Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Alternate Ending #1
What if Marvin had never offered Rhett a chance to win Scarlett's heart?
April 1883
Marvin Zindler had impatiently waited for Rhett Butler to die so he could claim another soul for the Master. He had saved that twerp Patrick Green's life just to torture Rhett. Just to keep Scarlett out of reach of Rhett. To keep all hope in Rhett extinguished.
Marvin had considered offering Rhett a chance to win Scarlett's heart back but decided not to give Rhett that chance. There was no telling what these humans would do. No, better to go with the boringly safe path.
Marvin had watched as Scarlett had gotten Rhett to confess his sins and profess his belief in God and Jesus Christ then she had urged Rhett to ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins.
Marvin just knew that Rhett truly didn't believe what he was saying. That was the rule - the humans had to truly believe.
Yet, Marvin knew he had lost when he saw Clarence Odbody descending. Marvin said, "What in the fucking hell are you doing here?"
Clarence had not been offended by Marvin's language. What could one expect from a demon? He said, "Escorting another saved soul home."
"No, damn it. What the shit! Rhett was just saying the words because Scarlett was telling him to."
"He said the words nonetheless."
"Doesn't he have to believe in order to get into heaven?"
"Right now, he believes. She told him they would be together again in heaven. He wants that very much. Not to get into heaven, but to be with Scarlett again. Therefore, he believes.
"He really loved her?"
"Yes, he just didn't know how to show her or tell her or trust that she loved him also. She really loved him too. She didn't know she loved him until it was too late. Although I don't know if it would have mattered. He couldn't trust her. All his trust had been taken away from him by predators."
Marvin snickered. He said, "Rhett really was a fool that first year after being disowned."
"No, Rhett wasn't a fool, he was just naïve. Up until then he had never been exposed to the seedier side of humans. He had never met people that would sell out their best friend for a slice of bread. He never truly trusted anyone ever again."
Marvin laughed uproariously. He said, "People who used and degraded him."
"True. I have to go now. He has passed over."
"What about her? Surely, she is going to hell."
"No, she just confessed all of her sins also. She believes also. She very much wants to be in heaven with Rhett and her children."
"I thought she loved Patrick Green."
"She does. You wouldn't know this Marvin, but humans have an unlimited supply of love to give to one another. Most just don't know it."
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I lost another one. If this keeps happening, I will no longer be the boy genius."
"She will live for the next forty years in relative happiness despite Peggy's actions. Goodbye, Marvin. I have to go. Rhett will never find heaven if I don't help him."
"Wait, Clarence. Are you scared to try for your wings? Scared you are going to fail? If I were you, I would be scared also. You have failed to pass your practical exams every time."
"Yes, I am. I don't want to be responsible for someone going to hell."
"They are all going to hell."
"Not all of them. I am waiting for the perfect human. I am looking for one that desperately needs my help and despite his actions and words still has a good heart."
"That is going to be hard to find amongst the humans. Very few of them truly have a good heart."
"I really must go. Look at his soul just hovering there. Rhett doesn't even know he is supposed to go into the light."
"Why isn't his daughter calling him?"
"She is. He just doesn't know how to listen yet."
"Goodbye, Clarence."
"Goodbye, Marvin."
As Marvin watched Clarence and Rhett float through the clouds, he thought, 'I really should have offered him Scarlett's heart in exchange for his soul. No, he would not have accepted that. I should have offered him a chance to return in time where he could have had a chance to win Scarlett's heart. If he didn't win her heart, he would lose his soul. After everything he did to her, he would never have been able to win her heart. With his arrogance and conceit, he would have accepted the offer in a second. Damnit, that is what I should have done.'
Three days earlier
Charlotte sent the telegram. She knew Rhett would not want her to, but she felt like it was the least she could do for the man that had done so much for her. She knew he would want the real Scarlett by his side in his final moments. She had made her decision when the doctor had told her Rhett would be dead in a matter of days if not hours. She owed Rhett. She was not going to let his pride win this final conflict.
Charlotte had waited until all he could do was go lie in the bed after taking a dose of laudanum. She had gone into his office and tried to look in the desk. It was locked. She simply walked into their bedroom and got his keys off his nightside table. After she had slipped them in her pocket, she had put her hand on his cheek. When his unfocused gaze fell on her, she said, "You will be all right, Rhett."
"Don't leave me."
"Of course not."
Charlotte had sat with Rhett for about ten minutes. Just until he had fallen asleep again.
Charlotte just hoped Scarlett still cared enough about Rhett to make the trip. She hoped Scarlett would get there in time for Rhett to say goodbye. She hoped Scarlett would finally know how much he had loved her.
After Scarlett had read the telegram, she had nearly fainted. It said: Rhett Butler dying STOP He is calling for you STOP Come quick STOP 11931 Lexington Ave NYC NY.
At first Scarlett had thought, 'Good. Die you bastard.' Then she had sighed. She knew she was going to Rhett's death bed. It was one last chance to get answers. One last time to reconcile with Bonnie's father. One last time to see Rhett again.
Scarlett would go to New York. Rhett was calling for her, that was reason enough to go. She had enough sins she had to atone for that she didn't need to atone for being deliberately cruel to someone. Even if that man had been deliberately cruel to her time after time.
Scarlett knew her life would be easier if she didn't go to New York. If she didn't go, then she would not have to tell Patrick about Rhett. Her secret would stay secret. Scarlett sighed one last time before walking into the parlor to tell Patrick about her former husband, Rhett. To tell Patrick that she had to leave right now to go to her former husband's bedside while he was dying.
Scarlett had gotten there in time. She and Wade had met Charlotte. When Scarlett was eying the younger woman, Charlotte said while looking at Wade, "We never had relations. I don't think he could anymore."
It didn't matter that Wade was standing there. The young man knew the man Rhett had been. Wade, along with everybody else in Atlanta, knew about his stepfather's reputation. Scarlett said, "I'm sorry Rhett could no longer perform. Having relations was so particularly important to him. He had relations with enough other women while we were married, that it doesn't matter if you and he did or didn't have them especially since we were divorced."
"He hired me to pretend to be you. He loved you so much, but I know he could never tell you."
"I don't know if he loved me, or I was the one he couldn't get. Even if he truly did love me, he couldn't ever tell me. He was afraid I would use his love against him."
"Will you stay until the end?"
"Yes, I will stay until he draws his last breath."
"He doesn't know I sent you a telegram asking you to come to him before he died."
"You better leave before he finds out. I'm sure he can still be cruel with his words."
Charlotte smiled and said, "Let me introduce you to the staff."
"No, just dismiss them. Wade and I will fend for ourselves. We don't need anyone to wait on us. We haven't in a long time."
"Very well. I have lived with Rhett for over five years. He bought me a house, some furniture, and gave me a lot of money. I know he is a hard man, but deep down he has a good heart."
"Way deep down."
Charlotte dismissed the employees. She then went and got her carpet bag. She found Wade in the parlor. Scarlett was already with Rhett. She said, "I am going to leave now. I am going to start my new life. After Rhett passes away, just contact his attorney, Ben Matlock. Rhett has arranged everything."
"Do you know where Rhett is going to be buried?"
"Next to his daughter in Atlanta."
"Mr. Matlock will take care of disposing of the body and all his possessions?"
"Yes. Rhett left your mother a lot of money that is in a safety deposit box that Mr. Matlock can access."
"Very well."
Charlotte handed Wade some jewelry. She said, "He would want her to have these."
"Thank you for sending her the telegram. Mama needed to be with him in the end. Have a good life."
"I will thanks to Rhett."
"I guess Mama will too, thanks to Rhett."
As Charlotte walked to her now home, she was thinking of the night she and Rhett met. She would never have known how much meeting Rhett would change her life.
Charlotte thought about her friend Flo on her way home. Flo was her friend and maybe they could have been more than friends if fate hadn't intervened in the form of Rhett.
Charlotte saw a woman who was obviously a whore. An old whore at that. When she started to cross the street to avoid her, Charlotte stopped. Yes, it was an old whore. It was her friend, Flo.
Charlotte knew what she was going to do with the rest of her life. Rehabilitate former whores like herself. Help them to have a good life by teaching them to read, write, and do their sums. She would have to teach them how to behave like a lady. That would be the hard part, but she had the rest of her life to accomplish it.
Rhett had lasted less than forty-eight hours after Charlotte left the house. Scarlett had stayed until he drew his last breath. She had never left Rhett's side except to eat and use the privy. She slept by his side one last time. She had needed the connection. The connection she had foolishly thrown away.
When Scarlett had walked into Rhett's bedroom, he had been sleeping. She had gone and got her carpet bag. She pulled her book out of it. When he had woken up, he saw her. He said, "Are you real?"
"Yes, Charlotte sent me a telegram."
"Who?"
"Your companion. She has left the house, so you can't me rude or mocking to her."
With a weak smile, Rhett said, "I don't need her now. I have the real Scarlett. Please, don't leave…"
"Rhett, I have never left you. I will stay until you draw your last breath."
"I was such a fool."
"I was too."
Rhett reached his hand out and Scarlett had taken it. She held his hand while he when back to sleep.
Rhett had woken up a few times and called Scarlett's name. He had been reassured she was there. She knew that he knew it was really her and not some other woman. She had given him the laudanum to ease his pain. While they had been waiting for the medicine to take effect, they had talked. Probably talked more honestly than they had ever talked before. He had told her so much. She had managed not to cry in the moment.
Wade had sent the telegrams to Patrick. Patrick didn't need to know about that. Scarlett was safe. Wade would never say anything. Wade was the best son ever. She was glad she now appreciated how wonderful her older children truly were.
On the train back to Boston, Scarlett thought about the jewelry the woman had given Wade. It had been a pair of sapphire cufflinks and a wedding ring. She had recognized them.
Scarlett thought about Rhett's wedding ring. He had never worn it after they had returned from New Orleans. She guessed he had already given up on them.
Scarlett had given the cufflinks to Rhett on their first anniversary. She remembered how Rhett had mocked and made fun of the gift. He had not even given her a present of any kind. To add injury to insult after he had finished mocking and making fun of the gift, he had taken his wallet out and said, "How much money do you want? So, you can buy yourself an anniversary present."
Scarlett had walked out of the room with Rhett's mocking laughter behind her. She had spent a lot of time trying to give him the perfect gift. She hadn't known it at the time, but she had been reaching out to Rhett. She had been trying to create a reconciliation. After his response, she would rarely try again. That was when she had given up on them.
Rhett told her two days ago how much he had liked the gift. He said, "I'm sorry for mocking it. It had been the perfect gift."
A few hours later Rhett told her, "I'm so sorry for how much pain I caused you. I had been trying to hurt you like you were hurting me. I hurt you more because you never showed me your pain."
"I didn't know I was hurting you."
Rhett had sadly said, "I know."
"I tried to reach out to you that night in the hallway when I asked you where you were going every night. Bonnie called and you ran away."
"I know. I always ran away because I couldn't deal with the emotional turmoil you were creating in me."
"I didn't know."
Later that same day, Scarlett said, "You will be with Bonnie again."
"If there is heaven, I won't get in. I am too much of a sinner. You don't know all the horrible things I did to survive. Besides, you know I don't believe in God."
"Yes, you do. You always have."
"No, I don't."
"Let's not argue about it now. Listen to me for once in your life. You are enough of a gambler to be willing to hedge your bets. Let's confess our sins together. We will then both be in heaven with Bonnie and the baby."
"Will we be together?
"Yes, we will finally be together and be happy."
"All right. I will confess them all, even the ones a lady shouldn't hear."
"I can handle it. I lived with you for five years."
After Rhett had finished confessing all his sins, Scarlett knew why he was so hard. That first year after his disownment had stomped out any tenderness he might have once had. He had lived too long in a world where there was only predator or prey. Because of those circumstances, he could never show a weakness. He was afraid of being taken advantage of by the other person. She knew he had been taken advantage of far too many times. He had done things that he was not prepared to have to do, like sell his body to both men and women in order to eat that day. Things that the heir to the Butler fortune would never have to do just to eat.
Scarlett had wanted to ask if during that first year of disownment - Had he regretted his decision not to marry the girl? She knew he had so many times. She didn't need to make him admit it. Furthermore, he would never admit a mistake. That would make him appear weak.
It was only with Bonnie and Melly that he was not worried about being taken advantage of. He was right not to trust her. She would have taken advantage of him in a heartbeat. That was the kind of person she was then.
Scarlett finally realized why Rhett had admired Melly so much. It was because he believed she was one of the few people who would never take advantage of another person. Thus, he could just relax and enjoy her company.
Except the truth was that Melly had taken advantage of Scarlett's feelings for Ashley. Melly let Scarlett carry Ashley no matter how much Scarlett doing so hurt Scarlett.
That was part of the problem. Rhett never saw that Scarlett's relationship with Ashley was a two-way street.
Bonnie had been easy. Rhett gave love. She gave love back. It was the perfect arrangement except when Bonnie was sixteen the equation would not have been that simple. Maybe it was just as well Bonnie died when she did, the relationship was at its peak.
Scarlett shook off those thoughts. She was glad she could be with Rhett in his final moments because it had been so important to him. He had said he loved her. She guessed that was true enough. As much as Rhett could love anyone. She knew now that he didn't know what love was.
Scarlett told Rhett she loved him because she did. She believed he was her true love, but the circumstances of their lives had made them worse people. She would work on being a better person in the future.
Scarlett had to see that Rhett was truly dead. Now there was no doubt. Despite her being married to another man, she had always hoped Rhett would return to her. After all, her being married to Frank hadn't slowed Rhett's courtship of her down. She wished she had realized it at the time.
Rhett's death had finally closed that part of Scarlett's life. Her life in Georgia from being the belle of five counties to living through the war to surviving starvation to running a sawmill in Atlanta to living with Rhett. She had thought her divorce had been the end of that era, but now she knew that Rhett's death was truly the end of that era.
Scarlett had contacted Rhett's attorney. She had gotten her money from Mr. Matlock. He would arrange to have Rhett's body buried in Atlanta next to their daughter. Scarlett had asked the lawyer to bury Rhett with the cufflinks and his wedding ring.
Scarlett wanted the jewelry to forever be with Rhett. She never wanted to see it again. Seeing it just brought up bad memories. It hurt to know of another missed opportunity for them to have been happy. It was better the jewelry was buried six feet deep in a cemetery in Georgia.
Rhett's tombstone would say – Loving father. Father and child had slept together in life, they should sleep together in death. Scarlett would never go visit him or Bonnie. It was easier to pretend they weren't dead if one never saw the tombstones. Besides, there was nothing for her in the South anymore. She had given all that up almost ten years ago along with Tara, when she had left the South never to return again. It was a good decision.
Scarlett forced herself to stop thinking about Rhett and the past. He hadn't been her problem for many years now. His greatest gift to her was divorcing her so she could meet her wonderful Patrick.
Scarlett was going to have to deal with Patrick's anger when she got home. He was mad that she had lied to him about being a widow. When she had argued that she hadn't lied to him, Patrick had said, "Lying by omission is still lying."
Not only had Patrick not known that Rhett was still alive, but he was pretty mad when she had wanted to drop everything to go to Rhett's death bed just because Rhett was calling for her.
Patrick had said, "I cannot watch the girls. I have to go to work. You cannot go. You have no one to watch your daughters. You have to stay here."
"I guess I will just take them with me."
"You will not take my daughters while you visit your former husband."
Patrick had made it sound so sordid. Scarlett had just stood there staring at him.
Patrick and Scarlett had been yelling. Everyone in the brownstone could hear them.
Ella had walked into the room and said, "I will watch Melanie and Tricia. You go say goodbye to Uncle Rhett. You will never forgive yourself if you don't. You will never understand Uncle Patrick because you didn't live through it, but this is something Mama has to do."
Wade walked into the parlor. He said to Patrick, "You have to let her go. If you don't then she will never forgive herself. She will never be at peace. She is not doing this for him, but so she can close that period of her life. You don't need to worry. I can assure you that they don't love each other, but they are somehow bound to each other."
"It is unsafe for her to travel all that way alone."
"I will go with her and protect her."
Finally, Patrick had said, "Go, but you have to send me a telegram every day."
"Thank you, Darling. I will be back as soon as I can."
"Just go before I change my mind, but this discussion isn't over, Scarlett. You have a lot of explaining to do."
"Yes, I do. Wade, get a bag together. Let's go."
"Yes ma'am."
Scarlett thought about the events from the year before. She would never know why, but she had been intent on stopping Patrick from leaving the house that morning. That morning there had been a voice in her head, repeating the phrase – Don't let Patrick leave the house. She had pretended to be sick, which never happened to her. By lunchtime everyone was talking about the lightning strike that had been ten feet away from their brownstone. It would have happened just after Patrick had walked out of the house. Scarlett just knew Patrick would have been hit by lightning and been killed. She would have been a widow once again with small children to raise.
Now Scarlett looked at Wade. He was sitting there pretending to read a book. She had splurged and got them a private car, for their trip back to Boston. Patrick would never know. Wade would never say a word, nor would she about the car. Both Wade and Ella could be very closed mouth if they chose to be.
Wade said, "What are you going to tell Uncle Patrick?"
"Everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything he needs to know."
"That is more likely."
"Let's not talk about Patrick. I will be able to talk him around eventually." Wade smiled at his mother's utter confidence. She said, "What is the name of the girl you are calling on?"
"Hazel Court."
"Is it serious?"
"It might be."
"What are you going to do about your property in Atlanta?"
"When Beau reaches his majority, I will sell Hamilton House to him cheaply."
"Good idea."
"We discussed everything at Christmas."
"Good."
Scarlett thought about Patrick. She would apologize and accept all the blame. She was lucky to have him around to be mad at her. She wasn't worried. He could never stay mad at her for exceptionally long. It was one of the traits she appreciated about her husband. His easy-going personality, his happiness, his straightforward way of talking, and even his simpleness. He would never want to go to a museum or an opera. He was perfect. He was the best husband. He was her best friend, which was amazing because she hadn't had a lot of friends in her life.
No, Patrick would not have stood a chance with her when she was sixteen, but when she was twenty-nine, he had been perfect. After having suffered through the war, the years of reconstruction, and being married to Rhett, she had just needed a quiet, safe place to recover. Patrick had given her that. That was why he was the final winner of her heart.
Scarlett knew that her life was boring, but she now knew that boring was nice. It meant her life was good. No highs and no lows. Perfect. She had enough excitement to last her a lifetime. She loved Patrick so much and she always would.