Charleston

Rhett Butler sat in the lobby of the Grand Hotel late in the evening, stretching his long legs on the ottoman before him. He was sipping brandy and reflecting on his life in the past few months, since leaving Scarlett and his life with her behind.

Although he had more or less made peace with his family, he found he liked being alone now, without having to be polite company to his mother and sister. He had grown fond of them, to be sure, but since he'd come back to Charleston and gotten to know them all over again, he was reminded that they had very little in common. He had felt like an outsider with them growing up, and he felt like an outsider now. In his quest for tranquility and stability, their endless chatter about outings, his sister's silly friends, town gossip, social gatherings, and county happenings had been slightly amusing, almost comforting in its monotony. Now they were just tiresome. Another reminder that he was in a place where he didn't belong. And his mother, though loving and obviously well meaning, treated him as a young boy who needed to be taken care of in his woe, and it was stifling. He knew there were other men who liked being mothered, even by their wives, but he detested it. He has moved out of their house just this morning, despite his mother's concern about him going off and being lonesome, so soon after the loss of his beloved child; but thanking her for her kindness to him, he gently let her know he needed his own space and new surrounding to proceed with his life.

Where did he belong? Well, that was an excellent question, he though, as he lit a cigar and took a deep drag. When he left his house with Scarlett in Atlanta, which he had since named House of Horrors from the looks of the house and bad memories, he knew that was the last place he needed to be. He had to escape from there. His life with Scarlett was over, and he could no longer abuse himself and be faced with the visual reminders of Bonny all around. His mother's house was tolerable for awhile, but ultimately, it suffocated him. Briefly, he had though of his original idea to perhaps go to Europe, but he couldn't summon up the mental energy to embark on the long journey, so that idea was quickly dismissed. He needed to be around strangers right now, people who he could casually associate with, but who would require nothing more from him than he cared to give. So with its endless stream of people coming and going, moving in and out of town for days or a week at a time, enabling him to be alone without really being so, the hustle and bustle of the Grand Hotel seemed to fit the bill for the time being.

With his newfound freedom at being away from his kin, he thought he might enjoy a little recreation. With his ability to make quick casual friends through his smooth, easy conversation and innate charm, he'd perhaps find out where there was a card game going on, and maybe enjoy some feminine companionship later.

He had been without a woman since his last visit to Belle's place, and he knew that even if he ever went back to Atlanta in the future, that he'd never frequent the brothel again. It didn't hold the excitement and comfort it had in the past, with the same old drama, same whore. Oh, there was always a bevy of new girls there. Bell was astute enough to know she needed new blood to keep the men visiting regularly. However, they were all the same when it came down to it. They were trained very well in their craft, and his adventures there had usually been pleasurable, but in his later visits, he left with feelings of emptiness. It had never bothered him before, or at least back then, it hadn't mattered. But now it did, and the last thing he needed was to feel more hollow and numb than he already did.

But he was not so numb that he didn't feel the urge to be with a woman again. However, this time, not one of the regulars from a whore house. He wanted something fresh, an independent…a pretty, generous girl he might be able to find around the hotel. Not a problem for him, he smiled mildly to himself. He could always charm women enough so that their knees shook all the way to his bed. No woman had ever turned him away.

Except one.