Saving Grace...Part Four
The driver of the hired carriage Scarlett had let turned the road for Tara just as the day’s sun was starting to set over the grove of pine trees that lined the western border of the large plantation. A tear came to her eye upon first seeing her childhood home. Her memories of the newly white-washed stately home shining brightly in the summer sun, the vivid green lawn leading up to the massive pillared façade were quickly squelched when she saw the house in its’ current tattered state. The once immaculate home was missing shutters that outlined the windows on the second floor, mismatched clapboards were haphazardly nailed to the house as to patch a hole and bricks were missing from each of the twin chimneys that jutted from the top of the house towards the sky.
As Scarlett wiped the tears from her eyes, she realized that her tiny daughter was becoming more and more antsy. “Sit still Grace,” Scarlett lightly scolded as she squeezed her daughter closer to her. She added with a smile, “We’re almost there!”
Oh what has become of my beloved Tara, Scarlett thought. Since she had fled to Ireland, the house had become even more dilapidated than it was before. How she had wished Will would have allowed her to give them the money necessary to repair the house. Her heart sank as she realized that it was beginning to look unlivable. No matter how the house looked on the outside, deep inside her heart, it was still home to her. Scarlett decided that this time, she would arrange to have the necessary supplies delivered so that, at his leisure, her brother in law could begin to restore the once grand plantation to its former glory. And there would be no way for Will to say no, she smiled to herself.
As the buggy pulled up to the front porch, Scarlett noticed her nieces, Martha, Jane, and Susie, running and playing about in the yard, not far from the watchful eyes of their mother, Suellen. And sitting next to Suellen was Scarlett’s eldest daughter, Ella. She watched as Suellen stood up and was watching the arriving buggy with confusion.
“Well, well, well,” Suellen said as she recognized the passenger. “Look what the cat dragged in,” she said bitterly.
As the buggy came to a stop, Scarlett’s eyes found her sister’s. She could see that Suellen was still bitter towards her after all these years about Frank Kennedy. Scarlett was certain that her sister blamed her for his untimely death. But she was determined to make amends with her this trip. And she would do it, even if it killed her.
“Hello Suellen,” Scarlett said as she climbed down from her seat. She watched her sister out of the corner of her eye as she turned to gather her smallest daughter from the buggy. After the driver had removed Scarlett’s bags from the buggy, she thanked him for driving her and gave him a generous tip, to which he tipped his hat and set off on his way.
Scarlett finally turned to look her sister in the eyes. She stifled a giggle when she saw the reaction on Suellen’s face as Scarlett stood holding Grace. She reached out to hug her sister, which took Suellen by surprise.
“You look wonderful Suellen,” Scarlett said as she stepped back.
“You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean, Scarlett,” Suellen snipped.
“And when have you ever known me to say something that I didn’t mean?” Scarlett quipped. She could tell that it was going to take some time before the rift between the O’Hara sisters would be mended.
“Hello Momma!”
Scarlett set Grace down, gently telling her to stay right there, and turned her attention to her eldest daughter. In the two years that she had been away, Ella had become quite a beautiful child. Her ginger colored locks were still as wild as ever, but somehow the braids that adorned her head seemed to tame the wildness. She had big beautiful green eyes that twinkled when she smiled. Scarlett remembered thinking that Ella was the ugliest baby to ever come into the world and wondered how that baby could have grown into the beautiful child that stood before her.
“Oh Ella, how you’ve grown up!” Scarlett smiled as she took her into her arms. “And who have we got here?” She asked as she noticed the toddler hiding behind Ella’s chair.
“That’s Gerald,” Scarlett heard her sister say. A lump arose in Scarlett’s throat as her thoughts flew to her Pa. Suellen moved closer to where Ella had been sitting and took the little boy’s hand. As she gently pulled Gerald’s hand so that his Aunt could meet him, Scarlett noticed the gleam in her eyes and the smile that had crept across her sister’s lips. “My son,” Suellen said as the small blond boy stumbled out from his hiding place.
“Why hello there Gerald,” Scarlett said. “I’m your Auntie Scarlett. Aren’t you just adorable!” Scarlett looked up and could see that Suellen was beaming. She could see the pride in her eyes for her son. “You must have been thrilled that you had a boy. I know that Will desperately wanted a son.”
Suellen just smiled at Scarlett. “We named him after Pa. Will and I decided that we would keep trying until we had a son. Thankfully he came on only the fourth try! I’m not sure I could have handled any more of those,” Suellen said as she gestured to her three daughters now approaching the porch with curiosity for the visitors.
“Hello Auntie Scarlett,” Martha said while eyeing Grace.
“Hello girls! Oh it’s so good to see you again!” Scarlett squealed as she stooped down and scooped all three of her nieces into one big hug.
Suellen and Ella just looked at each other with surprise. This was not the same woman who had been here just a few short years before. The woman that had been here before hadn’t been fond of children. It had been a woman in deep mourning; mourning the deaths of her daughter, her best friend, and Mammy. The woman that stood before them was much happier and the most shocking of all, she seemed to adore the children!
“Auntie Scarlett? Who’s that?” Jane asked shyly while pointing to Grace.
Well, here goes nothing, Scarlett thought to herself. “She’s my daughter,” she said while taking hold of Grace’s tiny hand. “Grace, can you say hello to your cousins?”
Grace looked at the strangers gathered around her before giving a shy “Hi” to them. Scarlett then turned her towards Ella and introduced her to her older sister. She laughed when Ella gasped and stuttered “Really, Momma?”
“Ella, I think that if you look in that bag right there, you will find some surprises for everyone. After you find them, why don’t you take your sister out to play in the yard? She’s been such a good girl but she’s been forever cooped up on boats and trains and buggies,” Scarlett asked her eldest as Ella dug through the bag as directed and then took Grace’s tiny hand in hers and led the toddler out to the grass. Scarlett smiled as she watched her daughters, nieces, and nephew playing in the yard that she used to play in with her own sisters.
“Goodness!” She cried. “It feels wonderful to be home!” She noticed the curious stare coming from her sister. “Oh stop it Suellen. You can pick your jaw up off of the ground anytime.” Scarlett climbed the few steps up to the porch and sat down in the chair that Ella had been occupying.
Suellen followed her sister to the porch and sat next to her. “So, where’s Rhett?” She asked smugly.
“I’d assume he’s in Charleston where he was the last time I saw him,” Scarlett sighed. Although she hated to admit defeat to anyone, especially her own sister, she knew that there was no point in hiding the truth from Suellen. “Rhett and I are divorced.”
There, she thought. I’ve said it.
“I’m surprised you didn’t kill each other first,” Suellen said. “I mean, you always managed to…” Suellen’s voice trailed off.
Scarlett bit her tongue. She knew what she meant by that. She knew that Suellen was still angry with her for stealing Frank Kennedy from her. She didn’t want to snap at her sister. She wanted to bridge the gap that had been between the O’Hara siblings. Scarlett exhaled slowly before responding to Suellen, “Sue, I’m sorry for what I did before. You know, with Frank,” Scarlett cast her eyes down. She was waiting for Suellen’s wrath. “I only did it to save Tara. Had I not done that, we would have lost everything,” Scarlett looked to her sister with apologetic eyes. “Suellen, I’m trying to make things right with the one that I love in my life. We’ve been enemies for so long now. Can’t we try to be friends?” Scarlett pleaded.
Suellen was staring straight ahead. Scarlett wasn’t sure if she was actually considering this attempt at a truce between them or if she was only thinking of another nasty retort.
“I know why you married him Scarlett. But it still hurts. You were my sister. Sisters don’t do those kinds of things to each other,” Suellen said quietly.
Scarlett wasn’t certain how to respond. She had made her attempt at calling a truce but she knew that it would take awhile before things would be the way that they should be. “All’s I’m asking is that we try to be civil to one another,” Scarlett smiled as she leaned over and patted her sister’s hand. “Where are Will and Wade?” She asked, trying to change the subject.
“They should be along soon. They’re over at the Fontaine’s,” Suellen explained as she stood up to pick up little Gerald who had toddled up the porch. She scooped him up and sat back down with him on her lap. She looked out to the yard where the girls were playing. “How old is Grace?”
“She’ll be a year old October 31st,” Scarlett smiled as she heard her daughter squeal while playing a game of tag with the other girls. Ella was really wonderful with little ones, she swelled with pride as she watched the older girls pretend to chase the littlest one. “It was really a horrible birth. She had to be cut from me. I wasn’t sure if either of us would survive,” Scarlett said quietly.
The two sisters sat in an awkward silence as they watched their daughters frolic in the yard. Suellen wasn’t sure what to say and Scarlett didn’t want to chance the topic of Rhett coming back up. She wasn’t ready to talk about him now.
Scarlett had forgotten how quiet it could be in the country. She leaned her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes. She listened to the children’s giggles and squeals along with the occasional chirping of the crickets in the nearby fields. She hadn’t realized just how tired she was as she relaxed. Traveling always exhausted her.
~**~
“Mother? It’s just about time for dinner.”
Scarlett was awakened by a gentle shaking. She opened her eyes to see her son standing before her. Wade Hampton Hamilton had grown up quite a bit since the last time Scarlett had seen her son. Nearly fifteen now, he was the spitting image of his father with a tiny resemblance to his mother. It pained Scarlett to see that he still looked at her with fear in his eyes.
“Oh Wade!” Scarlett smiled as she stood up and embraced her son. She briefly remembered the last time she saw her children. She had been in such a hurry to leave them at Tara with Suellen. I was such a horrible mother to them, she silently chastised herself. Having Grace had changed her. She didn’t want to abandon her children ever again and she most certainly didn’t want them to look at her with fear in their eyes.
“You have grown up so much since I saw you last,” Scarlett beamed with pride as a slow blush crept across her son’s cheeks. She smiled. He was just like his father. “Sit here and talk to your mother for a few minutes,” she said as she patted the seat next to hers.
As Wade sat down, she began to ask him about his days at Tara. She watched as his face would light up when he would describe what would normally be boring and mundane to some people, but he found it to be the most interesting ways to spend his days. She smiled as she realized that he had quite a bit of the spark inside him as she had in herself. He loved Tara as much, if not more, than she did and didn’t mind working to make it as fruitful as it had been years before he was born. Scarlett reassured herself that she had done the right thing in leaving him behind when she had left before.
They were still talking when Scarlett heard Suellen calling after them from the front door. “Wade, I thought I told you to get your mother and bring her in for dinner!” Suellen snipped.
Before Wade could apologize, Scarlett quickly took the blame. “Sorry Sue, it was my fault. I was asking him about his days here at Tara and time just crept away from us.” Scarlett caught Wade’s eye and gave him a quick wink and squeezed his hand. Wade beamed at his mother as the two stood up and made their way in for dinner.
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