Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews. All feedback is welcome.
JillieJo per your comments in your review I modified the dialog between Rhett and Scarlett when they talk about Ella.
Chapter Sixty-One
Rhett took everyone sailing the next day. It was an activity that everyone in the family enjoyed. As they sailed up and down the Connecticut River Rhett looked over the group of people that were his family. He was pleased with his life. He had quickly adjusted to living in the North but everyone else was progressing at their own pace. He was surprised that Melanie was adjusting the quickest. It surprised him because Melanie was the epitome of a Southern Lady. He guessed it was because like Scarlett had said, 'She can remember Ashley as a fine Southern Gentleman now instead of the washed-up man he became.' That and Melly was keeping herself and her mind busy with her work at the school. She was doing something useful and educational. She was helping people. All the things that made her happy.
Yes, everyone was adjusting just fine.
Some things would never changed though. All three ladies had on big hats to shade their faces and long sleeve dresses. They weren't going to let the sun get to them. Scarlett had even made Bonnie wear a hat and a long sleeve dress although Bonnie had quickly taken off her hat. After Scarlett had put it back on her for the third time Bonnie accidently let it fall in the water. It happened every time they went sailing. Scarlett dressed Bonnie in a long sleeve dress and put a wide brimmed hat on her. Every time Bonnie's hat went over the side of the boat. It didn't matter Scarlett would just buy another hat and they would repeat the same routine the next time they went sailing.
Scarlett had chastised Bonnie in sign language and Rhett knew by his daughter's defiant expression that she hadn't cared what her mother was saying. If Bonnie didn't want to wear that hat, she wasn't going to wear that hat.
When Scarlett looked at him as she and Bonnie walked away. She said, "This is all your fault. She gets her willfulness from you."
Rhett replied, "Yes dear. Everyone knows you are one of the most compliant people in the world."
Scarlett had hurmped and continued walking away. All the squabbling with Bonnie over her wearing the hat made Scarlett think of her own childhood. She had done the exact same thing Bonnie did. She always managed to lose her hat. As she thought about her childhood it really had been wonderful. She had been dearly loved by her Pa, her Mammy and her mother. Well maybe not her mother but her mother had given up on living when Phillipe had died. She wasn't going to think about that. She hoped her children knew they were dearly loved by her.
When Alex got out in the sun his skin became as swarthy as his father's. Yes, Alex looked just like his father except for his eye color. Wade and Beau were working the sails with Nate's assistance. Scarlett looked at them and thought what fine young men they were. She hoped that by the time they had graduated from Harvard that they had given up this foolish dream of returning to the South. The South was going to be poor for a very long time.
Scarlett heard a ripping sound and without turning around she knew what her daughter had done. Scarlett turned and there was her five-year-old daughter with a smug grin on her face. She had ripped one of the sleeves off her dress and was working on the other one. There before her eyes Bonnie ripped the other one off. In that moment her expression looked so much like her father when he made a fool of someone else. It was pure rebellious gleefulness.
Scarlett chastised Bonnie again but Bonnie was unrepentant.
That night while they were getting ready for bed Scarlett said, "We can't condone her destroying her clothes."
"She was probably hot. I don't blame her for tearing the sleeves off her dress."
"The dress is ruined."
"Who cares? I can afford to buy her a new one. Scarlett, she is five years old. She doesn't have to have lily white skin. Let her have fun. Let her be comfortable."
"I won't tolerate her being a hellion."
"She isn't a hellion. She is her parents' daughter. Too fill with spirit to keep it bottled up all the time. Baby, this is not like last time when I let her get away with everything. I didn't interfere when you were chastising her. I will not tell her it is alright that she destroyed her dress." He sat down next to her on the vanity bench and took the brush from her hand and started brushing her hair. He whispered, "Let her be free while she can. Haven't you told me that Mrs. Miller says she is so well behaved?"
Scarlett looked at him in the mirror and nodded her head. Rhett continued, "She is a great child. Not the brat I created last time but, Honey, she is still a child."
Scarlett leaned against him and said, "You are right."
"I thought we had established I am always right."
"Not always. Would you like me to give you some examples?"
"No thank you. Let's go to bed and I will tell you a story about a handsome knight named Rhett."
She smiled and took his hand. They didn't get to the story for a while.
Melanie had a birthday party for Beau at the end of August. There were a lot of boys at the party. Beau seemed to be very popular with his classmates.
During the party Scarlett overheard one of the boys make a teasing derogatory comment about the South and Beau had replied, "I would advise you not to speak that way about the South unless you want me to thrash you like I have every time before."
That night Scarlett asked Rhett, "Have the boys gotten into any more fights at school?"
"Not that I know of. Why?"
Scarlett repeated the remark made by Beau's classmate and Beau's response.
Rhett then smiled and said, "Your nephew and his cousin figured out a way to either have physical fights without the teachers finding out or they found a way to intimidate their class mates. I suspect a combination of the two."
"You seem very proud of them."
"I am. Can you see Mr. Wilkes or Mr. Hamilton doing that?"
"Maybe Charlie but never Ashley that would be ungentlemanly."
"My dear, they had a choice of either being the victims and having to listen to nasty comments about the south or shutting people up with physical force. They manage to shut the other boys up while appearing to be the most congenial of young men. Aren't you a little bit proud of them? Wouldn't you have loved to do that to the peahens in Atlanta?"
Scarlett reluctantly smiled then she smiled bigger when she thought about punching out Mrs. Merriwether. She started laughing and Rhett joined her in that laughter. She was still chuckling when she got into bed.
Elizabeth went home to Charleston and everyone else went back to school. Scarlett and Melanie returned to their social schedule. Melanie went to work at the Asylum in the mornings. Scarlett managed the house. Rhett made money.
With the new school year Bonnie got another teacher, Mrs. Davis. Mrs. Davis who was deaf preferred to send weekly written reports home with Bonnie. Rhett was happy to pick the children up every day. That is until Scarlett saw how attractive Bonnie's teacher was and Scarlett decided she and Alex would pick the children up from then on at least until it got cold.
Rhett was forty-six years old and it was all he could do to keep up with Scarlett on an intimate level but it thrilled him that she was still jealous of him and still possessive of his body. Rhett told Scarlett, "I would never misbehave again. I have you in my bed."
Scarlett had said, "I am going to make sure you don't, Mr. Butler." Scarlett knew Rhett would never cheat on her again but she also knew that it thrilled him for her to be possessive of him. The other reason she was doing it was to make Rhett feel good about himself. He had started needing to wear glasses to read and he didn't want her to know. Didn't he think the gray at his temples and the wrinkles around his eyes told his age more than him wearing glasses? He was such a vain man. She pretended that she didn't notice when he quickly jerked his glasses off when she walked in the room. Such a silly man. Didn't he know that she knew he was sixteen years older than her? She would let him keep his secrets just like she always did.
When it was Ella's birthday Scarlett made Rhett take her out on the sailboat for the entire afternoon. Just the two of them. Them and Nate. They had to have someone to help Rhett with the sails. He couldn't do it by himself and Scarlett certainly wasn't going to help him. They mainly just sat in one place on the water. They talked about their Ella from the first timeline and all the funny things she used to do. They talked about how sweet she was and still is. They talked about all the letters they had gotten from Ella. Scarlett talked about Ella and her determination to learn to play the piano. Scarlett talked about the young lady she was becoming before they had traveled in time. Finally, they were quiet for a while with Rhett just holding Scarlett.
Scarlett said, "I traded her for you and I don't regret it. But I want her too."
Rhett said, "I didn't realize that it wasn't going to be enough just to be her Uncle. I want her in our home. I thought I loved her because she was your child but I know now I love her because she is Ella."
"Rhett are we being selfish in wanting Ella to live with us at Suellen and Frank's expense?"
"Yes, we are but we aren't actually doing anything to make it happen."
"I know you think I am superstitious but I don't want God or fate to think we are getting too greedy and punish us."
Rhett didn't laugh at her statement nor did he dismiss her thoughts or feelings as being foolish instead he said, "We are so very grateful for everything we have gotten back. I told you once a long time ago even before Ella was born that if all we got back was each other it was enough. We got our children back and that is enough. If fate or God decides that Ella is better off with Frank and Suellen we will accept it.
They were quiet for a while then Rhett said, "Accepting it doesn't mean we aren't still praying for her to come live with us somehow. Accepting it doesn't mean we aren't looking for an opportunity to have her come live with us. Accepting it means we won't do anything overt to make it happen like go down there and kidnap her. We will just will it into being."
"You silly man. You can't will it in to being."
"We can. With our combined will we can make anything happen. We traveled through time. If we can do that, we can do anything."
Scarlett snuggled into him. They sat together for a long time with nobody speaking.
Finally, Rhett said, "Let's go home. It is close to supper time and my wife gets cranky when she gets hungry."
Scarlett laughed.
Life moved on for the Butlers and their extended family. When the temperature got below forty Scarlett didn't stay home that year but she still didn't go out very often. Elizabeth came to visit and kept Scarlett company. When they went to cut down the tree all the ladies went with them. They stayed in the carriage while the tree was actually being cut down though. Everyone had a wonderful time. They went home and Rhett and Esau set up the tree. They had hot chocolate, cookies and popcorn. They were supposed to be stringing the popcorn but it was mostly getting eaten.
They had a lovely Christmas. Scarlett had done all her Christmas shopping in September and October. Rhett as usual bought too many presents. Rhett bought the boys sleds and something that was like a box on a sled for Bonnie and Alex. He also bought all the children ice skates. He bought himself and Esau a pair also. In January Rhett and Esau took the children ice skating and the ladies stayed home with baby Thomas.
They had the usual round of birthday parties and even a little party for Thomas. By Bonnie's sixth birthday Scarlett knew this had been the right choice for Bonnie. It had been a good decision for Rhett also. She knew he was so much happier living in the North away from stodgy, judgmental people. People still holding an incident that had happened over twenty-five years ago against him. It had been just a broken wheel. She wondered if it had been more than a broken wheel so she asked Rhett as they were getting in the bed.
Scarlett asked, "Was the buggy incident just a broken wheel or did you do something else?"
Rhett laughed and laughed. It took him a while to get himself together. He said, "I have never wanted to deflower any young lady except you, my dear. Unfortunately for me Mr. Hamilton got that honor. No. Nothing happened. I didn't even like the girl. I only took her on a buggy ride to make my father happy. He wanted me to marry the girl because her family had such high social standing."
"Do you think your father arranged the broken wheel to happen to force you to marry the girl?"
"No, my father had more honor than even the little gentleman. I think he had so much honor because his father had none."
"Neither did his son."
Rhett laughed and pulled her down on the bed with him. He kissed her until she wasn't thinking at all. The next morning, she was happy to remember that Rhett hadn't gotten mad when he mentioned Ashley.
Melanie was definitely happier living in the North. Beau was happy because his mother was so much happier. Scarlett didn't know if Wade was happy living in the North but he wasn't unhappy. Scarlett wondered if she was happier living in the North and she decided that like Wade she wasn't unhappy.
