A.N. So I was watching Father of the Bride (1991 version) last night and I was inspired to write this as I took a break from working on my other story. Please read and review. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. Without Margaret Mitchell, this work would not exist. I do not own any part of Gone With The Wind and no money is being made from this story.
Today had almost not happened. Correction. The day would have happened but he had almost missed it. He had often accused his wife of throwing away happiness with both hands but he had nearly done the same thing.
His whole life would have been meaningless if not for his wife and his children. He had almost walked away from them. And today was about as close to a perfect day as he could ask for.
It also clearly showed him what was important in life and that everything else meant nothing. The other countless, nameless, meaningless women had been futile and stupid. They would never bring him what she had brought to his life: happiness, meaning, acceptance and most importantly, love.
The money he had amassed from the moment he'd been thrown out of his father's home had shown his father that he hadn't destroyed his son or won their very public war. He enjoyed watching his wife spend his ill-gotten funds on herself, their children, their home, and this spectacular day. He couldn't resist the women in his life especially now that he knew he had Scarlett's heart.
The adventures he had experienced as a young, carefree and reckless bachelor had paled once the children had been old enough for them to leave behind so they could travel and he could show her the world. Revisiting places he had long ago explored on his own with his wife had given him a new perspective on life and appreciation for all the joys that it held. Seeing the world through her eyes had rejuvenated him.
It was bittersweet that the campaign that he had started for the sake of their daughter Bonnie was helping another of his children. His wife had also spent years working tirelessly to claim a place amongst Atlanta's old guard. She had succeeded in ways he could not have imagined. And today, Atlanta had experienced a wedding like no one had ever seen. The day was flawless
His daughter, Ella, was married and Rhett Butler was the lucky man to give her away.
Rhett looked around the ballroom of the Peachtree Street house. Correction. Home. After many years Scarlett and he had finally created a warm, welcoming and loving home. The thick, red, wall to wall carpeting had long been replaced. The ornately carved walnut furniture and the dark window hangings had disappeared. The dark wall coverings were removed and the filter mirrors had all come down.
The Butler house was now home.
The third-floor ballroom sparkled with crystal glasses filled with champagne, people chatting excitedly in dazzling new gowns and tuxedos. Soft music wafted through the air. There had been a time, long ago, when no one had used this room. He was happy to see the room filled with many of the most important people in his life minus two: his mother and his Bonnie Blue.
Even in a room full of laughing, happy people the memories of his baby girl Bonnie came flooding back. A beautiful, precocious girl with a smile that could melt one's heart. His heart had not melted but had been stolen from the moment she had been placed in his arms. It took years after her death to reclaim it. For a time he had believed that her death had destroyed his heart but slowly Scarlett had repaired it and the girls had almost fully healed him. Had she lived Bonnie's wedding would be next.
Rhett still struggled to contain the pain that he felt when he thought about Bonnie. Sometimes the pain was acute and it felt like his heart was being clenched by some unseen hand. Other days the pain was duller. She would have been seventeen and like her sister the belle of the ball and ultimately, a beautiful young bride.
Rhett lit a cigar and inhaled deeply. He had almost missed this.
He hoped that Ella's marriage was perfect. His was anything but flawless. Both he and Scarlett were passionate and stubborn fools. The first few years of their marriage had nearly destroyed them but they were finally genuinely happy. It had taken time but they had survived.
They still fought but Rhett smiled as he remembered that Scarlett rarely ever threw things at him anymore. She forced him to stay and they seldom, if ever, left a room angry with each other and they never went to sleep without solving their problems. They asked questions and they listened to each other. It had taken time and hard work but their marriage had been worth it.
Looking around the room at the guests, Rhett suddenly felt emotionally exhausted. This had been a perfect but difficult day. Some memories refused to stay buried. He knew he should probably seek out his wife and make the rounds greeting guests but he felt paralyzed.
There was little doubt that Scarlett was somewhere in the room greeting and flirting with her guests, complimenting their wives' gowns, ensuring that everyone was having a good time and that this day would be talked about for years or at least until the next time the Butler's hosted a wedding. He felt the seventeen year age difference more now than at any other time since he'd meet her.
He looked around the room until his breath caught as he made contact with those stunning green orbs that had bewitched him the day of a long-ago barbeque and countless days and sultry nights since. She smiled at him and wondered how he had ever imagined that his love had died or that she could be in love with anyone else. He had never seen her look at any man the way she looked at him, especially tonight. He smiled her and thought about how beautiful she still was. She was by far the most beautiful woman in the room. Her waist was still tiny and her figure still flattering after each of her pregnancies.
As he thought about it, he wondered if he would change anything about his life. That day in the library of Twelve Oaks had changed the very course of his life. It anchored and altered him. He should have proposed then and there and convinced Scarlett to marry him. He should have told her he loved her despite the paralyzing fear of rejection. But then things would have been so different. His son Wade wouldn't be here.
He should have promised to get her the money for the taxes at Tara but then she wouldn't have married Frank. His daughter Ella wouldn't be here. Rhett wanted to change everything and nothing. They had caused each other so much pain but here they were indestructible and happy. A single unit. The Butlers had gone from scandalous to respectable. Most of the time that was true.
He would tell his younger self to love Scarlett openly. She was unlike any woman he had ever met in his life. Everything that people criticized her for including her independence, her stubbornness, and her determination were the very things he loved most about her. Her 'faults' simply disguised how much she cared about the people that she loved.
Rhett watched Scarlett sip her champagne as she stood talking to Ashley's new wife. He vividly remembered his wife during their honeymoon and the champagne that had made her tipsy and allowed her to drop any inhibitions. He should have taken greater advantage of those moments.
He and Ashley would never be friends. They spoke when necessary but they would never be close. Too much had happened for that but Rhett felt no jealousy as he watched his wife stand there talking to him and laughing with the new wife.
He watched Scarlett and realized how relaxed she looked. Their daughter was newly married and he felt slightly ill at the prospect. Scarlett had evidently learned to hide her emotions well. Being married to him had probably helped. His many faces of indifference had been great examples for her.
Maybe it was his destiny to have daughters. Tonight was not the first time he wished he had behaved himself a little more as a young man. Now that he had daughters he regretted some of his interactions with the fairer sex.
Rhett shifted his gaze until he saw his daughter. Ella had grown into her beauty and was a stunningly beautiful young woman just like her mother. He thought about Frank Kennedy and silently thanked him for Ella. Poor Frank had hardly spent any time with Ella before his death. Frank's loss had been Rhett's gain.
He watched his daughter dance with her new husband. Her smile radiant, her eyes twinkling and not a concern in her mind.
But for Rhett, Ella had been his child even when still growing in her mother's womb, placed there by another man. He had pretended it was his child growing in Scarlett from the moment he had become aware of her existence. Ella was his.
He had known her entire life and had been there for every milestone. Now his little girl was a woman who belonged to another man. He did not know how he could do this two more times. Ella was no longer a little girl. Today she was a bride and soon she would be a mother. He would be a grandfather soon.
He remembered holding her for the first time on Pitty's porch and instantly falling in love because she was Scarlett's. Now he knew he had fallen in love because she would become his little girl.
Rhett thought about the little girl who constantly talked and couldn't stay on any one topic as a child. Today she was so poised and mature. The little girl who had sat in his lap, climbed into his arms, fallen asleep with her head on his chest, who had run to him when she hurt herself would now find comfort with another man.
He remembered her crying in Scarlett's arms when the young man she fancied, got engaged to another girl. Only Scarlett's words had restrained him from challenging the young man to a duel for daring to break his daughter's heart. Scarlett smiled knowingly.
Then Ella and her new husband, James, were in front of him.
"Thank you, papa, for everything. This was such a perfect day."
Today's memory of giving her away to her new husband was still so fresh that Rhett could only smile and found that he could not say more than "I love you, Ella."
She took his hand in hers and shifted on her toes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I love you too, papa."
The room fell silent and Scarlett was beside him, tucking her arm around his.
"To my beautiful Ella and her husband James." He raised his glass and looked around the room to the many faces of people he had never thought he could call his fr.
He looked directly at Scarlett.
"Just make sure you do the opposite of everything your mother and I did when you were little and you will be fine, my beautiful girl."
"Rhett Butler, you are a scoundrel," Scarlett joked loudly.
The room broke out in laughter and applause.
And then Ella was gone, whisked away once again onto the dance floor by her new husband. Rhett would not be responsible for his actions if anyone ever hurt his little girl. Her new husband was a good man and Rhett really had no worries. Ella had chosen well.
But with her went a piece of his heart. Another piece is gone. He would lose a little more when his youngest daughters were married.
Scarlett handed him a pouch that had been hidden in her hands.
"What's this?" Rhett asked, examining it.
"A hundred and fifty dollars," Scarlett smiled as he shook the pouch. "but not in gold."
His laughter filled the room.
"I'd like to bid to dance with my husband. Do you think it'll be enough or will someone bid more for the scoundrel?"
"I think you're safe, Scarlett," Rhett replied. "I can use this to replenish our bank account, Mrs. Butler."
"We do have two more daughters to marry off." Scarlett teased.
When his wife was finally in his arms he saw that her eyes held tears. She was still the beautiful southern belle he had fallen in love with so many years ago.
Rhett Butler finally realized how lucky he was.