Chapter 21. Friends and Old Songs
Rhett – July 1875, New York
For the next few days, as a cordial friend and a polite guest in the Wright house, Rhett was on his best behavior just as he had sworn himself to be. He was observing how Scarlett was interacting with the children, after more than two years it was a rare opportunity to be had. He sensed the closeness of the mother and the children, but he had to see it with his own eyes.
Of course, he came to see the children, as he had told Scarlett. Staying with the children, seeing their playing, laughing, crying or simply running around, the memory of Bonnie playing with them always came up, and it still hurt. But these were happy memories, much happier comparing with what he had had when he was drunk, alone and stupor, caged in a dark room. Wood splitting, his own screaming, Bonnie's lifeless body, and her gravestone. No, he'd rather remember Bonnie's lovely voice and smiles through her brother and sister, than whatever delirium he had in his black hole. The pain was still there but less sharp and less devastating, sometimes it had become more bittersweet when he saw the smiling faces of the children.
Wade and Ella had so much fun in the summer house from what Rhett could see. Michael, without his older brothers' presence, allowed all of the house rules to be relaxed, all formality had gone out the windows, which literally were too many in the summer house. An army of children, Wade, Ella, Leo, Lillian, and other relatives of the Wright family and neighbor kids, were swimming, jumping and laughing on the beach during the day, and singing and dancing around the campfire during the night. Michael led this exciting throng of litter mobs, sweaty, tanned, wet and ragged, Rosemary followed behind the flocks to round up the loose goslings, even Scarlett lost her stiffness around the children, hovering around and comforting those who cried at being left out occasionally.
Much more relaxed and jubilant in this surrounding, Wade and Ella became unrestrained, became the children who could freely express their affections and emotions. There were times Rhett noted, Wade or Ella stopped playing, looked around until they found their mother, and then a glance and a smile were exchanged between both sides. Or the children ran to their mother and hugged her impulsively. In return, Scarlett embraced them, kissed them, straightened Wade's shirt, or combed Ella's unruly auburn curls, then the children went back to their friends. These sentiment interactions were the confirmation they needed from time to time that they still had each other.
Indeed Scarlett had displayed her motherly love adequately, for that Rhett had to admit, though her motherly instinct was never as natural or tender as Miss Melanie's. And it only came to her after they had lost a daughter, Rhett sighed.
He noticed that the spontaneity of the love and the belonging that were flowing between the mother and the children was almost the same as he had with his dear Bonnie, but never achieved between him and the children, and was non-existent between him and Scarlett.
The tender love, the lost love, and the love that never had a chance to be freely expressed were all he had witnessed, remembered, or had imagined.
…
As for the interactions among Scarlett, Rosemary and Michael, Rhett could see they were friendly and candid, with no obvious hidden agenda. On the surface, the relationships between Scarlett and Michael or between Rosemary and Michael were more like any of those between pretty women and handsome men, they flirted and flattered each other in good nature. At times when discussing more serious matters such as business, children, literature, or women's suffrage, they friendly exchanged their opinions without worry of repercussion, and they did not demean or criticize each other cruelly. Michael's smooth maneuvering had softened the sharp edges of both Scarlett and Rosemary. Rosemary's unwavering idealistic notion about the world did not conflict, but rather compensate for the practical mind of Scarlett. Both Michael and Rosemary had managed to lead Scarlett open to other's opinions without humbling her. He could see that Scarlett had rightly found and appreciated the friendship with Michael and Rosemary and vice versa.
When Rosemary invited Rhett to see the samples they bought for the bridal catalogs, Scarlett did not object. This was the area Scarlett used to listen to his opinion when they were married and on amicable terms. He patiently looked at each item Rosemary displayed, linens and silks, bonnets and gloves, handkerchiefs and shawls, china and silver, boots and slippers all packed in four large trunks. Some were elegant and subtle, others were beautiful and delicate, but many were bold and flagrant. He knew what Rosemary would select for herself, and what Michael would buy for his sisters or nieces.
"Rhett, what do you think about these items? You see, we have selected many different styles for different customers." Pointing to those linens with various patterns, Rosemary smiled and said merrily, "Scarlett knows which kind will be a good sale."
Rhett looked at the items, then glanced at Rosemary and Scarlett, smirked but kept silent. This was not the time to take a side, he knew.
Scarlett's eyes sparkled, and her red lips pouted. When she saw Rhett did not respond, she chirped, "Oh, Fiddle-dee-dee, Rosemary, I have owned a store for almost ten years, haven't I? I know what will sell in the South!"
"My dear Miss Scarlett, none of us have forgotten that fact. Rosemary is complimenting your expertise in this area. So do I, and Rhett too." Michael interjected effortlessly. His smooth manner seemed to have soothed Scarlett tremendously.
"Michael, you are a darling, aren't you? How can we get on without you?" Scarlett giggled, patting Michael's arm affectionately, and then looked at Rhett triumphantly.
…
Michael's sister, Bess and her husband Brian, came to visit one afternoon to spend their time with Rhett, Rosemary, and Scarlett, a day before Rhett met the whole gang of the Wright family.
Even though they were old friends of Rhett and knew him well, Rhett never told them about Scarlett. Anything they knew about her probably came from Michael. Rhett had no intention to launder out all the dirty details or lay blame on himself or Scarlett, not even to Michael who might have figured out a few facts himself. While, as far as Rhett could see, both Bess and Brian were very fond of Scarlett. They treated her with respect just the same as they did with Rosemary, but their topics of conversation did not just stop at general social events in the North and the South as they had with Rosemary. They skillfully led the flow of the conversation to the topics Scarlett knew well and had more interest in.
When Bess said their oldest son Branson had just come back from the grand tour in Europe after graduating from Harvard, Scarlett's eyes lit up. She asked for details like she approached all of her business matters, how to apply to Harvard, how many years of study, how much it cost, and how to make arrangements for the grand tour; one question led to another. Bess and Brian patiently explained to her and promised they would help her when Wade came to age.
Rhett was glad that Scarlett was making an effort for Wade's future, but somehow he could not hold back his habit to tease her a bit. "Scarlett, do you plan to send Wade to Harvard, among the Yankees?"
She looked at him quizzically as if she did not understand why he mentioned Yankees at this moment, and then she smiled with her red lips pursed and emerald eyes blinking animatedly, "Oh dear OLD Rhett, you must have forgotten that Charles GRADUATED from Harvard, then he went on the Grand Tour in Europe, haven't you?"
Michael and Brian chortled when they heard Scarlett emphasize OLD Rhett and GRADUATED, and looked at Rhett merrily.
Always proud of his free spirit that could not be confined to any institution, Rhett was never ashamed of his expulsion from West Point, and his success without a degree or a penny to start with. But a comparison of him with her first husband on academic accomplishment still did not sit well with him. Well, his own fault, he called this insult upon himself.
Not waiting for his response, Scarlett said sweetly and firmly, "Wade must go to Harvard like his father, Yankee school or not!"
"Well, well," Michael interjected, pat Rhett's shoulder lightly and said, "you Southerners came to the North for school and then went back to your homes and still hated our Northerners just the same. Let's just hope there will be no more war between us."
Rosemary followed the suit and said lightly, "Hey, we don't hate you, we just hate the war. I am so glad the war has been long over now. Let us not talk about it." She turned to Bess and smiled like a little sister, "Bess darling, tell us about your daughter's wedding, please. Scarlett just held a wedding for her sister. We'd love to know about the coming out party of your daughter and her splendid wedding we all have heard about."
Bess and Brian's only daughter, Brianna, was a debutante who came out two years ago. After her first season, she married into an old respected family in Boston, a very successful match that Bess and Brian were extremely proud of. Three ladies sat together, chatting about the debutantes and cotillion balls of the Northern society, matching and courting, marriage proposal and acceptance, trousseau and wedding gifts, wedding and reception, and on and on. They compared the process of the North with that of the South and found a few differences and more similarities.
The chatting was endless and winding, from small planning to large events, the ladies laughed and groaned for each trivial error in the matches and the huge relief that the families experienced when the wedding was finally completed. Laughing, giggling and crying!
During their chat, Scarlett and Rosemary were feverishly writing down more items for their bridal catalog. Seeing the list getting longer, Michael couldn't hold himself from teasing, "My dear ladies, would you believe it is fair that you prepare so many beautiful items for a bride, but none for a groom?"
Seeing the ladies were startled by his question, he grinned and added on, "you must have something for the groom too. He will be the one to provide for the bride after the marriage. He deserves something nice too, doesn't he?"
"What items do you gentleman have in mind when you already have everything?" Rosemary frowned.
Scarlett shrugged, "Cigar case, trouser belt, pocket watch, or cuff links." Her sparkling eyes glanced at Rhett quickly, then moved away.
Rhett recognized a few among those that she had gifted to him during their marriage. A small cigar case in his breast pocket, from Scarlett during their honeymoon. He still carried it around, and never thought to replace it. Occasionally he read the engraved print inside the case:
"To my darling husband Rhett, with love, your Scarlett."
He knew she didn't love him at the time, but she was happy she could freely buy many gifts for her family and a few for him. And of course, she was the happiest when she received a gift from him, so many through the years. He still could see her youthful face, sparkling eyes, full of health and a happy glow during their honeymoon in New Orleans.
"But, look at them, do they look like someone who really needs anything? God's nightgown! They have everything, they don't need anything more." Rosemary said comically.
Scarlett, Michael, Brian and Bess all laughed uncontrollably. They all knew where "God's nightgown" came from, Rhett thought bemusedly.
Scarlett stopped laughing, and patted Rosemary's arm, "Oh, darling Rosemary, you are so right on. Anything more for them would be wasteful. Perhaps a dozen of handkerchiefs or a bow tie would do well for these men. Well, I think, we should ask young lads what they like and want, they will be more excited for what they will receive." She blinked her eyes animatedly and tried to hold on to her laughter. After a few seconds, she gave up and giggled at her own joke.
Holding her smile, Bess said lightly, "Well, I agree with young ladies, Michael, your three are too wealthy, stubborn and too ooooh old." She dragged the word "old" for too long. Then she turned to Rosemary and Scarlett, "But should you two ladies take into consideration that these grumpy old men may be more appreciative of the gifts they received?"
She stopped, glanced at one man to another, all three were unknowingly nodding their head. Rosemary and Scarlett held their smile too, looking at Bess curiously.
Then Bess smirked, and said melodramatically, "because, because, they receive so few gifts in their twilight years! These poor souls!"
Rosemary and Scarlett roared in a loud girly laughter. They laughed so hard and hurriedly found themselves in need for handkerchiefs. Michael effortlessly produced two from his pocket, one for each lady.
Brian shrugged his shoulder, and said, "Michael, what can I say, it is all your fault. You bring this on yourself and drag us into it."
"Oh, Brian, what harm is that? We shall allow the ladies to have a bit of fun, shall we? Even at our expense," Michael grinned.
Brian asked again, "What were you thinking, Michael? If you have more to say, I believe Mrs. Wright will come back to the house right this moment."
"Oh, no, no, I prefer Mother stay where she is. I have no intention to disturb her peaceful rest," Michael said in a false distressed tone.
"I don't think Mother would mind if she had to make a day trip. And I don't believe anyone else in the family would mind either," Bess said mildly.
There was a tale of the Wright family. Before her passing ten years ago, Michael's mother promised she would visit at the time of Michael's wedding, no matter where and when she or he was. Rhett knew about it, but he didn't know if Rosemary or Scarlett were aware of it. His glance landed on Michael, Scarlett, and then Rosemary, thinking about what all this meant.
Rosemary exchanged a glance with Scarlett, then said, "From a business point of view, a splendid idea to have a groom catalog. Only we must ask young gentlemen for what they would like to have for the wedding. Scarlett darling, do you think so?"
"Of course, we shall, my dear Rosemary. I am glad you could see this from a business sense, and not afraid to hurt someone's feelings." Scarlett still could not hold on to her giggles. "Well, a few items suggested by older gentlemen could also be considered. Do you agree, Michael darling? You won't be hurt by what we just said, would you?"
"Absolutely not, my dear. Considering my big loving family, I have suffered more than this, Brian and Rhett have been witnesses for years. Thirty years by my dear mother, then two sisters, two sisters-in-law, three grown up nieces and three little ones. Adding two more sisters? No problem at all." Waving his hand, patting his chest, he chuckled.
"I am glad you include us into YOUR family list, darling Michael!" Rosemary huffed, glanced at Michael then Rhett as if there was another list that she was not keen to get on.
Scarlett smiled mildly and nodded her head. "Rosemary darling, we are talking about the business. Sometimes grumpy OLD men do have good ideas. Only we must differentiate the genuine good suggestions, from not so brilliant ideas and occasionally even mean pranks for the purpose for belittling poor ladies." Her eyes stared at Rhett silently and then moved away.
"Talking about business, my dear Miss Scarlett, have you settled the score with Lord Fenton?" Brian asked.
"Oh, yes, I did, Mr. Jefferson," Scarlett smiled happily. "But do you prefer to explain to Michael what it is about first?"
Scarlett, Brian, and Lord Fenton had an intense discussion of managing plantations the other day, Brian explained. They discussed the differences about hired laborers working in the sheep farm the Jefferson family had for generations in Massachusetts, sharecropping managed by Scarlett's brother-in-law at her family plantation Tara, and tenants in Lord Fenton's vast estates in England.
Both Brian and Lord Fenton were amazed that Scarlett was so headstrong and determined to return the prior glory of her father's plantation. She had calculated quickly, would there be enough income for her family if they leased to the tenants those thousand idling acres of land in Tara. Nevertheless, she had fired so many questions to Lord Fenton on details of managing and contracting of the tenants, even the always polite Lord had somewhat lost his patience and resorted to an answer:
"Miss Scarlett, we have done this for hundreds of years. Come to England and visit my estate, you can see it with your own eyes."
It was the response from Scarlett that won the day, Brian acted animatedly like Scarlett did, throwing her head to one side, crossing her arms and stamping her foot, said to her challenger sweetly:
"Yes, I will my lord, in due time!"
Everyone laughed, so did Rhett. Yes, he could imagine Scarlett's Irish would fire up when she was challenged or cornered, and he knew she loved Tara so much and always wanted to regain Tara's past glory. But he never would expect that the two-horse farm in the countryside of Georgia, small and isolated comparing to an Earl's vast estate in old England, could be an interesting topic among a Southern belle, a Northern elite, and an English lord. He had to agree with Brian it was all because of Scarlett's Southern charms.
"Then, Scarlett, you have not settled the score yet," Rhett said lightly.
"Yes, I did." Scarlett shrugged her shoulder. "I did a quick calculation, comparing the prices of land and the yearly leasing. The price of land is too expensive in England to buy, at least thirty to fifty folds over the leasing. But in Georgia or the South, there is more land than people, the price of a piece of land is only three to four folds over annual rental. The tenants can buy the land after a few years in the South and are more willing to buy their own land than those in England."
"What did Luke say?" Brian asked.
"He has to agree with me, graciously. And I won!" She said proudly, waving her hands impatiently. And everyone laughed. "He is a real gentleman, not as stubborn as you three grumpy OLD men. He even said that the land price probably is the main reason many of his countrymen come to the States, especially Irishmen," she huffed.
"Hush, Irish or not Irish, Scarlett, you won! I agree, fair and square!" Michael said approvingly. Brian, Bess, and Rosemary nodded heads too.
It was clear to Rhett, to his friends, Scarlett was not only a charming beautiful Southern lady but also a sharp minded intelligent woman. He was impressed, in such a short month, she won the hearts of his friends, and they won hers too.
…
After supper, the six friends gathered in the library for tea. Brian was playing a few random tunes on the grand piano. In front of the piano, he was as talented and skillful, or even more so, as Michael and Rhett were on the dance floor. If he had not been sent to West Point by his grandfather, he would have been an accomplished concert pianist.
As the ladies started humming along with his notes, he switched the tune a few more times and tried to find one all could enjoy. The notes of Dixie came up, the most popular song prior and during the war both in the North and the South, the gentlemen joined the ladies and sang along together. In this choir, Scarlett's soprano and Michael's tenor took the dominance, Rhett's excellent bass supported the foundation, but it was Bess and Rosemary's contralto and Brian's baritone that carried the song to a perfect completion.
And this was the music that Rhett and Scarlett danced the first reel together at the Bazaar thirteen years ago! Rhett remembered, but he doubted if Scarlett realized it. She didn't even look at his direction.
The nostalgia for the war had come and gone. By singing of Dixie, there was a sadness and joyfulness when all was over. They could look back with pride through the course of the war. Both sides had shared and suffered, and they knew it was not worth to seek the cause anymore after the war was over.
Bess, who sat with Rosemary on the settee, kindly asked her where she had been living during the war. Rosemary explained she was hiding in the mountains of Virginia with her late husband's family. Rhett knew those years were painful as she had lost her only daughter to illness and she rarely talked about those times.
Scarlett was sitting quietly on an ottoman near to the piano. Brian asked where she was during the war, she sighed. "I was living in Atlanta during the war, and escaped before its falling to Sherman."
Bess asked, "Why didn't you leave early, Scarlett?"
"I couldn't. I was waiting for my sister-in-law to have a baby." She stopped and glanced at Rhett, then continued with an even tone, "After it, Rhett helped us, me, my son Wade, my sister-in-law, and her newborn son. We fled Atlanta literally in the very last minutes."
"Did you get home safely?" Brian asked kindly.
"Yes, we did. Only I found out my mother had died a day before we arrived," she said calmly.
Bess released Rosemary's hand that she was holding, walked to Scarlett, and hugged her lightly. "I am sorry, darling!"
"Where were you after that Rhett?" Brian asked.
Rhett cringed in his mind, but managed to say lightly, "I joined the Confederate army." He couldn't explain that he had abandoned Scarlett on the route to Tara. No, that would be too much to explain.
Michael interjected, "yes, at the eleventh hour to fulfill a Southern gentleman's duty."
"You are lucky you survived," said Brian. And he turned to Scarlett, "Both the North and the South suffered tremendously during the war. In my hometown in Massachusetts, many young men went to the war and never came back."
"But the South suffered a lot more," said Scarlett in a low and firm voice.
"Yes, we all know. But we are all glad the war is over, and we must leave it behind us," said Brian evenly. "Let us have another song."
When Brian played the tune of "Bonnie Blue Flag", the faces of Scarlett, Rhett, and Rosemary all went white. Quickly Bess's hand was on Brian's, she said to him softly, "please play another song. Oh! Susanna, please, darling?" Bess and Rosemary sang the song together in a light melody.
By the time the tune "When the cruel war is over" started, Scarlett and Rhett glanced at each other for a moment. Scarlett joined others singing along. Without thinking, Rhett walked to her, silently took her hand for a dance. She was startled by his action, and hesitated, but didn't refuse.
This was the first song that Scarlett had sung to him during the dance at the Bazaar. He remembered, always, her glittering eyes, her dazzling smiles, and her restless tapping toes, even in her black crepe for mourning of her first husband. He could see right through her, she wanted to dance, she wanted to lead the reel, and she wanted the attention of the whole world. He remembered she said after singing the song, "Oh, all right. I know it's crazy but I don't care. I don't care a bit what anybody says. I am so tired of sitting at home. I'm going to dance and dance-"
They walked into the center space of the room. He could feel she was shaking when he held her hands, then she calmed down, followed his lead on the dance floor and never missed a step or a note. They had been always the perfect partners in dancing, but unfortunately not in their real life, he thought forlornly. He looked at Scarlett in his arm. She was wearing an apple-green dress with dark-green velvet ribbons dangling from her bosom. She was still singing along but her sad eyes gazed past him as if she was looking into the past from a different lens. That exciting, full of life young girl was long gone. In front of him was a mature beautiful woman with serenity on her face and sadness in her eyes. Life had changed her forever!
Rosemary and Michael joined them on the floor and danced together. Three ladies kept singing. The only difference of the lyrics was "in your suit of gray" for the Southerners, and "in your suit of blue" for the Northerners, the rest was all the same. So was the pain.
Well, nothing was same for them anymore. They completed the song together. Rhett loosed his hold on Scarlett's waist and her soft small hand, then he realized he had held her too tight. Scarlett bowed, avoiding his gaze, and backed away. He could feel there were tears in her eyes. All of these, the songs, the dances, reminded him and probably Scarlett too that how far things had gone and how much they had fallen apart.
There were too many shared memories between him and Scarlett, more than he ever had with anyone, even the songs could bring up the sadness and lost happiness. Much more than he had with Rosemary, or with his friends of thirty years, Michael and Brian. Twelve years was too long a period to forget, they couldn't, they wouldn't, and they had to carry on those memories as they moved on with their lives.
Only he and maybe Scarlett could ask to never hear or sing "Bonnie Blue Flag" or "Somebody's Darling", those could not be borne!
When Brian played the last song of the night "My Old Kentucky Home", both Scarlett and Rhett joined the others and sang along, as they had done during the war. They could only be glad that the night was over, the war was over, and they got on with their lives. In whatever sense.
...
AN: I am slowly working on this story. As the story line goes, it seems the story becomes longer and longer. I am not sure when I can finish it. After completed a short story, I felt I should have practiced a few more short ones, than immediately jumped into a long story as a new fanfic writer. While, I am still working on this one, and have not given up.
Dear Lady Sage beta'ed this chapter again. Heartfelt thanks for her great work!
And thank you all for staying with me. And I love to hear from you. Thanks, as always.