Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews. Thank you for the feedback. Thank you to everyone who has liked and is following this story.
Chapter Sixty-Five
The Butlers and their extended family were on the ten o'clock train to Tara. When they arrived in Jonesboro there was Gerald with the old carriage. Everyone else was out in the field. It was harvest season, after all. Rhett scowled at the carriage. He was going to have to do something about this while they were visiting. It was bad enough to have to ride in the carriage on these lousy roads but the carriage was so old that it was more like a torture chamber than a mode of transportation.
Scarlett was amazed at how much Will had restored Tara to its former glory. It made her feel good and at peace with her decision to support Pa giving Tara to Will and Careen. He had fixed parts of the house and painted things that needed to be painted. He was making it his own. She was happy and she was sad by his actions. Everything he did to make it his own was making it less like her Tara. That was it though, it wasn't her Tara anymore. It was the Benteen's Tara now. Careen was eight months pregnant and looked miserable. She was not happy. She kept saying, "I hope this is the last one." She still smiled sweetly at Will though.
Melly had taught Ella some simple signs so she could communicate with Bonnie. Although they seemed to communicate from the heart without any language. Scarlett watched the girls play and had realized that not only had she not comforted Rhett after Bonnie's death she hadn't provided comfort to Wade or Ella either. She had done better in regard to Melly's death but that was after Rhett had left her. After she had finally realized that there were other people that mattered. That she wasn't the only important person in the world.
A week after they had arrived Gerald, Rhett, Wade and Beau went into Atlanta. They came back in the early afternoon with a fairly new coach and two lovely horses to pull it. Wade and Beau had learned how to inspect a coach and a horse for defects. They had learned how to get a horse into the harness to pull the coach. They had learned how to drive a coach. All in all, a very good day for a thirteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old. It was a good day for Rhett and Gerald also. They both enjoyed imparting information to the boys.
When they got back from Atlanta Scarlett asked him why he bought them a new coach. Rhett replied, "Because the other coach was a torture chamber. Every rock or rut in the road we hit I felt it in my back."
One night, Gerald, Will and Rhett were sitting on the porch drinking Gerald's hooch. Gerald got up to retire and he said, "Good night, Bhuachaill, Boyo." After they heard Gerald going up the stairs Rhett said, "I am not a man to stick my nose into other people's business either but I am going to give you some information. The time you gave me information helped me a great deal. These are sheaths," He handed a package to Will. "You can buy them at any whore house or some drug stores but you have to ask the pharmacist for them. It isn't as comfortable as without it but it is more comfortable than sleeping on the couch." Rhett finished his glass of hooch and walked into the house and up the stairs. He had the sheaths in his bag from before he had married Scarlett. He hoped they were still good.
Kindly Scarlett had left a candle burning for him to see into the room. Bonnie and Ella were sleeping on the floor in their room. Alex had wanted to sleep in the nursery with the other boys and Rhett had let him against Scarlett's wishes. For a woman who hadn't cared about her children in their first timeline she had done a complete reversal and now was a coddling, overprotective mother. He guessed it was because she had lost so much the first time.
He took off his clothes and put on his nightshirt and crawled into bed with his lovely wife. She was asleep but when he got in the bed, she turned to him and he pulled her to him. He knew before the night was over both girls would be in this tiny bed with him and Scarlett. He didn't care as long as Scarlett was in the bed also.
The boys had fun playing together although Wade at thirteen was getting a little old to be playing with the younger boys. Scarlett was glad he and Beau played with the younger boys but they had always been good boys. Scarlett, Careen, and Melly watched the boys play. They saw Paddy push Alex and Careen was about to get onto him when Scarlett said, "Leave him be. He is just being a boy." She and Melly shared a smile when they remembered Rhett saying that all those years ago. Rhett was right. Boys play differently from girls. Well, most girls. She was still working on getting Bonnie to act like a little lady. Rhett would say, "Let her be. Before long she will have to pretend to be a lady." Scarlett would smile and let Bonnie continue being a tomboy. She had been a tomboy and look how she had turned out. It wasn't long before Gerry had pushed Paddy and then Alex pushed Paddy also. Soon all three boys were wrestling around in the dirt. George even joined in. The mothers soon broke up the wrestling before someone got hurt. Soon they were all happily playing together again.
Gerald loved having all his grandchildren with him. He was out playing with the boys. He talked to Wade and Beau about their futures. He took Wade, Beau and Gerry fishing with him. Ella and Bonnie had to stay at home because they were girls which Scarlett thought was terribly unfair. They could hold a fishing pole as well as any boy. Scarlett's thoughts didn't go any farther than that. She was still not a deep thinker.
Careen told Scarlett and Melly that Suellen was having a hard time of it with Frank being sick all the time. Frank was in such bad shape that Pa had started calling him by his name.
Melly expressed compassion for both Frank and Suellen. It had been long enough. Melly no longer blamed Suellen for Ashley's death. Melanie had finally accepted that it was a case of unfortunate circumstances. Once when Melanie had drunk one too many glasses of wine, she had told Scarlett, "It was Ashley's own fault for getting killed. He always had to be a gentleman."
Scarlett had said, "Yes he did, darling."
The night before they returned to Atlanta Scarlett, Rhett and Bonnie gave Ella a birthday present. Rhett said, "I saw this and thought of you so I had to buy it."
That statement made Ella grin from ear to ear. She quickly opened the present. Inside was a small gold heart with a topaz chip in the middle.
Ella said, "It is beautiful. Thank you so much."
Scarlett said, "Let me put it on you."
Rhett said, "That stone is a topaz. That is your birth stone."
At Ella's puzzled face Rhett explained all about birthstones.
Ella said, "I'll never take it off." Then she hugged her Aunt and Uncle who she secretly wished were really her mother and father. She felt guilty because she loved her Daddy so much but he was sick all the time and couldn't play with her like Uncle Rhett did. She didn't think Mother loved her any more she just loved George and her joy juice. She had decided that she was really Aunt Scarlett's daughter. They had the same-colored eyes and the same smile. Daddy had said once when he had a lot of hot toddies that she looked like her Aunt Scarlett. Did she know her Aunt Scarlett had been the belle of five counties? She didn't know what a belle was but it must be something good by the way Daddy had said it. She wanted Aunt Scarlett to be her mother and since she was married to Uncle Rhett then he would have to be her Daddy. No! Not Daddy. Papa that was what Bonnie called him. Yes, she would call them Mama and Papa at least in her mind for now.
She hugged Bonnie too just because Ella liked hugging Bonnie. Ella thought it was neat that Bonnie's parents signed everything if Bonnie was in the room not just when they were talking to her. She hoped Bonnie would someday hear again.
Bonnie started signing something to her parents. Scarlett said to Rhett, "You get to explain to her why she can't have a necklace like Ella. Come on Ella. This may take a while."
Scarlett and Ella left the bedroom and walked down the hallway hand and hand. It reminded Scarlett of her and Ella doing this that year after Bonnie had died. Ella would be chatting away about Bonnie. Scarlett was glad she had never yelled at Ella for wanting to talk about Bonnie all that first year. It had helped Scarlett to be able to talk about Bonnie and remember the good parts of Bonnie's life.
Rhett looked at Bonnie's expectant face and knew this was going to be so hard. He had not been able to do this in the last timeline. He had just given her everything she wanted. He and Scarlett had decided together that Bonnie would not get everything she wanted and she definitely would not get something just because they gave Ella something. They had agreed that wasn't fair to Ella. They were not going to treat their children extremely better than Wade or Ella. They had admitted that they probably would give their children preferential treatment but they were going to try not to. They had agreed that they would take turns telling Bonnie no so that nobody was always the bad guy. He had agreed with everything Scarlett was saying as he was looking into her green eyes but now that he was looking into Bonnie's blue eyes, he knew this was going to be one of the hardest things he had ever done. He truly didn't understand how he could be a hard ass with everyone including Scarlett but not with his children. With his children he was a complete milksop.
He had explained that it was a birthday present for Ella and since it wasn't Bonnie's birthday, they couldn't give her a necklace. Bonnie had replied, "Then for my birthday."
Rhett replied, "No, you will have to wait for your ninth birthday to get a necklace."
Bonnie had thrown herself on the ground. She had cried and screamed. He continued to say, "No." He spent a lot of time talking to her about what was fair. Finally, she had said, "I hate you." and left the room.
He would not have been able to handle it last time. In fact, he couldn't handle it last time. He had given in to her. He had stayed strong because he didn't want to listen to Scarlett go on and on about him doing what was right for their daughter not what was easiest in the moment. The main thing that had kept Rhett strong was the belief that fate or God was testing him to be sure he was going to treat Ella as his daughter. That Ella was going to get all the love she deserved. That she wasn't going to be just a playmate for Bonnie but a full-fledge member of their family.
The girls and Scarlett came back into the room to get ready for bed. It was plain to see that Bonnie was mad at her father. Scarlett kept whispering to him that he was the favorite and that she would forgive him soon. Scarlett told him that Bonnie was trying to manipulate him. He needed to stay strong.
The next day they got in the new coach and Gerald drove them into Jonesboro. Gerald gave everyone hugs and then more hugs. He stayed until their train pulled out of the station. He missed Scarlett. She had always been his favorite. He didn't disagree with their decision to move North so the Bonnie Lass could get a better education. But he did miss her and her children. He even missed Boyo. Careen had always reminded him so much of Ellen that it was kind of like Ellen was back. He really liked her boys and her husband. Gerald didn't like thinking about Suellen. To his shame he never had liked her and he had been a bad father to her. He did like the little lass and George though. He would think about Suellen tomorrow and Gerald dismissed her from his mind. He started looking at the fields of cotton and singing an Irish ditty.
