Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Three weeks after signing their contract Rene sent Scarlett a note telling her that tomorrow was going to be the first day of Picard's French Bistro. He asked her to come by the store and taste his croissants. Scarlett sent a note back telling him that she and her family would be there for dinner. She informed the cook to not prepare the noon time meal the next day. She then went in search of her husband to tell him of their plans for the next day. She found him in the nursery. He was playing a game with the children. Gerry was sitting beside Rhett. The boy was holding himself up.

Scarlett smiled at the scene and said, "Picard's will be open tomorrow for dinner. The entire family will have dinner there."

"Alright, Dear."

When Gerry saw his mother, he held up his arms, and Scarlett said, "Of course, I will pick you up."

Wade said sharply, "It is your turn, Bonnie."

The little girl said, "Genie."

"What?"

"Genie. My name is Genie not Bonnie."

Scarlett burst out laughing and said, "You sure are, Precious."

Rhett said, "Yes, your real name is Genie, but Bonnie is my special name for you. When I first saw your eyes, they reminded me of the Bonnie Blue Flag. That is why I call you that."

"I will let you call me Bonnie but everyone else has to call me Genie."

"Alright."

Rhett didn't look at Scarlett. He knew she was going to be smirking. Wade said, "Whoever you are roll the dice." Which made both Rhett and Scarlett laugh. From that day forward, Genie would not tolerate anyone but her father calling her Bonnie. If someone did, she corrected them. If someone continued calling her Bonnie, she wouldn't answer.

Rhett knew that Scarlett was going to be smug about this victory for months. At least, his daughter had let him continue calling her Bonnie.

Scarlett was not completely surprised by Genie's declaration. The day before the little girl had asked her mother, "Why do you call me Genie?"

"Because that is your real name. Actually, your real name is Eugenia Victoria Butler and Genie is a shortened version of Eugenia."

"Is that why you and Mammy call me that when I have misbehaved?"

"Yes."

"Alright, Mama."

The next day for dinner the Butlers were at Elsing's General Store. When they walked in the door the entire store smelled divine. Scarlett said to Fanny, "Where is Rene?"

"Just go through that door and to the right. You will be the first people who came to the store for the specific reason of eating dinner."

As the family was walking through the store, Scarlett said, "Look, Wade, at that yellow fabric. Isn't it pretty."

"My dear, our ten-year-old son will not wear any clothes made of pretty fabric. Furthermore, he is old enough to pick out his own fabric. He will never tell you that he doesn't like your choice of fabric because he does not want to hurt your feelings. I am not so handicapped therefore I will take over the clothing of our son."

"No, Rhett, you have such boring taste."

"If he doesn't like what I have picked out he can tell me he doesn't like it. He is not afraid of hurting my feelings because he knows I don't have any."

That statement made Scarlett and Wade smile. Wade said, "I think that sounds like a grand idea."

"Is this one of those men things?"

"Yes, my dear, it is. Now come along. I can't wait any longer to eat."

"Come along, Genie, and Ella. Let's go into the kitchen."

After Scarlett walked through the doorway, Wade quietly said, "Thank you, Dad."

The Butlers walked into the kitchen, and it was a sight to see. There was Rene and Claude in chef's uniforms with white aprons. They even had toques on. They presented quite the picture of professional chefs.

When Rene saw the Butlers, he walked over and said, "Scarlett, Captain Butler."

"Rhett."

"Thank you for coming. Claude, bring Scarlett a croissant. Let us hope it meets her high standards. It is because of that croissant that this idea got started."

Claude brought the croissant over on a plate with a fork. Scarlett took the plate and said, "Where can I sit down?"

There were two tables in the restaurant, and they were all full. It didn't appear that anybody knew anybody else. There were three men and five ladies. All appeared to be finishing their meals. One man stood up and said, "You can sit here. I cannot stay. I have to get home for dinner. Gladys would be so mad if I told her I ate French food without her. I will bring her back tomorrow if you gentlemen will keep my secret."

"Of course."

"Now let me go make my purchases and get home. See you tomorrow."

Rhett said, "Your first return customer. Go on Scarlett. Sit down."

Scarlett sat down and cut off a piece of the croissant. After the bite was in her mouth, her expression took on a look of sheer pleasure. As everyone was looking at Scarlett, Rhett said, "I think you have succeeded in making a croissant as delicious as the Parisians."

"Yes, they have. Here everyone can have a bite."

"Or we can just buy everybody else one. What is on the menu for today, Claude?"

"We are serving Chicken Fricassee and Boeuf Bourguignon."

"Give us one of each for now so we can taste them."

Two of the ladies stood up and one said, "What is on the menu for tomorrow?"

Rene said, "We have settled on trout in a butter sauce and some kind of chicken dish."

"We will be back. The food was delicious."

"Come on, Maude. Let's finish our shopping."

Everyone could tell the women were Yankees and everyone was pleased. After all, the Yankees had the money.

By the time the food was served the Butlers had taken over one of the tables. To Scarlett both the dishes were wonderful, but she chose the Boeuf Bourguignon and Rhett chose the Chicken Fricassee. Wade got the Boeuf Bourguignon while Scarlett let the girls finish the meals that were already on the table. Gerry didn't get anything. Rhett was afraid the rich food would upset the baby's stomach.

While the Butlers were there, there was a steady flow of traffic into the kitchen. A couple of the men ate their meals standing up. As the family was getting ready to leave, Scarlett said, "Let me have half a dozen more of the croissants."

"Sorry. I only have two left."

"Alright but I will be back tomorrow expecting you to have a dozen more made for me."

"We start serving at eleven."

"I will be here then."

Rhett said, "What she means is I will be here then. How much do we owe you?"

After Rene told him the total, Rhett said, "Raise your prices. You can get at least a nickel more for each item."

"Alright."

Rene would take Rhett's advice. Everyone knew the man was a self-made millionaire therefore he must have some financial sense.

For the next several weeks the Butlers had dinner at Picard's at least once a week. By the end of the summer, it was clear that Picard's and the new store were going to be a success. Rene and Claude had also decided not to move. In the fall they were going to build a patio off the kitchen and put more tables out there. They would put an awning over the patio. It would be cooler than in the kitchen. Something the Picard cousins were very mindful of was to not expand too quickly. Right now, they were making a nice profit even after paying on their loan.

Fanny was happy that Rene and Claude were not moving out. Their bistro was bringing in a lot of customers into the store.

When Mrs. Merriwether learned of how much profit they were making she was more acceptable of Rene selling French food instead of delivering pies. That and Rene and Claude bringing home all the uneaten food. There was usually enough food to feed everyone in the household. The fact that most of the household were Picards pleased Dolly that Rene was providing the food for their supper. With what she was saving on food, she was putting in the bank. When she told other people about what Rene and his cousin had done. It was all Rene's idea, and Rene's cooking ability. Scarlett Butler's name was never mentioned at all.

It had been several weeks since Beau and Wade had gotten to play together. It seemed according to Melly that it wasn't convenient for her to bring Beau over to the mansion. After a month of this, Scarlett wrote, 'I will be happy to pick Beau up so the boys can get together.'

Melly had written back, 'That is fine. When and what time?'

'Wednesday at nine.'

That Wednesday Scarlett and Wade had gone and pick Beau up in Scarlett's buggy. While Melly had greeted them in the foyer, she had never asked them to sit down. She, in fact, had Beau ready to go and rushed them out the door. As the trio drove back to the mansion, the boys had sat in the back and carried on an animated conversation. Scarlett had not listened. She had been wondering about Melly's strange behavior. The proper thing to do would have been to ask Scarlett to sit down and the ladies visit for a few minutes then Scarlett would have left. Melly's behavior was strange because she always did what was proper. She would ask Rhett about it.

Scarlett would have been surprised to know that Melly didn't care about what was right and proper anymore. Since becoming an adult Melanie had always done what was right and proper and what had it gotten her. Nowhere that's where. She didn't have anything she had dreamed she was going to achieve except being married to Ashley but that was not as great as she thought it was going to be.

Melly had decided that she wasn't going to be friends with Scarlett anymore. She didn't like the woman. Scarlett was an idiot, she had been uncouth enough to marry an unreceived man for his money, she had a husband who was passionately in love with her, she had to be the center of attention, and the worst thing was that she could have as many children as she wanted, and she didn't want them.

The Butlers went to Picard's Bistro for dinner that day. When Scarlett saw Claude, she smiled. She was sure the proper ladies of Atlanta were glad he had moved here. He was a handsome man with dark hair and a mustache. And he had all his body parts. She smiled and looked at her husband. Yes, Claude was handsome but not as handsome as her husband. Once again, she was the winner.

Scarlett and Genie got croissants every time they went to the bistro, but they didn't get extras to take home.

While the family was at the bistro, Rhett said, "Rene, Claude, you are excellent chefs. I'm glad you didn't let the old ways stop you from following your dreams."

Rene said, "Me too."

Rene and Claude went on to tell Rhett and Scarlett all their future plans. When Scarlett heard about their plans to build a patio, she said, "Why don't you move into your own building?"

"We are doing just fine here. Fanny charges us a small amount of rent. We are making a profit. We don't want to expand too quickly. We want to be sure we are not a flash in the pan."

"What do you mean?"

"It means something that is a brief success. The phrase originated from the California gold mines. Prospectors who were panning for gold would become excited because they thought they had found gold, but it turned out to be just a flash in the pan."

"No, we certainly don't want that to happen to you. If it did where would Genie and I get our French pastries?"

"You could always buy your own steam oven and have your cook make them."

"No, I want to buy the ones you bake."

At that point, another customer called Rene away. The Butlers finished their meal. On the way back to the mansion, Beau said, "I loved that food. I can't wait to tell everyone about the good food Mr. Picard made."

"Of course."

Wade and Rhett took Beau home after the family got back to the mansion. Rhett did not get out of the carriage. He would wait until Miss Melly came to the mansion to interact with her again.