Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews. Thank you to all the people following my story. Thank you to all the people reading my story.

Chapter Eight

They took a steamer from New Orleans to Galveston. The trip took a day. While they were traveling Tim had offered to let Rhett stay with him. Rhett had agreed. He didn't want to stay in another generic hotel room. As they took a cab to Tim's place Rhett agreed it was a quaint little city. He would seriously consider settling down here. He was tired of not having a home. He was tired of being lonely. Maybe he would meet another woman and fall in love again. Then he thought, 'Not likely.'

Rhett and Tim went to dinner at the Joseph's Restaurant. They specialized in seafood. They talked about a number of things. At the end of the meal they smoked cigars and Tim told him about the widow he was courting. She was beautiful. She was from Georgia. She had two children; a boy and a girl. She had black hair and green eyes.

Rhett thought, 'His widow sounds just like Scarlett. Could he have finally found his Scarlett?'

The next day when Rhett awoke, he got dressed and went for a walk on the beach. Tim's home was built near the beach on Avenue X. There were a lot of people on the beach. This must be a popular pastime. As he walked along, he saw a woman walking about 100 yards in front of him. He couldn't tell anything about her except she was slim. Yet something about her reminded him of Scarlett. He decided that it was because the woman was dressed as flamboyantly as Scarlett had like to dress. He laughed at himself. He was seeing Scarlett everywhere.

As Scarlett turned to walk off the beach, she saw the man behind her and she knew without a doubt that was Rhett. He had a way of walking that was part saunter, part strut and part cockiness. His walk was unique. She walked off the beach back to 16th street. She ran down the street and crossed over to Avenue O where she had left her buggy.

She needed to calm down she told herself but yet her thoughts were still going wild. She had to leave town. She couldn't let Rhett find her. She walked into their home and told Mammy, "Start packing we have to leave Galveston."

"Why Miss Scarlett?"

"Rhett has found me."

"Tell me what happened."

"I was walking on the beach and I saw Rhett on the beach. Now will you start packing."

"Are you sure it was Captain Butler?"

"Yes, I recognized his walk." Mammy looked at her. "He has a special way of walking."

Mammy smiled at her and said, "Maybe he is just visiting and he will be gone within a couple of weeks or a month."

Scarlett sat down and sighed. She said, "You are right. I am panicking. I need to calm down. Our home is in the residential part of the city. He isn't going to randomly come to this part of the city. I can't imagine him going to a general store either. He will be gone in a month at most. He never stays anywhere too long." She would make sure she needed to flee before she gave everything up that she had built.

Mammy asked her after supper that day, "Miss Scarlett why does it matter if Captain Butler finds you. You aren't married to him. He has no hold on you."

"Oh Mammy, I love him but I know he is so wrong for me. I had the strength to run away from him once but I don't think I can do it again. If he finds me and I don't marry him he will ruin me and he will destroy everything I have built here."

Mammy sat down next to her little lamb on the divan and held her while she cried like a lost child. Mammy thought, 'Captain Butler would do that. He would ruin what he can't have.'

Later that week Rhett did meet Tim's lady friend. She had dark hair, green eyes, she was from Georgia, she had two children but she wasn't his Scarlett. She was a pretty woman from Macon. Her children were from the same man and he had been killed at Antietam. She had a little bit of money and she had moved to Texas to get away from the poverty in Georgia. She had set-up a millinery. Her name was Sophia James.

Sophia did have some lady friends that she would be glad to introduce him to. In fact, she knew of someone who would be perfect for him. Sophia said, "She is attractive. She has black hair and green eyes. She is a widow with two children, a boy and a girl. She sounds just like me. That is how we became good friends. Everyone kept getting us confused. We both came to the island about three years ago. Her name is Katie." He just needed to come to the next musical soirée which was going to be held this Thursday. He accepted her invitation and told her he would be glad to attend.

That night Rhett thought, 'This Katie sounds like my Scarlett. Wasn't that Scarlett's real first name? Yes, I remember her Pa calling her his Katie Scarlett. Maybe I have found her at last.' Rhett was excited.

Rhett did attend the musical soiree and he had a good time. He chatted with a few of the men and a few of the ladies and he had enjoyed his conversations. Sophia apologized and said, "Katie chose not to come tonight. She doesn't attend a lot of the social events. She is more of a homebody. It is hard to get her to get her nose out of the latest book she is reading." Rhett felt the disappointment. He thought, 'That is not my Scarlett. She would not even know how to open a book and she certainly would not forgo socializing to read a book.' There was no one as beautiful as his Scarlett at the soiree but he might need to put that dream behind him. The people here were real. As real as anyone he had ever met. He could live the rest of his life here. Here he could find peace and tranquility. He could walk on the beach, enjoy the seafood, and romance ladies. He could become an upstanding member of society. He had found out the city was building an opera house. He was going to stay.

The next morning after he returned from his walk on the beach Rhett told his friend Tim he was going to settled down in Galveston. He was going to become respectable. If he wanted to misbehave, he could go to New Orleans. He felt better than he had since he returned to Atlanta and found Scarlett gone.

Rhett and Tim rode around the island until Rhett found a piece of land he wanted to buy. It had water on three sides. It was a peninsula. It reminded him of Charleston and happy memories of his childhood and his sailing days. He would buy a sailboat. He would build a house. He would become a respectable gentleman. He was completely burnt out from the hedonistic life style he had been leading. He would become part of the community. He would not marry. He didn't want to be married to anyone but Scarlett. He had enough money that he never needed to make anymore. He could live a very good life here in Galveston, Texas.

After a week Scarlett had relaxed because she hadn't seen Rhett again. She had gone back to walking on the beach. After a couple of weeks, she had decided that he had moved on. Afterall Galveston was not exciting enough for someone with Rhett's sophisticated taste and jaded lifestyle. Although Galveston was a metropolitan city it was still just a city in Texas. It would be far beneath Mr. 'I'm from Charleston' to ever consider staying here for any length of time. Wasn't that one of the reasons she had fled here after Frank's death? She was back to her routine; walking on the beach, working at the store, going to the committees, spending time with Wade, Ella and Mammy. She rarely went to evening social events because she was just too tired after working at the store and dealing with two children. She knew she would never marry again so she really was happier with her books. One evening as she had sat in her tub with a book and a glass of wine she had thought, 'Her sixteen-year-old self would have been appalled.' Then Scarlett laughed and thought, 'But your sixteen-year-old self was an idiot.'

The first snag to Rhett's plans came when he found out the asking price of the land. Rhett could not believe how much the current owner was asking for the land. Rhett went to talk to Tim's lawyer, Herbert Schubert who was going to become his lawyer. Rhett had sent back a counter offer. Mr. Schubert sent him a note a few days later. The note said: 'The Widow was set on the price and would not lower it. She was not in a hurry to sell the land. She was thinking of building a house on the plot.'

Rhett asked if he could speak to the Widow himself. Rhett thought maybe he could charm the widow into lowering her price. Mr. Schubert told him several days later the Widow was not interested in speaking to him. Her price was firm and there was nothing else to talk about.

A couple of weeks after the musical soiree there was an event being held on the beach. A band was playing and people were going to come and sit and listen to the group. Everyone would bring a blanket and sit on the ground. It was to start at sundown. Scarlett decided that she would take Wade. She would leave Ella with Mammy. Ella would not appreciate it and she was also too wiggly. Scarlett knew that Wade would sit in her lap the entire time. They would not stay long though. Rhett chose to attend the event also. Hopefully meet some more of the local gentry.

Scarlett and Wade found a great spot by the road. That way when they left early, they would not disturb other people. Rhett, Tim and Sophia had arrived late and the only place open was by the water. They had sat down on the blanket but Rhett had not liked where they were sitting so, he said, "I'm going to walk around."

Scarlett didn't see Rhett because she was busy talking to Wade about the music. Scarlett thought, 'Maybe I should give him piano lessons. Maybe not. I would have to buy a piano. I don't think it would do well in this humidity.'

Rhett as he walked around, he tried to see what the women looked like. He knew none of these women were his Scarlett but he kept hoping he would just find her. He did see Scarlett but he didn't recognize her because of Wade sitting in her lap. In the dark it made Scarlett look very fat which Rhett just passed over. Scarlett would never let herself get fat.

Rhett finally went back to where Tim and Sophia were and sat on the blanket. He sat on the sand and just enjoyed the music. He thought about that time he and Scarlett had sang together during the war. The band took a break and people started moving around. Tim introduced Rhett to many of the people.

During the intermission Scarlett started to move Wade but she found he had fallen asleep. Mr. Rand Parker a man she was acquainted with was walking by. She asked him to lift Wade up so she could stand up. Mr. Parker not only took Wade but he also helped her up. When she reached for Wade Mr. Parker told her he would gladly carry him to her buggy for her. She agreed, grabbed her blanket and took his arm. They walked off the beach. Rhett saw them leave and thought, 'That is what I want. A wife and child.'

Mr. Parker was a nice man she knew from the Shakespearian Play House Productions. Once a month a group of amateur actors would put on a production from one of Shakespeare's plays. They would do an act and then next month do the next act and so forth. When she had just arrived on the island, she had been persuaded to play the role of one of the witches in Macbeth. It was a small part and Scarlett had enjoyed herself while they rehearsed and performed the play. What was remarkable to Scarlett was how interesting the play was when it was performed as opposed to someone just reading the lines. Ashley and Melly had done that the year after the war was over. That had been boring but when there was scenery, costumes, and props it had been very delightful. Scarlett had continued being part of the productions. She usually had a small role because she didn't want to have to learn all those lines. Mr. Parker was a very nice respectful man who had explained what was happening in each scene to Scarlett. Now that she understood the plays, she enjoyed them even more. She had allowed him to escort her to some events. When she had noticed that Mr. Parker was beginning to get that adoring look on his face, she kindly told him she didn't plan to marry again. Now they were still friends and Mr. Parker still explained the plays to her.

The monthly performance had been later that week and when Tim had tried to get Rhett to go with him Rhett had said, "Amateur actors performing Shakespeare? No. I have too much respect for The Bard to go and watch some people butcher his work."

Tim had said, "They're doing The Taming of the Shrew. Maybe you could pick up some pointers from Petruchio."

Rhett had laughed along with Tim and shook his head no. He said, "Go on. I don't want to go."

On the way back from the performance Tim mentioned to Sophia, "Mrs. Kennedy did a great job as Bianca. She seemed to have been a natural for the role."

"She didn't want to do it because of all the lines she would have to learn but after Mr. Parker explained that Bianca was the sister with all the suitors. She agreed to play the role then.

After a month in Galveston Rhett had asked Tim where he got his cigars. Tim said, "I use the tobacconist, Pedro Garza. He is from Cuba. He has the best cigars. His shop, Cuban Cigars, is right next to Jacob's General Store on Avenue O."

"I will go in the morning then I will stop by Schubert's and talked to him about the land I want to buy."

Rhett went to the tobacconist the next morning and purchased several different types of cigars and a box of his favorites. As he was leaving, he looked at the general store but he didn't need anything from a general store so he didn't go in. He got on his horse and rode to Mr. Schubert's office.