Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Thank you to my guest reviewer for the correction of Greeks and Trojans. That does make the saying make a lot more sense. I thought I had read on the internet that it was the other way around. I guess one can't believe everything they read on the internet.

Chapter Nineteen

Later that evening, Rhett wondered how Scarlett had learned about the saying about Greeks. Had she read Odyssey? It would be a hard book for her to get through because of all the references to Greek mythology.

Rhett would have been happy to know that Scarlett had not read Odyssey, but Ashley had quoted the saying about Greeks bearing gifts. When Scarlett showed interest in the quote, he had explained everything to her.

Scarlett was still not a person who read a lot for pleasure, but she had finally wanted to know more than she ever had before. These days when Beau and Wade talked about their studies, Scarlett listened. She listened because the boys could explain everything so simplistically to her.

Scarlett had started asking questions about the boys' studies to show interest in their lives but strangely the more they told her the more she wanted to know. All her life she had been busy maintaining the image of an empty-headed belle, but she certainly didn't need to do that anymore. Now that she no longer wanted to get married it didn't matter if she was good marriage material or not.

The next time the group met, Rhett said to Scarlett, "What did you have to eat for your birthday supper."

Scarlett had ignored Rhett's question, but Ella had not. She said, "We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and…"

Ella had looked at her mother for help and Scarlett had smiled and said, "Collard greens. They are one of my favorite vegetables."

"Collard greens. Did you know that Mr. Steven had never had collard greens before?"

Rhett said, "He is from the North."

Scarlett had nearly laughed at the way Rhett had made his statement. Like he thought people from the North were disgusting."

Ella went on, "We also had vanilla cake. Did you know Mama doesn't like chocolate cake although she ate it last year when it was her birthday? She told me how good it was."

Scarlett said, "It was good, Ella, after all you made it. It had to be good."

Ella beamed. Scarlett smiled at her daughter. The daughter she had never wanted. The daughter she had wished dead instead of Bonnie. The daughter who loved her more than any other person in the whole world except maybe Wade, although Scarlett knew they both loved her so very much.

Now Scarlett was so extremely glad she had Ella. Scarlett knew that Bonnie was too selfish and self-centered to care about anyone but herself. Scarlett would never say it out loud, but Bonnie hadn't even loved Rhett in the true sense of the word.

As Rhett watched mother and daughter smile at each other he was annoyed. Annoyed, he had thrown all of this away. Then he had an awful thought. He thought, 'If we had been a functional couple would Scarlett have stopped me from letting Bonnie make that jump.' He knew in his heart if he had been willing to listen Scarlett would have told him what a bad idea the jump was. He knew in his heart that if he had Scarlett's support/love he could have stood up to Bonnie because he wouldn't have been so afraid of losing the love of the only person who loved him.

Even if the tragedy had still happened, he would not have fallen into the bottle for he would have had Scarlett and probably the other baby.

The next day, Mr. Darrow sent Rhett a message. He wanted Rhett to join him in his office. Once Rhett had been seated in Clarence's office, he said, "I was able to convince the people that own that house on Ivy Street to sell it to you. They only wanted one hundred dollars more than the house was actually worth."

"Wonderful. You really are a good lawyer."

Clarence was usually not praised for his skills. That was because most of his clients were as cold and hard as he was. He said, "Thank you. That is quite the compliment coming from you considering that you lost your court case."

"That was not your fault. As you said in the beginning I was not in a good position."

"I have the contract ready to sign. They will need two weeks to get out of the house."

Rhett signed the contract and said, "Fine. Who do I make the check out to?"

Clarence told him, "Ned Flanders."

Rhett wrote the check. As he handed Clarence the check, he said, "Do you know of a good contractor?"

"The best in Atlanta, Calvin Hobbs. He is my brother-in-law so I do everything I can to keep him in business. I don't want my sister and her family moving in with me. It is bad enough my mother is living with me."

"My mother and sister live in Charleston. I just send them a check every month."

"I wish. To make matters worse my wife and my mother don't get along. Of course, very few people get along with my mother. Even my sister doesn't get along with her. Anyway, when the house is officially yours, I will let you know."

Rhett went to see Mr. Hobbs. The contractor greeted him warmly. Rhett said, "I have just put in a contract on a house at 413 Ivy Street. I want the second floor rebuilt. It was taken off by one of Sherman's cannon balls. I want there to be at least four bedrooms with a water closet. When can you meet me there?"

"When will you have access to the house?"

"In two weeks."

"As soon as you have access to the house, I will go over there and look at it."

"Perfect."

Rhett went home and wrote his mother a letter. In the letter, he told his mother that he was sorry for the disgrace she was going to be facing but Scarlett had divorced him. He had done his best to stop it from happening but to no avail. He planned on living in Atlanta from now on. He had bought a house in Atlanta for just him. He would send her the address as soon as he was in the house. Rhett had finally learned that he should care how his actions affected other people. He knew that he needed to be concerned about his reputation. Not for his sake but for Scarlett, the children, and his relatives' sake.

After Rhett's letter to his mother was in the mailbox, he went and bought a horse. With the purchase of a horse, he knew he would need a stable boy. For a moment he wondered how to go about hiring people to work in his house. In truth, he didn't even know what type of roles needed to be performed in the household. He knew he would need a cook but that was it. He would hire a cook first and just ask her but where did he go to hire a cook.

As soon as Elizabeth got the letter from Rhett, she went to Eulalie and Pauline's house. In the last years Elizabeth had very few opportunities to show where her son was not the one that had done the incorrect thing. Maybe overly much but Elizabeth certainly reveled in her son being the injured party. Of course, she would not have been nearly as smug as she was if she knew how Scarlett had gotten the court to grant her a divorce from Rhett.

Scarlett and Ella went to Weber Feed Store to ask about planting spring vegetables. Nick Weber immediately started asking all sorts of questions that the mother and child could not answer. Nick finally said, "I will be over at your house by three tomorrow."

"Make it three-thirty. Ella doesn't get out of school until three-fifteen."

"Perfect."

"See you tomorrow."

Mr. Weber did come to Hamilton House the next day. He surveyed the back yard. He declared, "That flower garden is going to have to go. We need the space. I will be over tomorrow and till the ground so you can start planting next week."

PittyPat had come out of the house and introduced herself to Nick Weber. Then the woman did something that Scarlett didn't even know she knew how to do. She started flirting with Nick Weber. Scarlett stood there in shock until Ella said, "Can we plant watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers?"

"Yes, you can. Easy plants except for the tomatoes but I think tomatoes are worth the effort."

Ella smiled and said, "Me too."

Scarlett later looked at Mr. Weber to see if she could see what PittyPat saw in the man. She decided that Mr. Weber was handsome in a mature sort of way. He would do for PittyPat.

The next week Scarlett and Ella started planting vegetables. Every time Nick was there PittyPat came out into the back yard. Scarlett didn't think Nick really noticed the older woman, but Scarlett was not going to discourage her. Who knows? Stranger things had happened.

The visits were going very well for Rhett and the children. They weren't getting any better for Rhett and Scarlett. She was not thawing towards him in the least little bit, but he wasn't giving up. Besides what else did he have to do. Get drunk and play poker. He still played poker, but he no longer drank alcohol out in public. He still had a couple of drinks at night but that was mostly to help him sleep. Every night he dreamed of Scarlett and Bonnie. The dreams of Bonnie no longer made him sad. He was remembering all the good times he had with his child.

Rhett checked on his investments a couple of mornings a week. None of them were risky or dangerous. He had grown too old for that foolishness. He let Mr. Darrow know that he had some money to invest if the man knew of any business opportunities available.

Clarence had said, "Not big money makers. They would hardly be worth your time."

"Go ahead and set up meetings. It would not hurt me to listen to proposed investments. I no longer wish to travel."

"I will arrange it."

Clarence did arrange several meetings with men needing someone to invest money with them. Most of them, Rhett said, "No."

Yet, there were a few that had peaked Rhett's interest. He investigated them and researched their ideas. He invested money with them. He was now on the path of trying to do good. Not just to soften God's heart towards him (although he was still on the fence on whether there was a God or not) but also not to accrue any more bad mojo.

Rhett tried to join the Democratic party, but they refused him entrance. Ruben James, the president, had personally asked him to leave. That had made Rhett smile. He guessed a lot of people had found their backbones.

Over the poker table, Rhett had asked, "What do you do when you aren't playing poker?"

"I go to all those shindigs my wife is always dragging me too."

"I would like to attend. They might be fun."

"They aren't fun but if you want to attend, I will send you and your wife an invitation."

"I'm no longer married." A silence fell over the table. Finally, Rhett said, "We had incompatible differences."

Every man at the table was thinking, 'No, it was the death of their daughter. They turned away from each other. It happens.'

Ephraim Smith said, "The Coopers are having a soiree this Saturday at seven. I will give you their address. I am sure Mrs. Cooper won't mind you attending. Especially now that you are a bachelor again."

"Thank you."

Rhett wasn't pleased to have been called a bachelor, which he thought was ironic. Until he had married Scarlett, he had planned to be a bachelor his entire life.

Rhett did attend the Coopers' soiree. He was having a good time at first until he heard Scarlett's laughter. He turned and looked straight at her. She looked beautiful. She had her fragile disguise on. He wondered how she turned it on and off. She was still dressed almost entirely in black. She was with her lawyer, another woman, and another man. They were all laughing and having a good time. Rhett wondered how long it would be before Scarlett took a fourth husband. The man was certainly smitten with her and didn't care who knew it. With a sad smile, Rhett thought, 'He could never show the world that much emotion. Too much pride.'