CHAPTER 53
Happy Sunday all!
Gabyhyatt, thank you so much for your nice review of Chapter 52.
Once Rhett and Scarlett settled in for their naps, Mammy started on her preparations for the evening meal. She hoped that Chandler and the girls would be returning soon along with Mable Rose. With extra mouths to feed, she would need her help in the kitchen.
About two hours went by before they showed up and as soon as they did, she dragged Mable Rose into the kitchen immediately.
"Here Rose Bud," she ordered as she handed her a worn burlap sack brimming with potatoes, "youse start a peelin' dese as fast as yore tiny hands kin move! We'se gonna have a big ol' house o' peepel to feeds tonight and we ain't gots no time to be a wastin'!"
Mable Rose dutifully followed her orders and began peeling away for several minutes in silence. She noticed Mammy had a nervous expression on her face, but she didn't think it had anything to do with Scarlett and Rhett unexpectedly showing up in time for dinner. She recalled many of Mammy's stories about the gargantuan feasts she would prepare for the Butlers when they entertained at Tara before the War and thought this probably paled in comparison. Finally, she spoke up. "Mammy, why es youse actin' so anxshush today? I kin tell it's mo' dan just Missuh Rhett and Miz Scarlett comin' along afore dinna."
Mammy's eyes grew wide as she stared back at Mable Rose and paused for a moment as she finished stirring the creamy sauce she was making for the scalloped potatoes and let out a sigh. "Mable Rose, I ain't say nuthin' 'cause I ain't fo shore yet, but when Miz Scarlett and Capt'n Butler come today, Miz Scarlett was 'bout fixin' to tell me some big news and den Capt'n Butler put a stop to it!"
"Why dat?" Mable Rose asked quickly, eager to hear some more.
"Because he say dat de news es so big dat he want everyone here to hear it at da same time!"
"Oooh! Youse must be dinkin' whut I'se dinkin!" Mable Rose cried out excitedly.
"Dat's right! Deyse must be gonna tell everybody dat deyse gonna have a baby!" Mammy replied, accidentally letting her thoughts spill out about the impending news.
"Well I shuh do hope dat's whut it's gonna be. Hope it ain't nuthin' like deyse gonna move away frum Atlanta! Youse know how fonds Missuh Butler was o' Asheville a whiles back," Mable Rose responded with mixed optimism.
"Yo hush yo mouth, Mable Rose! We'se both knows it's gonna be 'bout a baby! Now don't youse go and say nuthin' 'bout dis to da othas and ruin Capt'n Butler's suprise!"
"Oh, I wasn't plannin' to do anyting likes dat; 'specially iffin' we don't knows fo shore whut de suprise es."
Mammy shot Mable Rose an annoyed look as she forcefully yanked the bowl of peeled potatoes away from her and pointed her to a large green mound of raw string beans for her next prep chore. After they'd been in the kitchen for about an hour, Careen quietly wandered into the kitchen with a woebegone look on her face. Mammy intuitively knew Careen was feeling down because of the two love birds fussing over one another in the parlor and put her to work to help get mind off her lost fiancée.
After a while, Suellen and Chandler came into the kitchen to see what everyone was up to, but Mammy insisted there were too many people in her kitchen and wasted no time telling them to get out.
Suellen asked Chandler if they could go for a ride for a while until everything settled down. Chandler decided it was a good idea and suggested they go visit with his Uncle Jack downtown for a while.
As they entered Breckinridge Interiors, Chandler spotted his cousin Stephen speaking with his father, Jack. Chandler noticed Stephen looked down and it seemed to him that he was still unhappy about Scarlett and Rhett's reconciliation. He decided to liven up his mood with his vintage prank sense of humor.
"Cuz! What are you doing here? We saw India Wilkes coming this way! Shouldn't you make tracks before she comes in here looking for you?"
Stephen gulped at the prospect of India chasing him down. The more time went on, the more she repulsed him. He started to agree he should make his escape, but before he could speak Suellen interrupted.
"Chandler Breckinridge! You know very well we did NOT see India on our way here and even if we did, why is that a problem?" Suellen innocently demanded to know.
"Oh, darlin'!" Chandler responded as he broke out into uncontrollable laughter and turned beet red. "Stephen has no interest in India whatsoever and she's so desperate for him to court her that he's at the point where he wants to quit working at your sister's mill!"
"Then why don't you quit?" Jack asked logically, finally joining in on the exchange.
"Dad! I can't just quit. What'll I do for money?" Stephen replied.
"You can come back here! The way I see it, you've done enough mourning. Now don't get me wrong, boy. I completely understand you not wanting to be here after Verona passed away since this is where you met her, but I think even you realize by now that staying away from here isn't going to bring her back. I'm not even sure she would have been happy that you would have decided to leave here after she left. I think she'd want you to be near your family. I'm not trying to run your life, but I am asking you to think about."
Stephen absorbed his father's words about Verona. He wasn't sure how to respond, but the fact that Jack was asking him to come back meant a lot to him. He'd enjoyed standing on his own two feet for a while, but what his father said made a lot of sense, so he responded, "When can I come back?"
"Any time you want," Jack wisely responded without adding any more.
"I'd come back tomorrow if I could, but I can't because I don't want to leave Scarlett and Ashley in the lurch. I'll speak to Ashley tomorrow and ask him how much notice he needs.
Chandler couldn't help noticing his cousin's mood was beginning to lift. He was very glad he'd decided to tease him because he got the feeling Stephen's life was going to get better by deciding to return to Breckinridge Interiors and he looked forward to having him back.
