up to the roof and stood near the ledge. Roy came from behind and stood next to her.
“Anne, are you all right?”
She turned to look at him. “No, Roy. I'm not all right.”
“Why?”
“Why?! Excuse me, but have you been awake this evening? Have you been noticing the way your mother and sisters have been treating me?”
“Uhh...yes.”
“Then why didn't you say something to them? Why did you let me take all of your mother's rude comments and Aline's smart remarks that even though they aren't directed at me that they still make me feel like dirt?”
“Because they're always like that?”
“Always like that?”
“Well, yes. I guess I've gotten used to it, that's all.”
“Used to it? Well, Roy...I'm not used to it.”
“At least Dorothy's been nice to you.”
“Yes, but that's not what I'm going for here.” She looked away.
Roy put his hand on her shoulder. “Anne, I don't care what my family says. I love you, and I mean that.”
She still didn't say anything. She just turned around and walked back down to where his family was sitting.
“I should have known,” Karen said. “That red hair describes her personality.”
“How dare you!” Anne shouted. The rest of the restaurant stopped and looked at their table. “How dare you criticize me like that! You evil and despiteful woman, I hate you!” And with that, she stormed off towards the door.
Roy ran after her. “Anne, calm down. Let me talk to her.”
“Too late, Roy. I'm going home.”
“Home? But you don't have a way there.”
“I'll find one.”
“Let me take you home.”
“No. You have company, and it'd be awfully rude to ignore them while you're here. Good night, Roy.”
He watched on as Anne called a cab and got in. When the driver took off, Roy kicked himself. “I think I might have lost the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.”
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1/14/2007, 1:01 pm
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