I'm going to attempt to write another chapter. I hope you like it. And again I do not own any of the characters they belong to Margaret Mitchell.
Going Home
It was supper time when the train pulled into the station at Jonesboro. The station here was busy but not as busy as it was in Atlanta. It only took a moment for Maggie to met up with Scarlett. The fact that Scarlett was wearing all black did help Maggie locate her, but Maggie was sure if all the women in Jonesboro were wearing black she would still be able to pick out Scarlett O'Hara Butler. She would only have to look for the one in the most extravagant black dress in the whole town. Once united with Maggie, Scarlett put her sights on locating Will.
"Help me watch for Will Banteen." Scarlett ordered.
Maggie replied, "Miss Scarlett, how am I going to help, I don't know what he looks like."
"God's night gown…" Scarlett was saying but before she could finish what she was going to say, she heard a familiar voice call her name. Scarlett turned to see Will. Standing beside him was a child covered in dirt. It took Scarlett a moment to recognize him as her son, Wade. Seeing Wade filled Scarlett with a mixed emotions. There stood her first-born son and she barely recognized him as her son. It surprised her that Wade would want to come with Will to pick her up because she never spent much time with Wade or Ella for that matter. Rhett was the one that paid attention to all the children. Will and Wade were both covered in a layer of a red dust. They slowly walked towards the two women with their hats in their hands. "Oh Will is that you?" Scarlett squealed as she gave him a hug. "It's me Scarlett. Wade here wanted to come along. I hope you don't mind but I couldn't leave him in a house full of girls," Will explained. Back at Tara there was Suellen, Anna, Mary, Will and Suellen's girls, Ella and Mammy. Will and Wade were the only males in the house, and now with Scarlett and Maggie they would be even more out numbered. "Oh that's fine Will." She said as she bent down to be eye level with Wade. "I've missed you Wade. How about giving Mother a hug?" Wade looked at his mother a little confused but he quickly obeyed. Wade had never been too close to his Mother. She always seemed to be upset with him for some reason so he always kept silent and out of her sight. It was Uncle Rhett who paid any attention to him and he had been getting very little of that attention since Bonnie was born, and when Bonnie died he was sent away with his sister Ella to Tara. So it was utterly confusing for Wade when his mother asked for a hug. Sure he loved his mother, but he had always wondered if is mother loved him.
The ride to Tara for Scarlett seemed to always leave her feeling strange. There was a time Scarlett enjoyed the trip tremendously, back before the war. Every thing was carefree for her. Landscape was beautiful and she was always on her way to a barbeque. Then the war happened. Scarlett will never forget that trip she made home. They were in that old wagon with a sickly horse pulling them. Scarlet at the reins Prissy beside her driving Scarlet crazy and sick Melly in the back with the newly born Beau and little Wade. There was nothing but burnt plantations in front of them. Then after the war the people tried to fix up their land but so few of the boys returned and those that did couldn't afford to do much. Rhett had paid to have Tara restored after they were married but Scarlett knew that Tara couldn't look like it did before especially with Suellen being the lady of the house. It made her so mad sometime. Scarlett wished that pa had left Tara to her in a will so she would be the head of Tara, and wouldn't have to share it with Suellen and the St. Matthews.
"How are things at Tara, Will? Doing well I hope." Scarlett broke the silence they had been ridding in and her train of thought.
"Things are going well considering that there are so few of us working in the fields." Will told Scarlett.
When they came to the drive to Tara, Scarlett had to hold in a gasp. Not all the fields were being used for cotton. It wasn't like Scarlett to hold back but she knew she had to. Will had refused her offer to pay for laborers to help him in the fields. He said plainly that it was charity and she and Rhett had done too much already by restoring the house. To Scarlett astonishment the house didn't look to bad at all, it seemed that Suellen finally found something she was good at. Sure the place could use a new coat of paint but Scarlett figured it was one of their last concerns.
As the wagon pulled up the front door flew open and out came a strawberry blonde child screaming "Daddy" at the top of her lungs. She was followed by little Ella, she was more quet but you could see the excitement on her face. To Scarlett's recollection Ella had always been a very homely little girl, but it seemed now at the age of seven she was growing out of it. Next came another strawberry blond child that seemed to be about the same age as Bonnie would be. Suellen came out next she didn't seem very happy to see Scarlett. However the next person out of the house seemed very happy to see her. Mammy came out of the house and for the first time Scarlett realized just how old Mammy was. Her hair was pulled back like it always was and more of it seemed gray than it was black. My goodness, Scarlett thought, of course Mammy is getting older she's been with me since I was born and with my mother since she was a girl. It's just so hard to believe. Scarlett hopped out of the wagon to start a new beginning at Tara.
