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At precisely six past six, there’s a second knock on the door and Anne immediately jumps to her feet to get it. She can’t wait to see what kind of person their second tenant will be. A handsome young lord maybe, forced to go into hiding and pass as a peasant to keep his family and his most beautiful bride safe from his evil step brother?! Or maybe a daring adventurer who just returned from an expedition across the most wondersome faraway country, seeking peace and muse to compose his thrilling chronicles here in Avonlea?She can’t help fight the grin that spreads over her face as she’s rushing over to the door. Whoever it is, the next miraculous encounter is waiting for her right behind a few inches of wood.Pulling open the door, Anne stares with excitement at the man turning towards her.“Good evening,” he says, taking off his hat. “Is this Green Gables?”He’s different from what Anne had expected. Tall build, a friendly face, slightly long brown hair, innocent eyes. The coat he’s wearing doesn’t look too expensive, but certainly not too shabby either. He’s carrying a newish-looking black leather bag, similar to Dr. Ward’s. The pretty face makes him look younger than he probably is, and yet, there’s something in his eyes Anne has never seen before. A slight hint of… like a spark of… she can’t tell. But it intrigues her. Even though he’s different from what Anne had expected, she can’t wait to discover all the mysteries and stories this man would bring into their house.“It most certainly is,” Anne immediately chimes, the excitement returning to her face. “My name is Anne Shirley Cuthbert.” Not without adding: “Anne with an E.” She gives him her friendliest smile. “It’s my utmost pleasure to meet you.”The man can’t help chuckling slightly at her enthusiasm. He shakes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Anne with an E. I’m Nicholas Clark. I’m the new tenant here.” *** Closing the door behind him, Anne quickly leads their guest to the dining room, where she’d gotten up from supper seconds ago.Taking care of the introductions, Anne proudly gestures towards the new arrival. “May I introduce? This is Mr. Nicholas Clark from Los Angeles.”“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Nick says, taking off his coat before coming over to the table to shake everyone’s hands.“Mr. Clark,” Anne goes on, pointing at the elderly man with the wrinkled face at the far side of the table and the gray-haired woman with the bun, who’s trying to shoot him a smile, but somehow fails miserably. “These are my guardians, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.”“Welcome to Green Gables,” Matthew says with a hesitant voice, also not quite succeeding in covering up the wariness, and gets up from his chair, but Nick doesn’t mind and shakes his hand nevertheless.“And this gentleman over here,” Anne goes on, pointing at the third person seated at the dining table, “is Mr. Troy Otto from New York. He also rented a room here and arrived just a few minutes ago.”Nick raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t know there would be another tenant. But I guess the house is pretty big,” he babbles as he proceeds to also shake the stranger’s hand. “So I guess we’ll be sleeping wall to wall, then, no? I hope you don’t snore. The walls seem pretty thin and I’m such a light sleeper.”Troy Otto doesn’t seem like the person who’s very open to humor, with that grim look on his face and the dark eyes that scan Nick full of suspicion. The dark hair, even though appearing somewhat messy at first sight, has actually been groomed quite neatly, the short dark beard accurately trimmed. He’s grumpy, Nick thinks to himself immediately, and he’s vain.And indeed: Instead of countering Nick’s comment with a witty remark of his own, Troy simply takes a look at his (undoubtedly expensive) pocket watch, before slipping it back into his jacket. “You’re quite late, Mr. Clark. We were waiting for you, watching the food turn cold.”“Well, at least we’re all here now,” Marilla chips in amicably, nipping the emerging conflict in the bud before anything worse can happen. “Anne, will you fetch the potatoes?” *** Having supper with strangers as their guests is quite the different experience for Anne. Usually, the dining room is filled with merry chatting and laughter as they eat: Marilla complaining about Rachel’s gossiping, Anne telling them about her day at school or the ridiculous stories Diana and her had made up on their way home, Matthew listening with interest and a fond smile on his lips, giving wise advice whenever needed.Today, all that can be heard is the clinking of the silverware on the porcelain of the plates.Anne can’t accept it. Those two men are living and breathing books, having travelled this far to Canada, each one of them with their individual story. Anne simply can’t wait to explore them.“So, Mr. Clark,” she starts eventually, surprising everyone with the sudden start of a conversation. “You came here all the way from Los Angeles?”“I did,” the young man replies politely. “It was a long trip and I’m not too keen on spending so many hours on the train again anytime soon, but I made it.”“Why Avonlea?” Marilla suddenly asks – and Anne realizes immediately she’s only been waiting for an opportunity to find out more about their guests as well.“Pure chance, I guess,” Nick replies. “I wanted to do some travelling, get away from my all too familiar home.”“Like venturing into the unknown?!” Anne chimes immediately, eyes lighting up. These are the kinds of stories she’s interested in.“Exactly,” Nick replies, again with a chuckle at her excitement. “I found a job in Charlottetown, so I needed a place to stay. Then I spotted your ad in the newspaper.”“What kind of job did you find in Charlottetown?” Matthew wants to know.Nick turns his eyes to him. “I’m a pharmacist,” he explains. “And there was a job opening at Saint John’s Pharmacy down the main road.”“My, isn’t that wonderful!” Anne calls immediately. “Mr. Otto over here studies medicine. Maybe you can help each other out and share your knowledge for the sake of the sick and the injured?”“Medicine?” Nick turns his head to Troy. “That’s interesting. In New York?”“I’ve come here for my sabbatical,” Troy explains, without turning his eyes to Nick. “Complement theory with empirical insights. My main area of focus is cardiology, specifically.”“At the medical faculty of the University of New York?”“Exactly,” Troy confirms.“Interesting,” Nick nods, then turns back to his food. “Yes, maybe we can help each other out indeed sometime and benefit from each other’s knowledge.”“We’ll see,” Troy simply replies, putting a spoonful of stew in his mouth.Anne goes back to taking a few bites as well, even though she can hardly fight her grin. They are so lucky to get two modern, educated and knowledgeable men like those two as their tenants. There’s so much she might be able to learn from them. And Gilbert might be interested in discussing their expertise with them as well! She can’t wait to tell him.
Oh, this is going to be so great!
*** Later that evening, once supper was over, Nick Clark is standing outside the farmhouse, enjoying a cigarette after the good food. The Cuthberts would have been fine with him smoking inside, but to be honest, the cool and fresh air felt pretty nice. The fields and meadows before him lie there peacefully in the nightly darkness, a few crickets chirping in the distance.Troy Otto approaches him as he returns from the outhouse.“Lovely night, isn’t it?” Nick asks him, as the other man was just about to pass him without any further of acknowledgement. “The joys of rural life…”“I assume you’ve never lived on a farm before, Mr. Clark?” Troy asks, not without a hint of a huff in his voice as he speaks. “If you had, you wouldn’t idolize it like that.”“Oh, so you have?” Nick asks, raising his eyebrows at Troy as he takes another drag from the cigarette. “How peculiar. A farm boy who made it to university.”“Well, some of us work hard to live their dreams,” is all Troy replies to that, then turns away again and reaches for the door handle.“There is no medical faculty at the University of New York,” Nick informs him nonchalantly, without even batting an eyelash. “My sister is dreaming of studying medicine, no matter how unlikely. But she did her research.”Troy pauses in his movement. “Yeah?” he counters eventually, voice suddenly dark and menacing. “Maybe she really shouldn’t go for medicine, if she can’t even get a simple research like that right.”Nick doesn’t reply to that, simply blows a bulb of smoke into the nightly air.“Mr. Clark, Mr. Otto!” Anne’s voice suddenly reaches them from inside. “Will you join us for a game of Rummy?” Her head pops up in the door. “Oh, pleeease!! It would be the biggest pleasure for me if you said yes.”Nick shoots her a look over his shoulder, then stubs out the cigarette at the stone wall. “Oh, the pleasure would be all ours.”“Thank you!” Anne smiles at him happily, before hurrying back inside.Nick passes Troy, who’s now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed before his chest. He doesn’t make a move to follow him.“Come on, Mr. Otto. Why not get to know each other a little better over a game of cards?”Troy simply snorts at him. “Oh, I’m not here to make friends,” he points out.Nick shoots him a long, dark look, then replies, just as ominously: “Neither am I.” Before following Anne to the living room.