Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you for all your kind words and support.

Epilogue

When Jade was sixteen over the supper table, she asked, "What is the real story about why you all separated?"

Scarlett said, "Dear, we told you the real story when you were seven. Your father and I couldn't get along. We were fighting all the time."

"You fight all the time now."

Rhett said, "True but it was much worse when we lived in Atlanta. We just couldn't stand it anymore. So, we agreed to separate. I took Bonnie and went to live in Paris and your mother moved to Tara. She had you then she moved to Charleston to get Wade and Ella a good education."

"Why didn't Mother move back to Atlanta?"

"I moved to Charleston to take care of my aunts. My Aunt Eulalie had broken her leg and needed full time nursing. I had been a nurse during the war, so I volunteered to help her get back on her feet. Your grandmother was friends with my aunts, and she helped me get Wade and Ella into some good schools. Also, my sister was living here."

Coco said, "I like Sister Mary Joseph. She is a lot nicer than some of the other nuns who teach at St. Catherine's."

"Careen always was the nicest of us sisters."

Rhett said, "One doesn't have to be very nice to be nicer than you or Suellen."

"Would you like me to stop being nice, Rhett?"

"I didn't mean now. Now, you are a paragon of niceness."

"That's better."

Jade said, "If that story was true. Why did it take Daddy so long to return to us?"

"Because, Jade Dear, for the first year after Bonnie had died, I was in so much pain and guilt over her death that I was trying to escape my pain and guilt. I couldn't lead a normal life, so I went on an around the world trip until my pain and guilt had gotten to a tolerable level."

Scarlett looked at Rhett with compassion. Scarlett said to Rhett, "It was an accident, Honey. Stop blaming yourself." She turned to Jade and said, "We will not speak of this anymore. The subject has upset your father."

The next week, when Jade was in the parlor with just her mother she said, "Mother, that story you and Daddy tell about your separation is ludicrous. What is the true story?"

Scarlett smiled at her daughter. Her daughter who was so much like her father at times. Rhett could never stand to not have all the answers. She said, "Ludicrous or not it is the truth. Jade, I don't want to talk about it. I don't like to think about your sister dying."

"Mother, you told me all the things Daddy did when he wasn't received. You even told me why he wasn't received. Why won't you tell me the truth about your separation?"

"Elizabeth Katie, I don't like your tone. I will not allow anyone to talk to me like that and especially not my own daughter. The subject is closed."

"Yes ma'am."

Several months later the family went out on their sailboat. Ella and Wade and their spouses had joined them. While her mother was busy talking with Wade and Ella, Jade went to speak to her father. She just knew he would tell her the real story. Daddy was such a marshmallow. She said, "Daddy, tell me the truth about yours and mother's separation."

"We have told you the truth."

"Daddy, you have not."

"Young lady, are you calling your mother and me liars?"

Jade muttered, "Of course not, Daddy. When did you first learn to sail?

"I don't really know. Father took us out in the sailboat as soon as Mother would let him."

Jade listened as Daddy spoke about sailing and his adventures with his father and his brother. She had brought the subject up because it was a happy subject for Daddy. Also, because he could talk about it for hours. While Daddy was the laxer of her parents when he used that tone with her, she knew he was no longer in a tolerant mood.

When Jade was nineteen, Rhett finally let her get married. Raymond Dull had been courting her for years. He had asked Rhett for her hand in marriage when Jade had been seventeen, but Rhett had said, "Ask me again in a year. She is too young to marry yet."

Raymond had asked again a year later, and Rhett had said, "Yes but you can't marry for at least a year."

Finally, when Jade had turned nineteen, she and Raymond had gotten married that June.

When Jade was twenty-five years old, she went to visit her brother, Wade, at his home. He joined her in the parlor. She was on a mission. She was finally going to find out the truth behind her parents' separation. She had tried several more times to get the truth out of her parents until one day her father had said, "Elizabeth Katie, we will never speak of this subject again."

Wade had refused to go away to school, and Scarlett knew that he felt he needed to stay in Charleston and protect her. She didn't try to tell him that she didn't need any protection because she wanted him to stay despite the fact that Rhett had told her she was coddling her son.

Scarlett had smiled and said, "I will continue to coddle him as long as he needs me to coddle him."

Rhett had smiled. He had said, "Do what you need to do, Baby."

"Thank you, Rhett."

Scarlett knew that Charles Hamilton's son could do nothing less than protect a woman in need even if that woman was not actually in need. It had only been three years since Rhett had moved back into the household. By that time there had been a cordialness in Wade and Rhett's relationship. Yet Wade still didn't trust Rhett completely to not revert back to mean, cruel Rhett.

Wade went to the College of Charleston. Once he got his degree in finance, he started helping Rhett manage Rhett's money. His Aunt PittyPat and Uncle Henry had tried to get Wade to move to Atlanta, but he had refused. Wade knew he would never be able to live that far away from his mother. After Aunt PittyPat died, he and his cousin Beau, who was still living in New York, sold the Hamilton House. Not three months later his Uncle Henry was dead. Wade decided he had died because he had nothing left in his life. His pseudo children were dead, and his pseudo grandchildren lived far away from him. Henry had not seen either one of them in over twenty years except for when Wade had attended Sarah Jane's funeral.

After Wade had gotten married when he was twenty-two years old, he had finally decided that Rhett was not going to change back into the man he had been when they had lived in Atlanta.

After some pleasantries Jade said, "What is the real story behind Mother and Dad's separation?"

"Whatever they told you is the real story."

"No, it isn't. It doesn't make any sense. They couldn't get along. So, Dad took Bonnie and went to live in Paris while Mother kept me to raise."

"Sounds reasonable to me."

"It does not, Wade. If that was true, why did Dad not join Mother after Bonnie died?"

"Because he was so devastated by the loss that he couldn't handle living in a war zone."

"No, Wade. I don't accept it."

"Jade, when we lived in Atlanta, they were both unhappy. They were constantly fighting."

"They are constantly fighting now."

"When they were fighting in Atlanta, it wasn't to win an argument it was to inflict pain upon the other one. It was a war zone. It is not something anybody wants to think about or talk about. Now it is just them trying to assert themselves. They fight now because they both want everything their way. And also, because Dad loves to get Mother's goat. Jade, there is an old saying, 'Don't turn over a rock, you might not like what you find underneath it.' I honestly don't know all the details but what I do know is that for over twenty years they have lived happily together, sort of. I do know they love each other to the moon and back. They have loved all of us to the moon and back. I personally am going to be grateful for our good fortune to have two such loving parents. I know what it is like to live with two parents who aren't loving."

"Please, Wade."

"Jade, I am immune from your charm. I guess you could ask Dad or Mother."

"They won't tell me anything more than what they told me when I was seven years old. When I tell them that story doesn't make any sense, they both look at me and say, 'But that is the truth.' I have even tried to talk to them about it separately. Their story never changes."

Wade stood up and with a bemused smile on his face, he said, "Jade, don't borrow trouble. Go home to your husband and your children and be grateful you have them."

"You are referring to Mother's first two husbands and Bonnie."

Yes, I am. Let me walk you out."

Jade did leave Wade's home. She decided to go see Ella.

Wade for his part had finally forgiven Rhett completely. Wade had joined Rhett in managing his vast fortune. Slowly he and Ella had started calling Rhett Dad.

Rhett had not reacted the first several times either child had done it because he knew that they were not aware they had done it. He had just accepted the moniker. He had been pleased, of course. So incredibly pleased. He would never again take these simple pleasures for granted.

Ella had married Jeremy Butler, Robert's oldest son. When Jeremy had asked to be allowed to marry Ella, Rhett had said, "No, she is your cousin."

"Actually, Uncle Rhett, she isn't. We actually aren't related at all."

"Good point. Why do you want to marry Ella?"

"I want to marry Ella because I love her."

"Why do you love her?"

Jeremy had stared at Rhett. He had not known what to say. Finally, Rhett said, "She has so many wonderful qualities. I want to make sure you understand how wonderful she truly is. I want to make sure you never take her for granted."

"There is something magical about her. When she smiles at me, I feel like I am in heaven. She is sweet, kind, and considerate. She isn't the smartest girl in the world, true enough but I don't need a smart wife."

For the next half hour, Rhett peppered Jeremy with questions. At the end of their discussion, Rhett said, "I will approve your marriage to Ella, but she is too young to get married. She is only sixteen. You can be engaged but you must wait until she is nineteen to wed."

Later Jeremy told Ella what Rhett had said. Jeremy then said, "Uncle Rhett must love you an awful lot. I have never been so thoroughly interrogated, and he has known me for the last six years."

With Jeremy's words the last of the hurt in Ella's heart was healed.

When Jade arrived at Ella's house, it was loud and chaotic. Ella had five children. Although Ella did have a nursemaid, like Mother she liked taking care of her children herself. After Jade joined Ella in the playroom, she said, "Can we go in the parlor? I would like to talk to you about something serious."

"Sure. Polly, I will be in the parlor if you need me."

"Yes, Mrs. Butler."

After Jade and Ella were seated in the parlor, Ella said, "I am with child again. I am so excited."

"How can you be excited? You already have five children."

"I know how many children I have. I want a house full of children."

"You have a house full."

Ella scowled at Jade. She changed the subject and said, "I will perform one more solo at church before I go into my confinement."

"Ella, what is the true story about Mother and Dad's separation."

"They couldn't live together because they were always fighting so they separated with Dad going to Paris with Bonnie and mother going to Tara with you. When Dad got over his pain at having lost Bonnie, he joined us in Charleston."

"Ella that story is so full of holes that it could be Swiss cheese."

"It is the truth."

"It is not."

"Jade, I really don't remember very much from our time in Atlanta except that Mother and Dad were fighting all the time. It was awful. I didn't understand what they were saying but even as a four-year-old little girl I could hear the hate in their words. That is why it took Dad so long to join us. He didn't want to return to living in a war zone, but he missed Mother and us so much he had to try again."

"Why won't anyone tell me the truth?"

"That is the truth."

Jade stood up and said, "Maybe Aunt Rosemary will tell me the truth. Goodbye."

"Goodbye. I'll see you at church Sunday."

"Yes."

Jade thought Aunt Rosemary's townhouse, which had once been her grandmother's townhouse, was boring in the décor but Aunt Rosemary and her husband Mark were happy with it, Jade guessed.

Two hours later when Jade returned home to Raymond and their new baby, Beatrice, she had decided to accept she wasn't going to get all the answers. If even Aunt Rosemary wouldn't tell her anything then nobody would tell. All Aunt Rosemary would say was, 'I don't know what happened. Your father was living in Paris and your mother decided to move to Charleston with you and your siblings. She had moved to Charleston to get Wade and Ella a good education. She had been living on her family plantation. I can't remember the name. If you find out anything let me know.'

'Tara. Mother's family plantation was called Tara. She sold it to a Yankee who had bought what once was Twelve Oaks. The properties bordered each other.'

'That's right.'

Both ladies knew that Scarlett had taken great pleasure in informing her sister that she had sold the land to a Yankee. Aunt Suellen and her children could continue to live in the house if Aunt Suellen wanted. The house, the slave cabins, and the graveyard were not part of the sale. Scarlett would send her a check for her third of the proceeds. If Suellen was extremely careful, she could live on that in the county. It was right after Uncle Will had passed away. Jade didn't know what Aunt Suellen's response was but after Mother had gotten the letter she had been gleeful for several weeks. Dad had said, "You know you are going to have to repent for all those uncharitable thoughts and deeds."

Mother had laughed and said, "I will say a hundred rosaries in order to enjoy this final besting of Suellen in our lifelong battle."

All Dad had said was, "We aren't Catholic."

Mother had laughed and said, "So much the better."

Rosemary had long since figured out that no one was going to tell her what had really happened. She had her suspicions but that was all they were suspicions. She would keep them to herself. Her favorite niece didn't need to know any of all that. Rosemary knew that Jade was her favorite because the girl looked just like her. Also, because Jade was the most charming of the Butlers although Coco was pretty charming also.

Rosemary had also long ago decided it didn't matter. Whatever happened had eventually brought her family back together again. It had even restored the Butlers' status enough in Charleston that when Mark got a good enough job to take a wife, he had asked her to marry him. She had agreed on the condition that they still continue to live with her mother. Neither Rosemary nor Mark ever said a word about the fact that most of his paycheck had gone to support his mother and sister. Now at least half of his paycheck continued to support his sister. Even after Rhett's mother's death his lawyer still sent Rosemary a check every month.

Rhett felt he owed it to Rosemary for destroying her prospects all those years ago. Also, he didn't want anyone saying he was tightfisted. In truth he didn't want anyone saying anything bad about him. He was received in Charleston, and he wasn't going to do anything to destroy that. He had finally grown up enough to know how valuable a good reputation was. It was quite the reversal of that young, foolish man that had danced with Scarlett at the Hospital Bazaar. He knew that no amount of money and no amount of courage could make up for good people thinking one was dishonorable and unethical. He would never forget the shame he felt when his mother had asked if he was proud of his actions. The shame he felt that his mother had known all the awful things he had done in his life.

When Raymond saw her, he said, "Did you get any answers?"

"Nobody will tell me anything."

"I think it is probably best you don't know."

"That was kind of what Wade said."

"Accept that you won't know. Come. Let's go upstairs and play with our new baby. Coco stopped by. She has news. She wants you to stop by when you get a chance. I think Mr. Livingston finally asked her to marry him."

"Or Dad finally said yes. Remember how long we had to wait until Dad said yes to us getting married."

"Was he that way with Ella."

Jade smiled and said, "Yes, he doesn't want to let any of us go."

"Does Coco want to know what happened between your parents?"

"No, she says that it was long before her time and she doesn't care. She is just grateful they repaired their relationship, so they came together to have her."

"Jade, your parents love you. They obviously love each other. This is something they are ashamed of." Jade looked at him sharply. Raymond continued, "From the outside it is obvious that it is not something they ever want anyone to know."

"If Grandmother was still alive, she would tell me. I was always her favorite."

"You are never going to find out. And I suspect that if you did find out you wouldn't be happy that you had. If everyone is going to so much trouble for you not to find out. Let it go.

"Alright."

It was a frustrating moment for Jade. She had usually been able to get everything she wanted. Either by charming the person into giving it to her or outsmarting the person into giving it to her. With resignation she guessed there was a first time for everything. With that Jade showed more wisdom than her mother had shown at that age. She put the subject behind a closed door in her mind and never thought about it again.