Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Eighteen

After Rhett had paid the bill, the couple got a cab back to Scarlett's house. As soon as they were settled in the cab, Rhett started kissing Scarlett. After a few minutes, Rhett pulled back and said, "Let's take a break before I try to go too far."

Scarlett giggled and said, "Good idea."

"When do you want to get married?"

"I don't know. Are we going to have a church wedding?"

"If you want to, but I'm not sure there is a God."

"Of course, there is a God. You will not be filling our children's heads with that nonsense."

Rhett had smiled and said, "Alright. Do you belong to a church?"

"Sort of. Ashley and Melly go to First Baptist. I go occasionally."

"We could go down to the courthouse and get married."

"I think I would like that better. I don't have time to plan a wedding."

"Let's get married two Mondays from now."

"No, two Saturdays from now. I will close out the month of November then I will be able to take a couple of days off. It will be the second time I have taken a full day off. The first being when Melly was having her baby."

"Then three Mondays from now. The courthouse isn't open on Saturdays."

"True. Besides, we will have to give Ashley and Melanie some time to get used to the idea of you moving into the house."

"No, you have to move into the hotel with me."

"I couldn't do that. I leave Wade with Melly while I work during the day."

"I can hire you a nursemaid."

"I don't know. Melly is extremely attached to Wade and vice versa."

"I can see about buying a house near the Wilkeses, but I am not living with anyone."

"Except me and Wade."

"Except you and Wade."

By that time, the couple had arrived back at Scarlett's house. She said, "Come on in. We can share the good news with Ashley and Melly."

"Alright."

Rhett helped Scarlett out of the cab then turned to the driver and said, "How much do I owe you?"

The driver said, "Twenty-five cents."

Rhett handed the man a quarter and a nickel. The driver said, "Thank you, sir."

As Rhett and Scarlett walked into the house, he thought about how she had spoken Mr. Wilkes' name. He had noticed over the last few months that she was no longer hostile towards the man. Rhett wondered what Mr. Wilkes had done to get Scarlett to forgive him. If he got a chance, he would ask him.

When Ashley saw Scarlett and Rhett walk through the parlor door, he could tell that they both were extremely happy. Scarlett said, "Rhett and I are going to get married."

Ashley smiled. He believed he had corrected two mistakes in regard to Scarlett. He had prevented her from continuing to worship him and he had helped Scarlett and Rhett become a happy couple. One thing for sure, if their marriage failed, he would not be responsible in any way. Ashley didn't think it would fail this time because both people appeared to value their partner.

Melly stood up and said, "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you. You can make an appointment with Reverend Graham for some time next week so you can reserve the church." Scarlett walked over to Melly and showed her the engagement ring. Melly said, "It's beautiful but what is that all over it?"

"Tiramisu. Rhett stuck the ring in my dessert as his way of asking me. We aren't going to have a church wedding. We are going to go to the courthouse. On Monday December third."

"That is awfully fast."

"We don't want to wait."

Rhett said, "I'm not getting any younger."

Everyone laughed. Ashley asked, "Mr. Butler, will you be moving in here."

"Call me, Rhett."

"Call us Ashley and Melly."

"No, Scarlett and Wade will move in with me at the hotel."

Melly said, "A hotel is no place to raise a young boy."

Scarlett turned to Rhett and said, "Let's move in here until we find our house. That way Melly can continue watching Wade until we hire a nursemaid."

Rhett looked at Scarlett's pleading face and said, "Alright but just until we find our house and hire us a nursemaid."

"Thank you. Go ahead and have a seat. I'm going to go wash my hands and then check on Wade."

"Would you check on Beau while you are upstairs?"

"Sure."

Scarlett went to the kitchen to wash her hands. She then got a lamp and went upstairs.

Scarlett slowly opened Wade's door. She smiled. He had once again kicked off his covers. She put them back on him. She marveled at the love she had for the little boy. At first, she hadn't felt anything for the boy but once he had smiled at her with her smile all her mother's love sprang forth. For a long time, she had thought that it was her and Wade against the world but now they had Rhett. For a moment, she wondered if Wade would like living with Rhett. She smiled. She wondered if she would like living with Rhett. She guessed she would find out in a little more than two weeks.

Scarlett left Wade's room and walked across the hallway to Melly and Ashley's room to check on Beau. No matter how many times Scarlett saw the room she still could not believe how bland and boring the décor was. When Charlie was alive, he had let Scarlett spend a little bit of money to buy items to brighten up their room. Just having bright colorful decorations around the room had brighten her mood often.

Scarlett peeked at Beau, and he was sleeping soundly.

As Scarlett walked down the stairs, she thought, 'Ashley and Melanie really are soul mates. I would never have been happy living with someone so boring. Either one of them.'

After another hour Rhett had taken his leave. Scarlett had asked him to supper for the next night, which he had accepted. Right now, he was going to play some cards. He would then go to the hotel and dream about his future wife.

Scarlett was lying in her bed looking at her engagement ring. She would have to get it sized. It was a little bit large. As she looked at it, she thought about Rhett's promise that if she didn't have as much fun as he did, she would never have to do it again. Scarlett didn't completely believe Rhett, but she had gotten the promise out of him. She was secretly hoping she would enjoy it as much as he did. That would be nice.

Ashley was thinking about him and Rhett living together. At one point it had made Ashley want to laugh out loud at the change from his first timeline. In his first timeline, Rhett and he could hardly say a civil word to each other.

Melly was wondering what it would be like to have another person living in the house. The little house was beginning to get full.

When Scarlett had gotten to the shop the next morning, she had shown everyone her engagement ring. Thelma had said, "So, Mr. Butler is your favorite."

"Yes, he is."

"What are you going to tell Mr. Newman?"

"By the time Paul returns to New York, Rhett and I will already be married. We are getting married in two weeks at the courthouse. Everyone is invited. So, I will just tell Paul that I married Rhett while he was gone."

Coco said, "That doesn't give us much time to get a new dress made."

"I don't want a new dress. I'm going to wear my green dress."

"That one is lovely."

"Thank you."

Later, Scarlett thought about the ten thousand dollars she had gotten from the insurance company. She hadn't spent a penny of it thankfully. Slowly but surely, she had removed all of the money except twenty dollars from her bank account. She had done it by withdrawing three or four hundred dollars at a time. It was in a lockbox in her room. She decided she would not tell Rhett about the money. She didn't think he would care about the money, and she was positive he wouldn't take the money from her. Yet, he might insist on her putting it in the bank. She didn't trust banks. Banks fail. Banks got robbed. No, she would just keep it in her changing room. She might tell him about the other money she had hidden in her room. That money was her share of the profits from the dress shop after she paid her living expenses.

That night the family had fried chicken again for supper. As they were eating Scarlett remarked, "I miss the gravy we had at home."

Rhett said, "I miss pig roasted in a pit. That is why I attended that barbecue."

"Really?"

"Yes, it had been many years since I had pig fixed that way."

"Just think if you hadn't attended, we would never have met."

"That is true."

When Rhett saw Scarlett push her ring back on her finger, he said, "I will come get you tomorrow and we will take your ring to get it sized. We need to pick out our wedding rings anyway."

"I will let you buy me dinner also."

"You are too kind."

Which made everyone, including Scarlett, laugh.

The next day Rhett came to the dress shop around eleven. He said, "Let's go. We can stop at Katz's Delicatessen and have dinner then we can go to the jewelry store."

"Alright, Darling."

The delicatessen Rhett took Scarlett to had limited seating, but they were able to get a table. She got a roast beef sandwich, and he got a turkey sandwich. There were some vegetables on the side. They were tomatoes, raw cauliflower, and raw carrots. As Scarlett looked at Rhett's uneaten cauliflower, she said, "Do you not like cauliflower?"

"No, I do not. Don't serve that after we are married."

"But I like cauliflower."

"You have to find a way to eat cauliflower without it being on my table."

"Rhett, you are being so high handed in this matter. Why can you just not eat the vegetable?"

"I don't even want to look at it."

"Rhett, you are being ridiculous."

"Whether I am being ridiculous or not cauliflower will not be served on my dining room table. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

As Rhett and Scarlett were finishing their meals, an elderly couple joined them at their table. They didn't ask if they could sit with them, they just sat down. They started speaking German to each other.

As Rhett and Scarlett left the restaurant, she said, "That something you rarely hear in Atlanta."

"True."

As Scarlett was waiting while Rhett hailed down a cab, she decided that he was probably going to try to control every aspect of her life, also. As she got into the cab, she said, "I'm not selling the dress shop."

Rhett smiled and said, "Of course not. Although after you get access to my checkbook, you may find it more trouble than it is worth."

"I doubt it."

"Or you may decide to just work half days."

"I doubt it."

"Or when I travel for business, you may choose to travel with me."

"I doubt it."

As the couple entered the jewelry store, Rhett said, "Let us shelve the discussion for now and start discussing our wedding rings."

When the clerk asked if he could help them, Rhett said, "Yes, I bought this ring in here last week and now my fiancé needs to get it sized."

The clerk said, "Do you know your ring size?"

Scarlett said, "I think I wear a size six."

"Let me get my sizer."

Scarlett did wear a size six and the clerk told them the ring would be ready to pick up by the end of the week.

The couple had a hard time choosing matching bands. Scarlett wanted something fancy and decorative while Rhett wanted something plain and nondescript. Rhett finally convinced Scarlett to accept the plainer gold band by telling her, "If it is too elaborate, I just won't wear it." Scarlett scowled at Rhett. He continued, "Besides your band will be next to your flashy emerald."

Scarlett smiled and said, "Yes, it will. Alright. I will accept the plainer band."