Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Thirty-Eight

A week later the little house on Ivy Street was up for sale. As irrational as it was Scarlett wanted Rhett to buy the house. She didn't want anyone else living in that house. To Scarlett it would always be Melly's house. Rhett had said kindly, "No, my love, I will not buy the house. Remember we are leaving."

Scarlett had nodded but hadn't spoken. Rhett had wrapped her up in his arms and had held her.

Two weeks after the funeral, Rhett said, "Is it all over? Can we move now?"

"Let me get Beau and Ashley settled and then we will be able to move."

"Alright. I am going to go play some cards at Belle's while I still don't have to be mindful of my reputation."

"Is it hard to go to Belle's with the smoking and drinking?"

"At first, it was extremely hard but now it is just difficult and before you ask, I still go because I like to play cards and speak to other men. I also like to aggravate other people not just you."

"Have fun. Don't be too late."

"I won't."

As Rhett rode his horse to Belle's, he smiled. He thought of Scarlett telling him not to be too late. Five years ago, he would have deliberately stayed out extremely late just to defy her, but he was not that immature man anymore.

At the end of the month, they had a small birthday party for Patrick. Scarlett invited Beau and India.

They came. Rhett had spent the afternoon entertaining Miss Wilkes for he knew that Scarlett was not up to being nice to the woman.

In October about a month after the funeral Scarlett was at the store. She heard that Ashley had gotten fired from his job at the sawmill for not showing up. That night in the parlor Scarlett said, "I promised Melly to take care of Ashley. He has lost his job at the sawmill. Will you get him a job as a teller at your bank? I know I am rescuing him, but I did promise Melly to take care of him."

"How much longer are you going to take care of him?"

"Not for much longer. I can't truly get involved in his moroseness."

The next week Rhett did get Ashley a job at his bank as a teller. Only his fear of getting fired again made him go to work. It was a job that Ashley could handle. Nothing was expected of him. Nobody mentioned that there were more times than not a hint of whiskey on his breath.

Over the next two months Scarlett had worked on the memory quilt. It was hard for her at first because just looking at the fabric would make her so sad all she could do was stare at it. Rhett knew she was lost in her memories. He would try to get her to talk about Melly, but she wouldn't. She wasn't ready yet.

One night Scarlett said to Rhett, "I loved Melly. I wanted to hate her for having stolen Ashley away from me, but she hadn't. She was just a girl in love with a weak man. Do you think she knew how weak he was?"

"Not at first but she did after he came back from the war which was convenient. She could believe the most noble thoughts about him while thinking the war had changed him."

Scarlett had never had the patience to sew before, but she would not let anyone help her with the quilt. The quilt was already too precious to Scarlett. Rhett watched Scarlett work on the quilt every evening as they were in the parlor. She had finally started talking about Melanie. She would randomly share stories with him about her and Melly. There was no rhyme or reason to these stories, so he decided that the fabric was reminding her of their lives together. Most of the stories were tales he had never heard before. Rhett was enjoying walking down memory lane with Scarlett because he was learning so many things about her that she had never let him see.

A few nights later Scarlett said, "Melly was so good to me. She accepted the dances because she knew I wanted to dance. With her accepting the dances it made it acceptable. She told everyone afterwards that I certainly didn't want to do it, but I had done it for the cause."

"I'm glad she did. I enjoyed dancing with you."

"You enjoyed tricking her into inviting you into our home."

"That too."

The next night Scarlett said, "Melly was so good to sit in the parlor with me every time you came to call just so people wouldn't talk about me."

"I am a very entertaining man with lots of stories of adventure and humor."

"She enjoyed talking to you about literature. I enjoyed listening to you two talk about books. You two made them sound so interesting.

A couple of nights later Scarlett said, "I like the way Melly made you bring all of us stuff from Europe, especially hairpins. We always had hairpins during the war."

"It cost me a small fortune to court you during the war."

"Did I really make all those profits or was that your way of keeping your foot in the door?"

"Yes, you really made all those profits, but your properties were not worth a hundred dollars."

Two nights later Scarlett said, "After Belle gave us the handkerchief with your initials on it, we both knew you were a man that would use whores."

"Belle gave you my handkerchief?"

"It was while you were gone. She gave us money wrapped up in your handkerchief outside the hospital."

"I never knew that."

"I'm sure she was trying to get me to not let you call on me because a gentleman would not use a whore."

"So openly use a whore. There are a lot of gentlemen using the services of whores in this town."

"It didn't matter. I would have happily shown you the door if it weren't for my investment."

"Don't I know it."

Scarlett smiled at Rhett, and she continued, "If Melly had been as proper as everyone thought she was, she would have stopped receiving you."

"Why did she continue receiving me?"

"For the steady supply of hair pins."

Rhett roared with laughter and Scarlett smiled.

The next night Scarlett said, "I thought Melly was going to die when she delivered Beau. I wish she could have remembered how close to death she was at that time."

"It is one of the beauties of time. We forget how awful something was."

"I don't think I will ever forget how awful that year was after we left Atlanta. I wouldn't have made it without Melly and Will. They were always supporting me although I did get mad at Melly when she offered to let Cathy Calvert come live with us. We didn't even have enough to feed everyone who was already there much less another person."

"Did you yell at her?"

"Yes, then I apologized right away. Melly couldn't help her tender heart. She, of course, forgave me right away."

A week later Scarlett said, "When I shot that deserter Melly came right away to help me. She had Charlie's sword. She couldn't even lift it," Scarlett gave a hysterical little laugh. She was quiet for a long while. Rhett let her be until she regained her composure. Finally, she continued, "It was Melly's idea to go through his pockets. The money he had on him probably saved our lives."

"I didn't know you shot someone."

"I don't regret it. He came to take what little we had. No, I don't regret it one little bit."

The next night Scarlett said, "Melly saved my life. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I stood up to one of those Yankee devils and wouldn't let him take Charlie's sword. It was special to Wade. Wade was only two and a half. He wouldn't have remembered it, but I knew it was especially important to Melly. It was her brother's, her father's and her grandfather's. The captain let me keep it. That Yankee devil set fire to the kitchen as a way of punishing me. I had been trying to put the fire out and unbeknownst to me, the back of my bodice had caught fire. Melly had come to check on me and saw my dress was on fire. She grabbed a pillow and put out the fire. She knocked me over with the blow."

"That's amazing you don't have any scars on your back."

Scarlett blushed for she knew how Rhett knew she didn't have any scars on her back. He had seen every part of her body many times, she said, "Yes, it is."

Several nights later Scarlett said, "I wouldn't have given Ashley a job if Melly hadn't asked me to but even still I didn't think he would be that bad of a businessman."

"Mr. Wilkes thought the job was beneath him."

"I couldn't fire him afterwards because of my relationship with Melly."

"He must not have been that bad. They kept him on for a long time. It was his not showing up for work that got him fired."

A few nights later Scarlett said, "Melly knew I had never loved Charlie, but she knew that Charlie had died a happy man. He thought the woman he loved, loved him. He was happy that he was going to be a father. I would have made him a good wife."

"Yes, I think you would. You have made me a good wife."

"I probably wouldn't have loved him."

"I definitely would not have pursued you. I don't mess around with married women. I did that once and got a knife in the gut. Never again."

"If you were messing around with a married woman, you deserved it."

"I could have died."

"You are too mean to die."

"Not anymore."

"No, not anymore."

They were quiet for a minute then Scarlett said, "You did pursue me while I was married to Frank or were you calling on Frank all that time?"

Rhett looked at Scarlett. He wondered, 'Did she know about Frank's preference? No, all she knew about relations she had learned from him.'

Rhett did laugh heartily at her question though. So much so that Scarlett gave him a questioning look. He smiled and said, "No, my love, I was definitely calling on you,"

When Scarlett preened Rhett laughed.

The next night Scarlett said, "Melly was always so excited when she found out I was with child."

"She certainly loved children."

"Not that I regret having survived the miscarriage but after I survived Melly just knew she could also."

"I certainly don't regret you surviving the miscarriage either. I agreed that Miss Melly then thought she too could survive a miscarriage, but I think there was something really wrong with her."

"It was all those cousins marrying cousins."

"Inbreeding. I believe you are right."

"Mrs. Tarleton always said, 'One needs fresh blood into the mix."

"I agree with Mrs. Tarleton, although I have no idea who she is."

Scarlett laughed a rare laugh. She smiled and said, "She is one of our neighbors in Clayton County. It was said nobody knew if she loved her horses or her children more," She turned pensive and with a sad voice she said, "She lost all her sons at Gettysburg and all her horses to the war."

"That is sad."

"I'm ready to retire."

"Alright."

For the last few weeks all they had done was sleep together and Rhett was not going to ask for more although his libido was getting impatient. When she was ready, they would resume their marital relations. Rhett knew that Melanie Wilkes had been one of the most important people in his wife's life. He also knew that despite what she knew to be true, she was feeling guilty she had not found a way to prevent Melanie's death. Since he shared that trait with his wife, he would let her come to terms with the fact that her will alone could not make something happen.

A few nights later Scarlett said, "Melly knew about Wade."

"How?"

"She knew that I didn't love Charlie. So, she wondered why I had married him. She knew I hated you, so she wondered why I was going to marry you. One afternoon she saw you with Wade and she just knew."

They were both quiet for a while. Finally, Scarlett said, "I know. The next person who notices might not be so kind as to keep their mouth shut."

"It doesn't matter if everyone in Atlanta knows, for our story will not go with us. I am patiently waiting for you to be ready to leave. I don't want you to have to leave. I want you to want to leave."

"Thank you, baby. Soon. I promise you."

"Are you finished with the quilt?"

"Mostly. I am finished with the top. I just have to sew the filler and the back to the top."

"Let me see it."

Scarlett held it up and Rhett said, "It is beautiful. Are you going to put it on our bed?"

"It will never be used."

Rhett smiled and went over to help her pick-up her scraps. He was thinking, 'Maybe tonight she will feel up to some activity but if not, I will be happy to wait.'

As they got in the bed, Scarlett said, "I love you. You are being so very patient with me."

"I love you, too. You're grieving the loss of your best friend."

"She was my only friend for a long time."

"I hope you think of me as your friend."

"I do and I do know that you are a very needy man sexually."

"That is true, but I am not that self-centered anymore."

Scarlett who had been lying by his side, climbed on top of him and started kissing him. Rhett was not going to give her a chance to change her mind even if she was just doing it to make him happy. He wasn't that noble, and he never would be.

Scarlett finished the quilt and although she had laid it at the foot of their bed Rhett knew better than to ever touch it.