July 2012 (Anne wrote this diary entry a few days after the events in chapter 39 of "By a Simple Twist of Fate")

Dear Diary,

Life in Ingleside has (once again) been too busy to allow me much time for writing in your pages. But I'm determined to write at least a bit today while sitting outside enjoying this gorgeous summer weather. Hopefully I won't get too distracted by the birds and their intricate chorus!

As I briefly scribbled here a few nights past, Gilbert, Rilla, and I arrived a week ago and the others trickled in after that. I must say, it is a bit odd to be here with our kids and grandkids without Mum, Marilla and John. It feels like there is a bit of a void – especially without Marilla competing with Joy for the ownership of the kitchen!

Three days before we came out to Ingleside, Ken's advance team of security officers received the house and shed keys from John Meredith so they could make their inspection. We had already given them permission to update the locks for the windows and doors if needed (without switching the windows/doors out for bulletproof versions, of course). When we met with the PPOs the afternoon we arrived, they showed us the improved window and door locks. They did a great job cleaning up…no repair mess anywhere. They also pointed out to us a few bushes they needed to trim back for better visibility. (My thought: "Sure, you can do as much of our yard work as you want to do!") They also requested permission to improve the exterior lighting (which is something we have long wanted to do anyway).

I appreciated the respect they showed us by waiting for our approval before commencing with the work. Of course, technically we could have said "NO" but then they'd probably inform us that Ken would not be allowed to stay here…which Rilla would definitely object to! Can you imagine her expression?

Back in May, I saw a number of Ken's PPOs in the shadows in NYC at the restaurant and concert, so I wondered if I would recognize the "early birds" who came to evaluate the Ingleside security set up. When they arrived to meet with us on Friday, I quickly remembered Hanson (the officer who Rilla really feels comfortable with and who was the one to greet us in the back alley as we arrived at the restaurant). The second officer is named Butcher and is new to the team. Instinctively, I want to call them either "Mr. Hanson" and "Mr. Butcher" or simply use their first names, but that is not apparently how it works.

Even now that the rest of the security force is here, it seems that Hanson is the assigned liaison between the security team and our family. He is quite nice! He and his wife are expecting their first child this fall. I would enjoy visiting with him more but learned from Joy that this isn't a good idea. Joy told me that she offered to invite Ken's PPOs to join the group when Ken was there for dinner at her place that first time. Ken explained that he doesn't get any choice about the PPOs presence (like it or not), that he doesn't hang out with them as friends, and that they are well paid for doing their jobs. (There are many parts of Ken's life that are just so surreal.) Even with their professional distance, I can tell that Rilla is much warmer to some of the PPOs than Ken is – especially Hanson. I heard her offering Hanson some suggestions of places on the Island that he should explore when he is off duty.

Anyway, back to the family being at Ingleside. We arrived Sunday afternoon, then Jem and Faith and Monday showed up on Monday (appropriately enough). On Tuesday, Joy and Dan and the kids arrived – and they had Shirley with them (instead of him coming on Wednesday with the other kids). Shirley ended up being on the same connection with Joy's family from Toronto to Halifax, so it worked well for them to drive together. Lastly, Di, Nan and Jerry, and Walter got here on Wednesday evening after meeting up at the Halifax airport that afternoon.

Given the events that have happened this year with Joy's job, the tax investigation, and the stress from the media scrutiny, I was relieved to see that the kids all quickly returned to their normal behavior with each other. No matter how old they get, we see the same patterns of picking on (as well as protecting) their siblings. I purposely played my "mom card" and requested that we have whole family game nights together this year (instead of breaking up into smaller groups). Playing charades, Pictionary, and Trivial Pursuit was a good way for everyone to reacclimate to each other. It also has been fun to see Ken join in – how he has relaxed and how everyone else seems to be seeing him as Rilla's boyfriend rather than a celebrity.

There certainly was a sense of waiting for the curtain to rise during those days before Ken arrived. Although everyone was having fun together, the atmosphere was charged with a slight underlying feeling that the main event wouldn't truly start this year until Ken got here. Thankfully, the press who had followed Rilla to the Island all gave up and left after a few days. I bet they regretted that! Their absence lightened the mood and gave us all the freedom to do outdoor activities without fear of being photographed. (I think Rilla and Joy's family are the only ones who have gotten "used to" the constant presence of cameras. The rest of us have a harder time ignoring them.)

Thinking back about when Ken stepped out of the kitchen door to meet all of the family, I can't help but compare that to how he regularly meets people at various functions. He walked out of the door laughing at something Rilla said, but I could quickly see a mask of formality rise into place as he looked out at everyone who were suddenly quiet and staring at him. In itself, that would be normal (people stare and point at him everywhere he goes) – but it wasn't normal at the same time. These were his girlfriend's family and friends…and I'd guess he just wished he could meet them like a "normal" person.

I have to give kudos to Izzie for accidentally breaking the tension when she ran up to him and gripped his legs tightly while demanding a movie. I wish I had been in a position to see Joy's expression at that point. But in any case, Izzie's comfortable familiarity with Ken seemed to instantly break the ice for the rest of the family. As the evening progressed, I could see Ken removing the mask more and more.

And over the last few days, Ken has definitely relaxed considerably! At first, I noticed that if he wasn't near Rilla, Ken would seek out Izzie or Monday. But now he just wanders in and out of the conversations like we all do. He's also been helping Gilbert and "the boys" with some of the household repairs they decided to do. Thanks to their collective efforts, we have new ceiling fans in several rooms. (I wonder if his security team knew that Ken was up on a ladder…?)

I talked with Marilla yesterday about the details of the family reunion she is organizing for the extended Blythe family this weekend. Obviously, she's anxious about hosting a member of the Royal Family at her home despite knowing that he's Rilla's boyfriend. I'm sure she feels that having an outdoor summer picnic is a very inadequate way to host royalty! But introducing Ken to Davy and Dora (with their polar opposite families) as well as to Aunt Mary Maria Blythe will be much easier in that casual setting versus at a formal meal.

Marilla asked a question that leaves me a bit unsure. She knows the reasons that Rilla and Ken have for being wary of public photography (considering how she and John have been monitoring the media coverage of Rilla these past months). However, Marilla is wondering if there is any way of quietly grabbing a photo with her, John, Rilla, and Ken to add to her photo albums of their grandchildren. Personally, I don't think it should be a problem to take an informal photo of the four of them, especially seeing as how Di is going through a photography phase right now and taking pictures every time we turn around this week. (I'd actually like one of Gilbert and me with Ken and Rilla, too.) The only issue would be getting the picture printed – since it obviously couldn't be printed at a normal store. But…Shirley does have that expensive printer we bought him when he started at Georgia Tech last year. So, we could have him put it to good use to print the photo and send it to his grandparents. Hmmm, writing about this here makes me realize that Marilla's request shouldn't be a problem as long as Rilla and Ken are willing. I will mention it to them tomorrow and see what they think.

Oh, did I already mention here that Mum has rescheduled her return flights so that she will arrive in time for Marilla's picnic? I'm not sure where Mum has arranged to stay but it appears that her curiosity to meet Ken has been raised sufficiently for her to change her plans. She promised me (and Rilla) that she won't interrogate or interview Ken as she would do if she was wearing her "journalist" hat. She insists that she will be wearing her "grandmother" hat and will behave as any (non-typical) grandmother would. I think that is supposed to be reassuring?

I will write more later. I want to tell you about some of the outdoor things (beach, bikes, hiking) that we all got to do during Ken's first few days here – without photographers around! Can you imagine the groans from the paps who had been here but then left because it didn't seem to be worth it to continue stalking Rilla…only to learn that Ken had snuck in during their absence? The joke was certainly on them!

But I need to go inside now since it is almost time for Joy's taffy pull. She has decided that instead of going to the store to buy taffy from the PEI Salt Water Taffy Company, we should make our own so that Ken can participate in this element of island life. It has been years since we've done this as a family. I hope this taffy pull goes better than when we last tried it. The kids were all still quite young back then…and I just remember trying to get taffy out of everyone's hair! I probably should suggest to Joy that we pull Izzie's hair back…

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- - - Anne's Diary - - - Anne's Diary - - - Anne's Diary - - -

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Author's Note:

There is certainly a lot more "scope for imagination" about Ken's visit to Ingleside than what I covered here. With the press following Ken to Glen St. Mary, some of the normal activities Anne's family would do might be hindered. So…I wimped out and decided to end it at this point with just hints of the "beach, bikes, hiking" that they did. If I keep writing much more about Ken's visit to Ingleside, I'll never get "Anne's Diary" moving forward to Oxford and beyond!

However, if you'd like to know more about the happenings on PEI during Ken's visit, please go back and read chapters 15 and 16 of "Royal Correspondent" by OriginalMcFishie. She did a great job interweaving familiar AOGG canon names/places with many happenings that she created to fit in with kslchen's "By a Simple Twist of Fate" AU.

As always, I'd love to hear from you – to hear what you like or don't like about this story.