So this scene didn't fit with the tone or the pace of the story (this is the only extra scene). Most of you don't need to read this, this is for those like little extra bits of a story.
Again thanks so much for taking the journey with me. I am so grateful so many of you stuck around until the end.
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Random Scene
Atlanta, Georgia
January 1889
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Rhett sat in the formal parlor of his sister's house with Scarlett's cousin. Pauline's son was Scarlett's age, but appeared several years older, the war and the west had taken their toll on the man. Pauline's last living child out of seven. Rhett couldn't imagine surviving such a horror. Pauline had though and it was weakened lungs from an illness several years back that was taking her from them now, not heartbreak.
She and Rosemary had returned to Atlanta after traveling with the family for Christmas back in '73. They had taken care of the house and the store for the years the family was gone. The family returned three weeks after Rosemary had married a widower which had given her three stepchildren and a little girl the year after she married. Aunt Pauline had moved in with Aunt Pittypat when they returned, despite the many times they insisted it wasn't necessary. Both women became defacto grandmothers to the children. Both women who had lost through death or distance nine children between them filled a void for the many young children in their family.
"I can't thank you enough Captain Butler, for all you've done for my mother," Scarlett's cousin spoke.
"Rhett, please," he had informed the man of this the last two times he'd met him. "Your mother's done far more for us than we've ever done for her."
"The last two years-"
"The last two years have been all Rosemary." His sister had insisted Pauline move in with her after the illness that had affected her lungs, an illness that had taken Aunt Pitty from the world far sooner than it took Pauline. Pauline had recovered, but never fully.
"I don't know how to ever even begin to repay your family for its kindness-"
"Pauline is our family." She had become their family. They had all been bits and pieces of other families and they had come together to create a new family, to stand together, to support each other.
"You've given her great joy over the years."
"Life is far too short to live in the tragedies," Rhett nodded. "Your mother has always admired how you made your own way."
"I am sorry I had to make it so far from her."
"Speaking as a parent, we haven't seen our oldest in nearly two years, I assure you we have nothing, but pride for how he is making his own way."
"Aunt Pauline is ready for you again Jonathan," Ella smiled appearing in the doorway.
The house wasn't one of sad death, but instead a happy remembrance of a good life. Saying goodbye and making sure Pauline knew just how much she meant to everyone.
"Thank you, Ella," her cousin said standing, "I will see you later Rhett."
"Father are you sure you're able to handle all the children?" Ella spoke once Jonathan was out of earshot.
Rhett smiled at Ella, she was still just a slip of a girl, her hair had softened even further, Scarlett often referred to it as a tan blonde. She was a gentle beauty. She had never been a striking beauty like her mother, but she was more than pleasing to the eye. Classic and soft features. The pale ashy copper of her hair, the soft green eyes, her fair skin, she hadn't grown since she was 14 and she had only made it to 5'1. A fact that was even more striking when she was next to her husband, who was a full foot taller. She was Ella O'Hara now.
They had first taken the children to Savannah when Ella was 10 years old. He hadn't thought anything of it that Scarlett had insisted they return every year when Ella turned 14, Rhett certainly hadn't noticed how Scarlett's cousin's then 16-year-old grandson had started to look at Ella until their girl was weeks away from 17 and the 19-year-old boy was asking permission to marry her. Somehow the visit had ended with his daughter wed and a six-foot-tall ginger on the train with them, going back with them to take over Kennedy's.
Three children. Three O'Hara grandchildren. Three grandsons, all gingers.
Gerald Eugene O'Hara.
Rhett had no idea how his wife had done it, but she had somehow given her father the one thing he had wanted all of his life.
A Gerald O'Hara to take over Tara.
Ella, Albert and their children were planning on moving to Tara once the winter passed. The farm too much for Will to handle on his own any longer, his own son having no interest in returning once his schooling was completed. Rhett knew it pleased Scarlett more than anything to have the final one up on Suellen. She had done the one thing that should have been impossible. Tara would remain with an O'Hara running it for generations, Rhett had secured Careen's portion and had set aside money in a trust for the land where his daughter lay in her eternal slumber.
She would have company now, Ella's chatter at her graveside as if visiting an old friend. She still spoke to her sister as if she had been away traveling and needed to be caught up.
"I have handled you and your siblings for two decades my sweet," he gave his oldest girl a bemused look.
"There were hardly this many of us," she continued with her skeptical look.
"We have a house full of staff."
"You have to get them to the house."
He laughed as he stood, "I will put Prissy in the carriage with the younger ones and walk the rest over."
"Claire and Letty will be no help," she told her father.
"I imagine neither will Nicholas," he smiled at her.
She sighed, "I should go with you."
"You should stay here with your mother and your aunts."
She sighed, "Gerry will not go in the carriage if you're walking."
"He is four I am more than certain he can walk a few blocks to our house."
"Father don't carry him. Make Nicholas-"
"Are you implying I cannot carry my grandson?"
"I would rather not find out if you can carry him for that long."
He smiled as always so amused and proud at the woman she had grown-up to be.
"I brought the baby over in the carriage, but leave it here, I'll walk it over later."
"Your sisters brought their puppy they could push the dog home in it."
She looked at him, much as her mother had looked at him many times, "Father do not put that mangy beast into my son's stroller."
"My dear," he smiled, "how are you going to live on a farm?"
"Al has promised me I can stay in the house and the garden. I'll have my little buggy, Wilfred and I have an understanding." Wilfred, Ella's horse which she did her best not to touch, but she fed quite well and then spent several minutes wiping off her hand.
"Are you sure my dear?"
"Of course, Father, if I get bored when the children get big. I'll set up a store in town. Mother's been mentioning how it might be useful if we set one up now and hire someone to run it."
He held the laugh in, "Of course she is."
He could hear the children approaching, for as many as there were no amount of good manners that could make them silent and unheard.
"Daddy," Claire reached them first with Letty by her side, "can we go into town?"
Claire was 15 and such a beauty it often made people overlook how smart she was. She was smart and determined just like her mother, but unlike her mother even at her young age she never played coy or used her looks, his daughter would never simper or bow before a man. Letty at 13 was at the cusp of becoming a woman, instead of his little girl, there were moments when he would look at her that he would be hesitant to blink worried it would happen that quickly. There was a sweetness, a tenderness in her that was far more noticeable when she was next to Claire, quite similar to Ella next to Scarlett. Her hair was a sun-kissed brown, her eyes a hazel that seemed to be a perfect mix of his own and Scarlett's, she was taller than Claire by nearly two inches and it was her favorite thing to gloat over her older sister because as nice as she was, they were still sisters.
"We are going home."
"Can Letty and I go into town while you take the children home."
"You are part of the children Claire."
"Hardly, I'm 15."
"Then you are old enough to help with the children."
"Speaking of children, I will go say goodbye to mine, I will see you all later," Ella said escaping the room.
Claire let out a wave and continued on, "I will help with them after Letty and I stop by-"
"You are both walking home with me."
"You'll have Nicky if you need help," she pointed out.
"Dad needs far more help than I can give him if we're really taking everyone home," Nicholas said walking into the room, at 18, he was still a few inches shy of his father's height, but with nearly everything about the boy still his mirror, Rhett was fairly sure those few inches would soon follow.
"Nicholas that is hardly helpful," he chastised his son.
"Well with Alexander the Great," Nicholas said referring to his 12-year-old brother "and his minions."
"Do not refer to your cousins that way," although Rhett had always found it remarkable how his son ruled over his two older cousins through marriage. Rhett did wish his oldest niece had not been sent away to finishing school, despite how often he thought about sending Claire to join her. Marguerite kept the children in line as well as Ella did.
"Dad," Alex said coming into the room, blue eyes glinting with an energy that was always greater than everyone else's. "Can we stop for candy?"
"We'll have tea when we get to the house," he told his son.
"We don't want tea, we want sour drops."
"I believe we have lemon at the house," Rhett countered, he turned fairly certain he heard one of his daughters snort. Finishing school was quickly becoming a necessity. "Stay here, I will gather everyone else up." If he set them loose into the house he'd never leave.
"Uncle Rhett," Little Lizzie smiled up at him in the hallway, pale brown hair and soft blue eyes, she and Alex were only months apart, but it seemed as if they were worlds apart, "we're ready to go." She held the hands of Gerry and Patrick, Ella's two oldest boys. Rhett thanked god for his sister for creating this child to save him from his own.
"Gran-" Gerry began.
"We'll be leaving in a minute Gerry, can you three go find Prissy and your little brother and meet me in the parlor?"
Gerry and Patrick went to take off, but Lizzie held their hands tightly, "We walk, we don't run."
Rhett closed his eyes to savor the miracle that was that child.
A throaty laugh greeted his ears, "Rhett are you sure you want to take all the children back to our house?"
He opened his eyes to see his wife walking down the stairs. A vision as always in a day dress, a frothy confection of pale green silk with lace trim. Her hair still dark as a raven, although he was under penalty of death if he ever admitted that Prissy poured strong coffee onto Scarlett's hair at least every other week to keep it appearing that way.
Her waist had recovered remarkably well from Ben's arrival nearly over a year prior, it had truthfully seemed to recover faster than before despite their advancing years, likely from how active they were with their youngest. The sight of their youngest with his dark hair and green eyes so similar to his mother's. Benjamin took Rhett's breath away just like his mother. The sight of them together could nearly stop Rhett's heart. Their boy had been born three days before Rhett's 59th birthday, he had never been so glad to have Scarlett ignore his words. His birthday had been far greater with her gift.
Scarlett with one hand on the banister and the other around their well-mannered toddler. He had no idea how she did it, how she did anything in her dresses let alone caring for their son, the high collar, the bustle that seemed to nearly double her size. She did still adore wearing the latest fashion while out of their house. She had set a new standard for the matrons of Atlanta. Mother of eight, grandmother of three.
Of course, she was also a titan of industry, within years after the crash the city had been ripe for building and expanding. They were living in a golden time and they had the money to finance it and push it further. They had been as amazing together as he'd always known and they had left their mark on Atlanta through more than just their family.
Those riches and that acclaim meant nothing compared to their family, even when their family was exhausting. It was nice to know that their children and grandchildren would dominate the world once they were done trying to dominate him.
"Frankly Scarlett, I regretted it the moment it came out of my mouth, but I imagine we'll survive," he moved to take their youngest from her.
"Gerald keeps trying to ride the dog," she informed him as she handed over Ben.
"I will put Galahad and Prince outside and remove the temptation of all animals."
"The girls will hardly let you put their dog outside."
"No one will complain about Galahad," he said referring to the senior Saint Bernard that Wade had brought home for Nicholas nine years prior.
"I'm fairly certain Galahad will put himself out once he sees Gerry."
Rhett laughed slightly.
"I should get back upstairs. Please make sure there are…Please count the children and then make sure they are all there at the end of the day."
"That seems like a promise too grand for even I and there are eleven. I promise not to lose this one. We seem fairly safe with the baby as well."
"Eleven oh my, how is that even possible. I feel as if I should encourage Beau and his bride to stay up north. Lawrence and his family won't be visiting any time soon, right, they just had another."
He smiled thinking of his ward and knowing his wife didn't actually mean it. She had enjoyed Lawrence the moment she was witness to him choosing her over his mother. He hadn't held any animosity towards Belle, but he'd also not held any affection. The boy was driven, he wasn't interested in anything that couldn't take him a step further, which Scarlett could, but not Belle, a former madame married to an aged policeman. Rhett would likely have to remind Lawrence when he did finally visit again to take the children to see his mother, just as he had with the first child.
He laughed and dropped a kiss to her lips before bidding her adieu and letting their son do the same.
He thought of the wonder of it all, of a family tree so spread out, people once so alone, they had all found their way to each other and they had grown stronger with each other and supported each other through so much heartache that had passed in their world, their family would continue stronger than before. Their family tree had so many branches, but instead of growing further apart, they had grown closer.
"I love you," she said looking up with a hand on their son and a hand on him, she never failed to touch him or tell him she loved him.
"I love you too," he swore looking down at the woman who had his heart for half of his life, he wasn't even sure if he'd had one before her. "Send word if you need me."
"I need you to take care of the children," she smirked at him.
"I can say with absolute certainty that getting you out of Atlanta will prove easier than today."
"My hero," she laughed up at him.
He took a breath, "The North was certainly easier to face."
"Send word if I need to send in the calvary."
"Daddy," Alex said coming upon them, it would of course be Alex, "we've had a talk and we've decided we'll all go into town."
He sighed and dropped a final kiss to Scarlett's lips before he turned around, "You sir, will be going straight to your room if I hear another word about going into town. Get your sisters to locate their dog or I'm leaving it here."
Alex gave a displeased look at his father, but didn't say a word to the contrary, "Mother when will you be home?"
"There's hardly a timetable to these things," she gave her son an annoyed look.
Rhett bit back a laugh.
"Your father's in charge until then. I expect you to keep your cousins in line or you'll be spending all your free time in the schoolroom."
"Moth-"
Alex's outrage wasn't a match for Rhett's amusement, "I'm in charge until then? Why I am always in charge dear wife, what are you teaching our children?"
"Are you really?" Her eyes looked up innocently.
Rhett laughed, a boisterous laugh that was far too grand for such a day, he dropped another kiss to her lips, Alex didn't bat a lash far too used to his parents' displays.
"Can we at least go home?" Alex asked with a sigh.
"Yes, your sisters and their dog, get to your task boy. I will meet you at the carriage."
"My dashing hero," she laughed as she started to climb the stairs.
He turned with a bounce in his step as he headed off to face their family.