Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Seventy-One

By the time the Butlers had returned to Boston, their brownstone was ready to take the final walk through. Rhett and Scarlett were to meet the builder, Calvin Hobbs, at the townhouse.

Calvin was waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Butler when they got there. After Calvin had let them in, he said, "Shall we start on the first floor? This is the foyer."

Mrs. Butler had looked at Calvin like he was crazy and in a firm voice said, "No, we will start on the bottom most floor."

Calvin was nonplussed. None of his other buyers had wanted to see that area. He said, "The servants' quarters?"

"Yes, I like to see what conditions my servants are living in."

"Yes ma'am. Let us go through the dining room to the servants' staircase."

Calvin showed them the door to the servants' staircase. It was past the dining room in a small alcove.

Mrs. Butler said, "Is it like this on every floor?"

"Yes, ma'am."

That was fine with Mrs. Butler, but the door was right by Mr. Butler's office.

Mrs. Butler said to Mr. Butler, "That is going to be a lot of people walking by your office door. Shall we get them to move the door?"

Calvin almost groaned. The woman acted like moving a wall or a door were no more difficult than snapping one's fingers.

Mr. Butler said, "If the noise bothers me, we can get it moved at that time."

"Are you sure, Honey?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Lead on, Mr. Hobbs, to the servants' quarters."

Calvin led the way down the stairs passed the kitchen. When the group got to the servants' quarters, Mrs. Butler said, "The rooms seem small."

"They are small. That is so you can fit more rooms into the space."

Mrs. Butler said to Mr. Butler, "They look like monks' rooms."

Mr. Butler quipped, "I think monks' rooms are bigger."

Calvin mentally groaned.

Mr. Butler continued, "Just think of how many servants you can have with that many rooms."

"True."

Calvin said, "Shall we look at the kitchen?"

When the group got to the kitchen, Mrs. Butler said, "We will have to wait until the cook gets here to see If the kitchen is up to standards."

Cautiously Calvin said, "Is she meeting us here?"

Mrs. Butler laughed and said, "No, Mr. Hobbs, she is not meeting us here. We haven't even hired her yet. We will be contacting the employment agency and buying our furniture tomorrow."

Rhett smiled. He loved watching Scarlett interact with people. She truly didn't know that she was a royal pain in the behind to most people. It was one of the things he loved about her. Not when she was a royal pain to him, but when she was to everyone else. Watching her satisfied his need to aggravate people. The best part to him was she didn't even know she was annoying people.

Calvin just wanted to get his check and walk out the door. Any changes they may want in the future were someone else's problem. Unfortunately, too many of his buyers were like Mrs. Butler. He was sure his latest buyer Mrs. Hilton was going to be as big of a pain in the ass as Mrs. Butler. She had the same damn accent as Mrs. Butler, also. That accent alone was beginning to irritate Calvin.

Calvin said, "Shall we move back up to the foyer?"

"Yes."

As the couple walked through the foyer, the formal parlor, the dining room, and Rhett's office, they made no comments. When they were in Rhett's office, Scarlett said to him, "Are you happy with this room?"

"Very much."

"Good. Let's move on."

The next floor contained the family parlor, music room, and the library. As the group stood in the library, Scarlett said, "How many?"

Rhett smiled and said, "Twelve hundred minimum."

"Are you going to have fun?"

"Yes, I am. I will give you a couple of rows."

"I want my own wall."

"Two for me, one for you, and one for books we both like."

"Deal."

Rhett smiled. He hadn't been negotiating, but he would let Scarlett think they had been. He was still an arrogant, selfish man, but he was more subtle about it now. He said, "Let's move on to the bedrooms. We need to choose our bedroom."

As Scarlett walked up the stairs, she said, "I have already chosen my bedroom. You can sleep in that room also if you want."

"Maybe I will just visit."

Scarlett looked over her shoulder to say something to Rhett and saw Mr. Hobbs' beet red face. She had pity for the man and said, "Let's talk about it when we are alone."

"Of course, my love."

Rhett laughed when he saw the bedrooms. He already knew which one Scarlett was planning on sleeping in. The wallpaper gave it away. It was bold, loud, and striking. Just like his wife. Furthermore, it had a beautiful view of the city. As they stood in the room, he said, "I get to choose the drapes and the carpet."

Scarlett smiled at Rhett and said, "Of course, Dear. We will let Ella and Wade choose their own rooms on the fourth floor since we will be on the fifth floor. Just in case."

"Yes, Dear."

Scarlett turned to Mr. Hobbs, and said, "We will accept it. Can I have the key."

"Dear, let me give him the check first, then he can give us the key."

"Alright."

As Calvin Hobbs left the brownstone with the check in his hand, he was happy. He was happy that another sale was completed. Unfortunately, there were so many more to be concluded.

By Christmas, the Butlers were in their brownstone. Scarlett was so happy. The brownstone was beautiful. Rhett's contributions had made the home that much more wonderful. When the family got to the brownstone, Rhett swept Scarlett up and carried her over the threshold. She joyously laughed. He let her slide down his front. Although there was no evidence of his arousal, she knew he was as aroused as she was.

Rhett and Scarlett were in their home. Their children were around them. The house reflected their blended taste. They were part of the community. Cathy and Calvin Hilton would be moving into their home sometime in the spring. Scarlett and Ella saw Alice and Noah at the park all the time. Alice and Scarlett were becoming friends. When Alice would talk about Patrick, Scarlett would think, 'How boring that man is. Yet, Alice loved Patrick because he was boring. Boring and safe, the same reasons Scarlett had loved Patrick.

Scarlett was decorating the house for Christmas with the children. Wade was out of school until January. Both Wade and Ella were having an enjoyable time placing the decorations around the home. Scarlett didn't move a thing. What did it truly matter if the decorations were perfect or not? No, what mattered was that Wade and Ella had happy memories with her.

For whatever reason Suellen popped into Scarlett's head. Scarlett hoped wherever her sister was that Sue was finally happy. Looking back on her interactions with Sue, Scarlett knew she had been a bitch to her. The saddest thing was Scarlett had felt no guilt for her actions. No, she had felt no guilt until her world had crashed into a thousand pieces. Sadly, even in this redo, Scarlett had still felt no guilt. No Sue had always been collateral damage. Scarlett simply said a prayer that Sue was finally happy.

Susan Boyle AKA Suellen O'Hara had settled down quite nicely in Denver. The town was a young town and most of the residents had moved there from the North. Susan liked that a lot. Nobody cared where anyone was from. They had no idea the significance of being a Robillard, or a Hamilton, or a Hampton, or even a McDaniel from Mississippi. And furthermore, they didn't care. They cared about what you did, not what your great grandfather did.

Susan had opened a general store and she had called it Boyle's General Store. She had added a second floor and turned it into her apartment.

Sue made up a wonderful story about her dead husband. He was handsome and brave. He had died in the war. He had left her a little bit of money and she had used it to get to Denver and set up the store. Her dead husband had absolutely no faults. His name had been Tony Boyle. She had given her imaginary husband Tony Fontaine's first name because she had always fancied him, but he had only eyes for Scarlett. Despite the fact that Scarlett had told Suellen that she would never marry one of the Fontaine brothers because of Old Miss she had kept Tony on the string.

With Susan's move to Denver, she had stopped drinking and over-eating. She had slimmed down considerably, but more than anything Sue was happy for the first time in her life. She looked incredibly attractive. She had finally come into her own. Yes, she had been sort of attractive at age fifteen but at age twenty-three she was extremely attractive.

Sue really didn't want to have relations again and she didn't want to marry again, but if she met a handsome rich older man, she would see what she could do to get him to the altar. There were a lot of rich men in Denver. Who knows what might happen.

Six months after Sue had opened the doors to her general store, Tony Fontaine had wandered in. He was a traveling salesman. He sold alcohol and guns. His last name was now Stewart. It was his mother's maiden name. He didn't think Alex would ever be able to afford to come looking for him or that it would ever be safe for him to return to Georgia, but Tony had to leave a clue out there.

Tony had taken the train to Galveston. When he arrived, he had twelve dollars in his pocket. He had managed to get a job as a tree trimmer. He had gotten a room at a local boarding house. One of his fellow lodgers was frequently gone. Tony found out he was a traveling salesman. The more Tony found out about the job the more he thought it would be an excellent job for him. The biggest disadvantage the job had was all the travelling, which was not a disadvantage to Tony.

Tony was a natural salesman with his charm and his wit. Soon he had been transferred to the Denver area, the most profitable area. His route covered all of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. He was in Denver once a month.

Tony and Suellen enjoyed talking with each other. They had even flirted a little bit. Now that Scarlett wasn't there overshadowing Suellen, Tony could see how attractive Sue was.

The couple never talked about their lives before the war or their lives in Georgia at all for that matter. They talked about their futures. They were pipe dreams, but they at least were dreams. Much more than they had in Clayton County, Georgia.

Tony would stay at a local hotel wherever he was at. After a couple of visits, Sue had asked him to supper one day and despite the inappropriateness of it they had eaten upstairs alone in her apartment. It was a meal that she had fixed herself. Tony had enjoyed the meal.

Tony would come to Denver once a month. The three days he was in town he spent every evening with Sue. They were truly enjoying their time together. They never really talked about their lives back in Georgia. That was another lifetime. Those children in Georgia were entirely different people than Tony and Sue were now.

After six months of visits, after supper Tony had kissed Suellen. She had kissed him back. They had gone all the way. Sue was so glad they had. Tony had certainly not been a gentleman in the bed, and she had not been a lady. They had relations several more times that night and the next two nights. He had left to go try to sell alcohol and guns in the Utah territory. He had told Sue, "There is quite the market there despite the Mormon influence." Tony had paused then added, "Or maybe because of the Mormon influence."

Tony returned a month later. He had not bothered to get a hotel room and Sue had not wanted him to. After a year, Tony had said, "Do you want to get married?"

"Yes."

Tony and Sue were married the next day. It was the perfect arrangement for Sue. When Tony was there, she could devote all her energies towards him. The rest of the month, she could devote herself to her store.

Tony was happy with the arrangements also. He had someone to come home to. He had someone who cared whether he was alive or not.

Every month after Tony had left to go on his route, Sue would often take out the photograph she had of herself and her parents. Originally it was a picture of her family, but she had cut Scarlett and Careen out of the picture. She would then fantasize about how much better her life would have been if she had been an only child. Or if the war hadn't come. At these moments, Sue would allow herself a couple of glasses of brandy.

Sue and Tony were happy with each other and their current lives. It was not the life they had been planning to live that day in April at the Wilkes barbecue. Yet they were making the best of the life they had now. In a lot of ways, they thought they were better off than all the people who still lived in the South, most of them were still living in the past.

The only fly in the ointment in Tony and Sue's world is that they had no children. They never really talked about it. They both said they didn't want children. And they pretended to believe each other.

Sue never allowed herself to think of her daughter. That always hurt too much. She would always tell herself that Susie was better off at Tara with Will. Susie's parent who had wanted her. Most of the time she believed it.