Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the many reviews and the feedback. This is the last chapter. Thank you for making this journey with me.
Epilog
It was nineteen ten and Wade was out on his yacht with his family, his siblings, and their families. There were a lot of people on the boat. They got together at least once a month. Wade marveled that they were still such a tight-knit group as much as they liked to aggravate each other. He guessed it was because nobody took it personal. No, they just started planning their revenge.
Wade smiled as he looked at his brother Gabriel. He was the only child that never intentionally aggravated anyone. Strangely nobody intentionally aggravated him. Wade laughed no Gabriel would stand there and smile at their antics. Much like Mother had always done.
As Wade looked around at his children, his nieces and nephews and everyone's grandchildren, he could see his parents in their faces and their actions.
His parents were long gone by now. Wade hoped they were in eternity together. Wade hoped Charlotte and he would be in eternity together. Yes, indeed moving to Sydney had been an exceptionally good decision.
Wade had been happy to move to Sydney. After Beau's death he had not wanted to live in Atlanta anymore. He had missed his Aunt Melly and had not understood why she had died. He had missed his best friend and had not understood why he had died. His mother hadn't tried to explain it she had just said, "People dying is part of life." Wade had smiled at the simplicity of that statement. Even at twelve he had known his mother was not a deep thinker.
He would have been happy living at Tara because he loved the land, but he knew his father had not enjoyed being there. Of course, he knew why his parents were intent on leaving the South.
His parents rarely talked about the war years or the years immediately after the war was over. There were some things they would talk about like Dad and his blockade running days or Mother and how she had built a sawmill into an incredibly good business. If anyone asked them about the war or the years afterwards, they would answer the question and then change the subject.
Wade thought it was their way of hiding their past. He knew his father had done some less than honorable things after all he was an amoral bastard then. He also knew that his mother had done some unladylike actions. Wade knew his mother always wanted everyone to think she was a lady. Wade also knew that was why Dad often called Mother 'my lady.'
As far as his siblings knew, his parents had only been married to each other. His mother had stuck to the story that they had met, fallen in love and ran off to get married the same day. They celebrated their anniversary on April 15th every year and they counted from the day the war started.
Dad would say things like "I knew I loved her from the moment I first laid eyes on her."
Mother would say, "We have been together since the war started. We met at a barbecue and fell in love. Before the day was over, we were married."
Wade didn't go to Harvard. He didn't become a lawyer. He went to the University of Sydney mainly to make his mother happy. She wanted him to have a fine education. His father had insisted that Wade go also. Wade knew his father had insisted because it was what Wade's mother had wanted. For as much as his father teased and aggravated his mother Wade knew his father would move heaven and earth to make his mother happy.
After Wade had graduated from the University of Sydney, he had spent some time in disreputable pursuits. He knew his mother was appalled. He also knew his father had told her to let him be. He had spent more than his fair share of time in gambling halls and sporting houses. His father had given him some money to invest. His father had let him make his mistakes then helped him clean up the mess. He was now a brilliant entrepreneur also. He had also set-up a shipping business and had often captained one of his ships himself. He had enjoyed sailing his ship to Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and even Perth a time or two.
When Wade was twenty-five, he had met Charlotte. He had fallen head over heels in love with her from the moment they had first met. Charlotte had made him want to settle down. Settled down he did. He and Charlotte were married within two months. He had still run the shipping business and Charlotte had often sailed with him until she got pregnant then she stopped going with him. He only went on one more voyage.
When Ella and Genie marched for the right to vote his mother was mortified. When she started lecturing them about that not being proper behavior for a well-brought up young lady, Dad had just said, "Let them be. They are progressive thinkers like their father."
Both Ella and Genie had attended the University of Sydney. Dad had been delighted about the girls going to a university. Mother, of course, was horrified yet she never tried to stop them from attending. Wade thought secretly she was immensely proud that her daughters were that smart.
Ella and Genie had worn bloomers, smoked in public and had raced their buggies down the boulevards. They had even on one occasion entered a saloon with a group of their girlfriends. These actions never failed to upset their mother. Dad put the kibosh on the smoking though. Dad so rarely lectured them on their behavior that they never smoked again.
From the time that Dad had let his sisters start receiving gentlemen callers, they had never been lacking in suitors. Yet neither one of them seemed to be in a hurry to marry and settle down.
When Ella turned twenty-three, she met Harold Glass and she decided to get married. Harold didn't know they were going to get married but Ella had always gotten every man she had ever wanted. Even though Harold was going to be her husband, Ella had still led Harold on a merry dance. He was thirty-three when they met and very well to do. He had made the money himself not by inheriting it. Dad liked him a lot. Two years after they had started courting Harold asked for Ella's hand in marriage. Dad put him through the ringer. Dad had him in his office for the entire afternoon. Then Dad had taken Harold into the family parlor and said to Mother, "Mr. Glass wants to marry our daughter, Ella."
Mother had said, "Sit down, Mr. Glass. Leave us, Rhett."
An hour later Mother walked Harold to the door, and she said, "Ella's father and I will talk about whether we think you are a suitable man to marry our daughter. Just so you know Ella will expect to be an equal partner in her marriage. Good night." That night when they talked about it, they both agreed he was a good match for Ella. Yet they didn't let him know until a week later. After his parents told the happy couple that they could wed, Ella said, "Harold and I are going to be married tomorrow at the courthouse."
His mother hadn't even batted an eyelash. All she said was, "What time? Your father and I would like to be there."
Genie had not been as lucky as Ella concerning affairs of the heart. She hadn't gotten every man she had ever wanted but she had gotten the majority of them therefore she was a pretty confident young lady. Genie, who was twenty-four, had toyed with the idea of not getting married at all because she couldn't find anyone she wanted to marry. That is until she met Nicholas. Nicholas was one of the men Dad employed to run one of his businesses. Genie had seen him when he had brought Dad some papers. She had stood outside the house waiting for him to leave so she could accidently meet him. It had worked. Nicholas had asked if he could call on her and she had said in a bored tone, "If you wish."
Nicholas, who was in his late twenties, had not been fooled. He did start calling on Genie. A year later Nicholas asked for Genie's hand in marriage. Rhett put him through the ringer also. The reasons Rhett had employed the man were not the same reasons Genie's father would want him to marry his daughter. After spending the afternoon with the man Dad had led him to the family parlor and had let Mother interrogate him. An hour later Mother walked Nicholas to the door. She said, "Genie's father and I will talk about whether we think you are good enough to marry our daughter. Just so you know Genie will expect to be an equal partner in her marriage. Good night." That night when they talked about it, they both agreed he was a good match for Genie. His mother's only concern was how Dad would handle his son-in-law working for him. Dad had said, "It will be two separate relationships." Nonetheless they didn't let the couple know until a week later. After his parents told the happy couple that they could wed, Genie had informed her mother that she wanted a simple ceremony in the back yard in the gazebo.
Mother had said, "How soon?"
"Six weeks."
"It will be quite simple indeed. Come along. Let's start planning."
Paddy had gone to the University of Sydney. He too had spent too much time in gambling halls and sporting houses in his mother's opinion. After graduation he had traveled around the world. He had gone to San Francisco, New Orleans, New York then on to Europe. He had taken a ship from Portugal to Perth and traveled across Australia. He had settled in Melbourne. He had taken over the shipping business and relocated it to Melbourne. Dad had sent him some money to invest, and Paddy had made his share of mistakes also. Dad had gone to Melbourne to help him clean up his mistakes. Dad had made Mother travel with him to Melbourne. Mother probably went more to see Paddy than Melbourne, but she got to see both. He also had captained one of the ships therefore he often came to Sydney. Upon one visit, he had met Edna through Genie. Edna and Genie marched together for women's suffrage. Edna was very zealous in her stand on women's rights. She was also older than Paddy. None of that matter to him. Paddy got Edna to the altar as soon as he could. They lived in Sydney now also.
After Paddy's marriage Daniel had moved to Melbourne and had taken over the family shipping business. Daniel had graduated from the University of Sydney also. He had run the business, but he had also captained a ship. He had traveled around Australia. He had spent a lot of time gambling, carousing and being in sporting houses. Finally, as he approached twenty-five, he told Dad that it was time for him to settled down and find a wife. He continued managing the shipping business and started investing money. Daniel had become reacquainted with Jenny an old friend of his. Jenny and Daniel had known each other since they were children but suddenly there was something more there. They were married within six-weeks of Daniel telling Dad he was going to find a wife. Everyone wondered if there had always been something more there.
They were happily married. He still captained a ship at least four or five times a year. Jenny went with him all the time. They didn't have any children. Wade didn't know if that was by choice or by a twist of fate. Wade suspected it was by choice for he knew Jenny never interacted with the children. His father had told all his sons how to prevent pregnancies. His father had said, "Some women just don't want to be pregnant."
Gabriel, his youngest brother, was a very handsome man. Probably the most handsome of all of them. He certainly was the most serious of the children. He had lots and lots of girls setting their hats for him. He enjoyed all the attention but there was never anyone special. Gabriel had not spent much time in disreputable pursuits.
After Gabriel graduated from the university, he went on to Sydney School of Medicine. Four years later he was a doctor. He joined a Dr. John Harper in his practice. After a year of working with him, Gabriel was finally ready to wed. He married Dagmar Berne a month later. Dagmar was a fellow student at the medical school. Dagmar was attractive but that was not what Gabriel had fallen in love with. Gabriel had fallen in love with her intelligence, ambition, and determination. Despite gross sexism Dagmar had never complain. She had just kept on pushing forward. Dagmar reminded Gabriel of his mother. Gabriel remembered his mother telling of her running a sawmill and being condemned for it because she was a woman. They set-up practice together.
Wade's mother pretended to be embarrassed by all her children's actions, but she really wasn't. It was a role she played because she thought she had to behave that way to be considered a lady. His father would always tease her and mock her for behaving that way. Then he would say, "You will always be a lady to me." Wade knew that his mother had always wanted to be more proper than she really was. Here in Australia, she had been considered a great lady. Something Wade knew she had always wanted to be.
When Wade turned thirty, he looked at his father and knew he was not a young man. Dad had taken care of himself since his marriage to Mother but nonetheless one cannot stop time. That is when he decided to record his family's story. Wade would take Dad out on the yacht and sail around Botany Bay. It was just the two of them. Wade would never understand why but Dad would tell him all his secrets. Maybe because Wade already knew his father's most shameful secret. Dad had told him why he had been kicked out of West Point. Why he had been disowned. Why he would always hate his father. Wade would go home and record these stories.
Wade would get out the pictures and get his mother to tell him stories of her life. Wade would laugh at his mother when she would tell stories of her having run a sawmill while supposedly being married to his father. Even after all those years when she would talk about their year and a half of almost starvation Wade would vividly recall that ache in his stomach. He would go home, have a piece of pie, and record those stories also.
Both Mother and Dad were always happy to talk about their time in Atlanta after they had gotten married. Wade would record those stories also. Wade didn't need his parents' stories to remember that awful year that Aunt Melly and Beau died. He could record his memories of their time in Sydney. He would talk with his parents about it occasionally. They were happy to talk about those years. He had even perpetuated the lie that they had been married the day the war started. Of course, he truly was the only person who could say it was a lie now. Everyone else had passed away.
It was all written in a journal. He had told his children and his grandchildren their family history. Often his siblings would borrow the journal to tell their children and grandchildren their colorful history.
Wade smiled when he remembered the fight the siblings had over who would get Dad's memory quilt after their mother had passed away. It was finally decided that each child would get to keep it for one year then pass it on to the next youngest child. After six years it would be returned to Wade and the cycle would start all over again. Whoever was the last sibling living would get to keep it forever.
The children had found after their mother passed away that there were enough dresses for every child and grandchild to have a memory quilt. It seemed that Mother had never given away any of her dresses even though most of them were too small for her to fit into anymore. Wade knew why but he didn't share it with his siblings. They would never understand how that year and a half after the war had scarred their mother and him. They had never known anything but abundance, and Wade hoped they never did.
Author's Notes: Dagmar Berne was the first female medical student in Australia, but she was forced out of the school because of her gender. She still became a doctor by studying under another doctor in London.