Scarlett found that she had settled or resettled into life at Aunt Pitty's house. She was happy that she had not found herself back in her life at the Peachtree Street house. She still wasn't sure what had happened to her but she was going to seize this opportunity to turn her life around. There were so many different aspects of her life that she wanted to change she felt a little overwhelmed not knowing where to start. Her relationship with her children was terrible. Fixing things with Ella would be easy, she was still a baby. Her relationship with Wade would be more difficult. Wade was terribly frightened of Scarlett and he would often hide from her. Scarlett did not know what her son liked to do for fun; she had never bothered to try to find out before. Scarlett considered asking Melanie about Wade, but it made her feel foolish to admit she didn't know her own child. Scarlett tried to observe her son but she made him so nervous he would often just stand around like a statue when she was around.
Scarlett's reputation was something else that she wanted to fix. She could remember how sad and rejected Wade looked when he was not invited to Raoul Picard's birthday party. Scarlett vowed to stay away from the carpetbaggers and the scallywags this time around. She was going to miss them; she found them to be very entertaining. They didn't dwell on the past; most of them acted as if they didn't have a past. If Melanie was to be her only friend, then so be it. But the biggest problem with Scarlett's reputation was those cursed mills. Scarlett knew that everyone thought she unsexed herself by owning a successful business. If she could find a way to unload the mills, she would have. She considered hiring someone to take over her job, but she knew this would be a slap in the face to Ashley. If she hired someone else instead of having him take her job and putting the new person in charge of his mill, it would be like telling all of Atlanta that she found him incompetent. She did think that he was indeed very incompetent but she didn't want to drive a wedge into her friendship with Melanie. Scarlett also started to notice that Ashley almost always insured that the mill was empty when she came around to check on the business. Scarlett figured he could sense her change of emotion about him and was trying to get back into her favor. She needed to get rid of the mills as soon as she could. She would seek Rhett's advice when he returned. She knew that wanting to get rid of the mills would help her gain ground with Rhett. Not wanting to be tied to the mills and Ashley would prove that she no longer loved Ashley.
Scarlett tried to repair her reputation by getting involved in as many causes as she had time to support. It seemed to Scarlett that some widow, orphan or wounded soldier was always looking for a handout. She tried to donate to these people with as much grace as she could muster, but Rhett always told her that her face gave her away. Everyone could tell she didn't like giving up her money. The dowagers of Atlanta did not believe that Scarlett could or had changed. They all felt that Scarlett was feeling guilt over the way Frank was killed and soon enough she would go back to the cold hearted, selfish woman she always had been. None of the ladies could believe that someone from such a proud and honorable family would degrade themselves by not only having a job, but seeming to enjoy it as much as Scarlett did.
Besides Rhett, Melanie was one person that Scarlett had wronged the most. She had never been a true friend to Melanie and hadn't even appreciated her until it was much too late. Scarlett tried to figure out a way to do something for Melanie, but Melanie wanted for very little. Melanie was happy with her lot in life.
Scarlett tried writing Rhett romantic love letters, but beautiful poetic words did not come easily to Scarlett. She knew the letters came across brisk and businesslike. Rhett's letters on the other hand were very romantic and Scarlett wondered how that had escaped her attention before. Anyone reading the letters could clearly tell that the man writing them was desperately in love with the person the letters were intended for. Scarlett was angry over the fact that Rhett could write her a beautiful love letter, but when they were face to face he couldn't bring himself to say the words to her. She wondered if their marriage would have been different if she had known his true feelings for her from the start. She knew her blind devotion to Ashley had been a big issue in their marriage, but maybe knowing how Rhett felt would have made it easier to give up on dreams of Ashley.
Since money was one of the only things Scarlett could understand, she decided that when something had escaped her notice or she regretted something she had done she would put a gold coin in a jar. She wanted to see just how big a fool she had been all these years.
The only downside for Scarlett was she had a nagging feeling that she couldn't change the events that had happened in her life. She was beginning to worry that everything happens for a reason and she couldn't escape her fate. Worrying about the baby she lost, Bonnie's unfortunate accident, Melly dying and her marriage falling apart brought back her old nightmares. She knew now that the safety she was seeking in her nightmare was Rhett, but it didn't make the dream any less frightening. The longer Rhett was gone, the more she was convinced everything was going to be the same. Since Rhett was still out of town, Scarlett went to Melanie to seek comfort.
Scarlett knocked on the Wilkes front door. Melanie opened the door and Scarlett wrapped her sister in law in her arms in a friendly hug. Every time she saw Melanie since being sent back, she took the opportunity to hug her.
"Oh, Scarlett darling, it is so wonderful to see you," Melanie said with a warm smile. They saw each other every day, but this was always Melanie's greeting. Originally, this had annoyed Scarlett to no end; she couldn't believe that anyone could always be that warm and caring. Scarlett decided she would put a coin in her jar for thinking that Melanie was anything but genuine. Melly showed Scarlett to the parlor and asked Dilcey to bring them some tea.
"Melly, do you think you can change your fate?" Melanie paused and gave Scarlett's question serious thought.
"Well, dear sister, no I don't think you can. Things happen for a reason and as painful as they can be when the reasons are revealed to you a powerful lesson can often be learned."
"Oh," was all Scarlett had to say. Melanie saw her sister's face fall and she looked close to tears.
"What's prompted such a question?" Melanie loved Scarlett dearly, but she was not one to wonder about things such as fate. Scarlett was logical and lived in the now, Melanie couldn't believe that Scarlett would be scared that something horrible loomed in her future. Scarlett was the bravest person she knew.
"Um…I don't really know, Melly. It's just something that has been on my mind recently." She didn't know how to explain the truth to Melly. She had wanted to tell her the truth since she found herself here, but she knew that if Melly came to her claiming to be from the future she would think that she had gone mad. She wanted to cry over Melly's answer to her question. She couldn't let herself believe that her children and Melly couldn't be saved and that her marriage to Rhett was destined to fall to pieces. Scarlett was no stranger to working hard for something that she wanted. She had to believe that she had been given a second chance for a reason; she was determined to give herself the life she thought she deserved.
Melanie saw the distress her sister was in and wrapped her arm around Scarlett's waist.
"Scarlett, you are the bravest person I have ever known. You always do what you have to do to survive. Yes, other people might not always think that your ways are right. But I know everything you do comes from a good place in your heart. I don't know what you think you have done to think that fate has something terrible in store for you, but I don't believe it. And darling, if something horrible does befall you be comforted with the fact that every time you met a crisis, you emerge stronger and more resilient."
Scarlett stared at Melanie and wondered what she had ever done to deserve such blind faith from another person. She knew she could tell Melanie dozens of secrets that would cause Melanie never to be able to look at Scarlett in the same light ever again. Scarlett didn't say anything; she needed Melanie to lean on. Scarlett gave Melanie another quick hug and made her way back to Aunt Pitty's house.
A telegram was waiting for Scarlett when she got home. It was from Rhett and it stated that he would be back by the end of the week.