Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Six

By the time it was time for his visit with the children, Rhett was sober and not hung over. His actions last night had probably set him back to square one with Scarlett but hopefully not with the children.

As Rhett walked up to the coach at Westside Park, Wade, Beau, and Ella got out. Wade in a cold voice said, "Mother isn't getting out right now."

When Rhett saw Wade and Beau's angry faces, he said, "Let's go look for baby rabbits."

When Rhett and the children were far enough from Scarlett where she couldn't hear them. Rhett said, "Go ahead. Tell me what I did wrong."

Wade said, "What do you mean, Sir?"

"Well for one thing you called me sir. Something you haven't done in a long time. For another thing, you have been holding Ella's hand since you got out of the carriage. That tells me that she is agitated. Let me start. When I saw your mother serving all those people who were beneath her, I got mad. She is better than that."

"Everyone was talking about you and her again. They were talking about how you had yelled at her in public."

"I shouldn't have done that. She didn't deserve for me to yell at her, but she is better than to act like a servant."

"That was not what you said the entire time we lived in the mansion. You said some ugly things to her and about her. Things just to hurt her."

"Yes, I did. I was so foolish and stupid. If I could I would take all those words back but I can't. I can't take away the pain I caused her or her children."

"No, you can't. Sir, she was only serving the beans because Cookie had to go to the privy. She didn't want people to wait for Cookie to get back. It would have been something Aunt Melly would have done."

Rhett knew it was. He also knew that as usual he had overreacted to the situation. He knew now that instead of humbling herself she had been performing as a great lady would have functioned.

Scarlett was once again cold and distant to Rhett. In fact, he believed she was colder and more distant than she had been after the divorce had been finalized.

Rhett would have been right. After the incident at the monthly supper, Scarlett had realized that he was never going to leave her alone. He would take every advantage that he could find. In truth, she really didn't understand his feelings for her at all. He claimed he had loved her since he saw her on the stairwell at Twelve Oaks but how could that be? He had treated her worse than her worst enemy would have treated her.

The rest of Rhett's furniture was delivered the week after the monthly supper. Scarlett had been there when it was delivered. She had inspected every piece to make sure there were no flaws, no scratches, no dents, or blemishes.

Rhett had tried to be playful and charming, but all Scarlett did was stare right through him. In his frustration, he said, "It wouldn't matter so much but I plan to resell it when my tasteful furniture arrives."

"That makes sense. You need something to sit on now no matter how ugly it is. I'm sure you picked the best of the lot considering you are in this back-water city in the South. Alas, if only you could live in Paris or London. Wait! You can. You can live anywhere you want because you have no ties to anything….. anymore."

Scarlett had not meant her comment as a reference to Bonnie but when Rhett took it that way she didn't back down.

With a Herculean effort, Rhett said sadly, "You, my dear, are correct. Because of my conceit and my hubris, I lost everything. I lost my station in life, I lost my daughter, and I lost my wife. You may go, I accept the furniture as it is. I will not complain. Afterall, it is just furniture. It is of no importance."

Scarlett got a hold of her temper and her common sense. She said, "Rhett…"

"No, go, Scarlett. I know you blame me for Bonnie's death. So do I."

"Oh Rhett, it was a matter of poor judgement on your part."

"Yet you would not have allowed her to make that jump because as a good parent you saw the possibility of danger. You would have withstood her slings and arrows because you would have wrapped yourself up in your knowledge that you were doing what was best for her… not what she wanted in that moment."

Scarlett didn't know what to say so she said, "I will see you Wednesday, as usual."

So softly Scarlett could barely hear Rhett, he said, "Do you think if we had been a functional couple, we would have saved her?"

Softly Scarlett replied, "I don't know. Those thoughts keep me awake at night."

"Me too. Go now."

"Rhett…"

"Just leave me alone, woman!"

Scarlett did not get mad. She left Rhett to lick his wounds in private.

The rest of the month Rhett was the polite stranger from the last two years of Bonnie's life towards Scarlett. Scarlett did not reach out to him. She knew it would do no good.

Rhett continued to behave happily and friendly with the children. Scarlett wondered how much effort it took for him to continue smiling and joking with the children. A lot she supposed.

Scarlett had her monthly supper and she served fried chicken. Scarlett hired several women to help prepare the meal. She hired one woman just to kill and clean the chickens. Then the tough part, plucking out all those feathers. Scarlett had gotten twenty chickens and there were four women to pluck out all those feathers.

Scarlett hired one woman whose only job was to fry the chicken. Cookie and the scullery maid got everything ready to go and all the other woman had to do was fry the chicken. It still wasn't easy, and the work was hot, but times were still hard. With the democrats back in office there was less, and less charity being given to the freed people.

The women who had plucked the feathers out of the chickens had volunteered to help cut up the chickens and even take over frying the chicken. Scarlett knew that it was in part to extend their time in her employment, but she welcomed them because Cookie and the others truly did need these ladies' help. None of these women knew when they would get another job, so they were trying to extend their employment as long as possible.

There was plenty of work for everyone. All the sides had to be prepared as well. Not to mention batch after batch of biscuits. In the end Scarlett had given the women their pay and then allowed them to eat supper with the group. They had been allowed to use the plates and silverware from the Hamilton House.

People started arriving around five-thirty to line up for the meal. Although Scarlett didn't start serving the food until six nobody wanted to miss out. So far, nobody had ever been turned away because there was not enough food. Nonetheless, people were still worried that it would happen. That it would happen to them.

There were probably about sixty people there but one of them was not Rhett. Scarlett looked for him, but she knew he wasn't there. She could see that a lamp was lit in his parlor. When Scarlett found herself worrying about him, she chided herself by thinking, 'He can take care of himself. He has so far.' She answered herself by thinking, 'He hasn't done a very good job of taking care of himself so far.'

June twentieth was a beautiful sunny day. Much like it was two years before. Scarlett would never forget that day. She remembered standing at her window watching Bonnie in her soiled blue riding habit. Scarlett had thought, 'I need to order her another habit.'

Scarlett had heard that awful sound. The sound of the wood breaking. She had stood by the window hoping against hope that Bonnie was alright. When she saw Rhett carrying her baby, she had fainted. The next several days she would never remember clearly. Melly convincing Rhett to let Bonnie be put in the ground. Rhett's mother coming from Charleston. Scarlett didn't think she had said two words to her mother-in-law. Rhett and her saying more ugly things to one another. She had not shown any emotion because she didn't want anyone's pity. The other reason she didn't show any emotion was because she had taken a couple of spoonsful of laudanum which had made her numb inside.

Scarlett brought herself back to seventy-five. She got herself dressed. She would go to the grave by herself this morning. She would take the children later in the day. She went by the florist and got a bouquet to leave at the grave. She made sure there were some Veronica peduncularis or Georgia Blue flowers in the bouquet.

Scarlett took the carriage because she had to hold the flowers. When Uncle Peter helped her down from the carriage, he asked, "Do you need help getting to the grave?"

"No, thank you."

When Scarlett saw Bonnie's grave, she saw that Rhett was standing there. She walked up and placed the bouquet on the grave without speaking. Rhett said, "You made some good choices for the headstone."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry I fell into the bottle. I'm sorry I left you. I was just in so much pain. I didn't think I would ever stop hurting especially since I…"

"I'm sorry I called you a murderer. My pain was so great, I wanted your pain to be just as great."

"It was."

"I should have known that, but I just lashed out at you instead."

"We had been lashing out at each other for years. We never actually communicated. I rarely told the truth. When I did, I spoke in a way designed so you would not understand. I have no earthly idea why I did that."

"Oh Rhett. It was so you could keep blaming me for how bad our marriage was while telling yourself that you told me the truth, but I was too stupid to understand. Ashley did the same thing. He would tell me to go away but, in a way, he knew I would not understand so I would not go away. That was how he eased his conscience. It wasn't his fault that I was still chasing him."

"Such insight."

Scarlett smiled, "I had Ashley help me understand the mistakes of my life. For him to help me understand you. While he was explaining things, he exposed a lot about himself and his own actions also."

"I'm glad you can see him clearly now. From the day I asked you to marry me until we were divorced, I lied to you. I won't say all the time but frequently." With a half smile, Rhett continued, "I would have lied under oath that I had never been intimate with Belle after we were married."

"Rhett, why don't you just let me go."

With a sad smile, Rhett said, "Scarlett, I told you. I just can't. I told you the night of Miss Melly's death that I would stay away during the war until I had to see you again. That has always been true. I can go away but I can't stay away."

"Oh Rhett."

"When I took Bonnie and ran away after forcing myself on you, I would never have returned if I could have stayed away."

"Rhett, I missed you so much while you were gone. Ashley was doing nothing to help me in my situation. I just knew you would have done something." With a hysterical laugh, Scarlett added, "Even if it had made things worse."

"I'm sorry I made all those hurtful comments when I returned. As usual, I wanted you to show me that you missed me but because I didn't want to appear weak, I struck out instead."

"Rhett, no one would ever think you were weak."

"If you decide to marry your lawyer, I will not interfere in your marriage. You deserve to be happy. Especially after all the hell you have been through."

"Does that mean that if I marry Steven, you will leave Atlanta?"

"No, I will never leave you. I also want to stay in Wade, Ella, and Beau's lives. They will be the only children I ever have."

"Me too."

"You filing the divorce suit was what finally jolted me out of my drunken pity party."

"How?"

"Mr. Powe told me that just because I was a drunken, unreliable whoremonger there were still a lot of judges that would not grant you a divorce. I wanted to object to him calling me that, but I realized that was what I was. When I was a wife-beater got added to the mix, I really became ashamed."

"Oh Rhett, I just didn't want you to find me. I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"No, you didn't but just like me you managed to make the truth imply what you wanted it to imply. Good job."

Scarlett smiled and said, "I did learn from the master."

Rhett smiled at the compliment, he said, "When my words about threatening to whip you with a buggy whip were repeated back to me, it was not one of my proudest moments. Scarlett, for the first time in many years, I felt ashamed."

As Rhett and Scarlett stood there, she said, "I will never marry Steven. I don't want to have any more children. Furthermore, he deserves someone who thinks the moon and stars rise and set with him. I just hope my friendship with Arritta survives our break-up."

"Arritta?"

"His sister. That woman you are always seeing me with."

"Is she so important?"

"Yes, she is the Yankee version of Melly."

"I hope she is not as naïve as Miss Melly was."

Scarlett laughed and said, "Who could be?"

"Nobody. Come on. I will walk you back to your carriage. We have done enough sharing for today. I loved her and you loved her but in truth you were the better parent to her than me."

"No, Rhett, we were both lousy parents."

"Let's not have any more children."

"No, let's not."

Rhett and Scarlett smiled at each other. They were sad smiles but smiles, nonetheless. They were finally parents, together, of a dead child. All the way back to her carriage, Rhett and Scarlett held hands. He helped her into the carriage. He kissed her cheek.

Scarlett said, "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"It is Wednesday, isn't it? I would not miss a visit for anything. They are all I have now."