40 years of dreams now a reality

Today marks 10 years since I married the love of my life.

We’ve already marked this anniversary, the day I married the man of my dreams, by going on the trip of my dreams, to Prince Edward Island in Canada.

If you are a true kindred spirit, you will perhaps already know the reason for this destination. It’s a destination I fell in love with ever since I watched the 1985 Kevin Sullivan adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. That’s 40 years of dreaming that one day I’d be walking those red shores, strolling down Lovers Lane and heading past the Lake of Shining Waters to visit Green Gables, just like Anne.

I got to do all that and more with my very own ‘Gilbert’ a few months ago. Sure, I would haved loved Megan Follows, Jonathan Crombie, Colleen Dewhurst and Richard Farnsworth to have been there too, but I took inspiration from Anne and imagined them being there.

While I have felt a tad melancholy since coming back home, now I’ve ticked off the item that was top of my bucket list for so long, it’s inspired me to work more on other items on that list… all the writing related ones, anyway.

The travels have even inspired some words. I’ve included little snippets of experiences from our Canada trip in a short story that comes out soon in a new Christmas anthology, Hot & Frosty, but it was also the inspiration behind my most recent Furious Fiction entry that I am excited to say was longlisted.

I don’t often share those entries, because I can rework them and use them in other competitions, but this one deserves to be shared, just as it is. I figure if you understood most of this blog post so far, you will understand my 500 word story. Enjoy, but remember, this is fiction and practically the opposite to the experience I had, thankfully.

Dream with an E

“What is this place again?”

I resisted breaking a slate over my boyfriend’s head. Strangely enough, I did have a slate in my hands. And chalk. And a straw hat with green ribbon.

“This is the house from my favourite book of all time. It’s Green Gables.” Technically it was the inspiration for the house, not that actual house, but that was not information Jeremy needed to know.

“Is that the books about the girl with the orange hair?”

I maintained the calm in my voice as I replied.

“Auburn. A fine auburn was how she liked it described.” At least he hadn’t called her carrots like someone else I know.

“Is it just the old house? What else are we doing here?”

This time it was harder not to screech a little.

“This is the reason we’re on Prince Edward Island. For the Anne experience. It’s why I’m wearing this.” I pointed to my green pinafore dress.

Jeremy shrugged. “I thought that was a little weird, but who am I to question fashion?”

I took in Jeremy’s Birkenstocks. One celebrity wears them on the red carpet and now he thinks they’re suitable for any occasion. I’d tried to encourage him to wear trousers and a vest today, with boots, he’d still gone for the Birks, denim shorts and a Radiohead t-shirt.

“I sent you a list of photos I wanted to get today. And there’s a link to the map with Lover’s Lane and the Haunted Wood.”

“What list? I thought we were going to the beach?”

I put the hat on my head and fished out my phone. I searched my sent emails and brought the screen to Jeremy’s face.

“This list. When we are finished here and I’ve got all the photos, we will go to Cavendish Cliffs, to get more photos. At the beach.”

This time my voice had risen an octave or two. Maybe being in this place I was channelling Anne, with her strong emotions and passionate nature? Because the more Jeremy spoke, and the more he showed disinterest in my decade-old dream I was finally fulfilling, the more I realised he wasn’t anything like the Gilbert I wanted him to be.

“How about we go in and start with some photos at the house?”

Jeremy glanced at his watch. ‘How long do you think you’d spend here?”

I fanned the slate against my face. “A few hours. There’s the museum part. The photos around the walks and the house will take a while, knowing there’s other people also doing the same thing. We might have to cue up.”

Jeremy smiled. “Sounds perfect.”

I smiled back. Maybe he was my Gilbert after all.

“How about you go do your Anne thing, and I’ll duck next door to the golf course. I could do a quick round in the time you do your photos.”

He might as well have called me carrots. And now I need another slate.