Chapter 7

Scarlett walked for many hours it seemed past the Fontaine homestead wishing that the boys would be seen riding from it at any moment on their way to Tara. Slowly she made her way home tears came easy out of her green eyes. For the first time she allowed them to flow. She cried for all those they had lost. She cried for all the times she had refused to cry in the past. She cried until every unshed tear had been shed. She wiped her eyes as she made her way up the path to Tara finally. As it turned out she had only been gone for an hour and a half. She could hear Suellen correcting Ella's pronounciation of a word as she read. She walked into the kitchen where Dilcey was preparing to go out and help in the fields. Scarlett asked her to wait for her to change clothes and she would go out and help as well. With out waiting for Dilcey to reply Scarlett ran down the hall and up to her room. She found an old dress she wore just after the war when she and the family faught to plant the field to save Tara. She quickly changed into it and was back with in a few minutes. She found Dilcey in the hall way downstairs waiting. The two women made her way to the field where Will and Pork had started to plant. Scarlett and Dilcey grabbed the two extra bags used for planting and picked their own row and started planting. Will looked up for a second a little surprised to see Scarlett working with them but just as quickly he went back to his own row. Scarlett worked through the afternoon heat never complaining about the hot sun. As they worked Wade finally came out with a bucket of water for the very thirsty workers. He gave each one a long drink of the gloriously cold water. Scarlett wiped her brow and thanked her son.

" Will where is my bag? I can help now" Wade asked.

" Scarlett has it." Will said then looking at Scarlett " Scarlett if you would like you can give your bag to Wade and he can finish for you."

"Wade why don't you go play for a while. I'll be fine working out here. Go fishing or just go play for a while." Scarlett told her bewildered son.

"You mean it? I can go fishing?" Wade said blinking. " Uncle Will may I?"

" If your Ma said so I reckon it would be just fine!" Will laughed. Wade ran off towards the barn to get his fishing rod. "Well I guess I will get my fish dinner after all" Will said.

They all went back to work. Will and Pork was on their fourth row while Dilcey and Scarlett only had two rows done. They were nearly done planting this field and would be starting the last field left as soon as they were done. Only three more rows to go. They worked diligently until each one were on the last row. Sighing as the last seed was sown, Scarlett stood up again. She could not believe that they had got so much done. It seemed such a daunting task when they had started. The four made their way back to the barn and reloaded their bags to be used the next day. Will had decided that they had worked hard enough for that day.

Scarlett went back to the house. She was so tired but starving at the same time. Mammy and Suellen and the kids were in the kitchen cooking supper.

"There you are Scarlett. I was wandering where you went off to. Wade came back an hour ago with more fish than we could ever wish to eat. He said that you told him to go fishing." Suellen said with a sparkle in her eye.

" I thought I'd do his work today so he could have some fun."

" He certainly had fun. Now he is in reading a book to Ella. Ella I'm afraid isn't a very good cook."

" that is ok She has time to learn." Scarlett laughed. " I'll be back I'm going to go and wash up and change out of these clothes."

Scarlett quickly went upstairs and changed into her favorite dress. She wanted to look nice tonight. As she left she picked up her shawl. She walked down the stairs listening to her son read his sister a story. Ella was riveted and didn't even notice her entrance. Wade looked up briefly and saw his mother smiling at him. He went back to the book smiling himself. Scarlett left the room and walked into the library. The room was unchanged as ever. It had less dust though. She was happy about that. Finally all those books were getting some use. Even though Scarlett was never a big reader she was glad to see Wade loved books. His Aunt Melly and Uncle Ashley will be a huge help with that. Scarlett thought to her self.

Finally she made her way to the kitchen. Suellen was talking to her daughters when Scarlett entered. Suellen looked up and smiled. " Suellen I need your advice. Should I talk to the children before or after dinner?"

" If you want to talk to them now I can have Mammy and Dilcey take over here for me. I think it would be best to talk to them now. And then we can tell the girls at dinner."

"Ok. But Suellen, I'm scared. What if they don't want to go?"

" We will deal with that when and if it comes. I think Ella will welcome it. She want to know you so much. Wade may be a little harder to convince. He really loves it here."

Mammy and Dilcey took over and the two women made their way down the hall to the parlor where the two children were reading together. Scarlett took a breath this was the moment that she had been waiting for two weeks for. She was nervous but proud to have her sister by her side through this. In a month from now I will be going home with my children. Scarlett smiled. It was finally going to happen.