The Stubborn Miss Butler

14

There was peculiar little scene that kept playing out in Rhett's mind as he watched the ceremony. It was a nostalgic and wistful memory. He remembered raising this one, bringing her up in a much healthier way than Bonnie. And yet, they all were broken somehow by the loss all the same.

But he remembered Eleanor holding his hand in the gardens of Versailles. Her favorite place, a maze of beautiful things.

"Daddy, will we always be together?" She was the most beautiful little doll, and Rhett knew they treated her like it, too. Both her parents were too scared she would break. "Ella and Wayde don't have their daddies, but I don't want you to leave me."

Rhett paused, considering the heartbreaking question. He stopped in his tracks and swooped her up in his arms. She weighed no more than a sack of flour. His face was grave and his tone soft, "You will always have me, mon chéri. You're practically half of me, sweetheart. How would we ever be apart if you're running around town with the other piece of my soul?"

Eleanor giggled when Rhett kissed her cheek. His beard was scruffy against her skin and it tickled.

"I love you, Daddy." Around them, the world seemed to slow and the din of tourists quieted for Rhett to ingrain those words in his memory for the rest of his life. For any decision even seemingly important, he remembered those big brown eyes. When he failed her, he remembered.

She really was the most precious thing he could ever take credit for. Her little bonnet framed a delicate, little face made for adoring, but her heart was made of more valuable stuff. He wished she would never grow up, because he knew how to raise a child to this point, but he never wanted to imagine a future when she was someone else's.

________________

It was almost as if no one believed it. Not Rhett nor Eleanor, certainly not Ashley Wilkes.

It was late in the afternoon, and Eleanor Butler Wilkes descended down the steps of Tara, overwhelmed by the little reception that awaited her. She was mighty glad she wasn't home, because then every inhabitant of Atlanta and their grandmother would have to be invited. The sheer amount of people was still overwhelming, but she couldn't bring herself to deny Scarlett the spectacle of having her only daughter married.

But by golly, she could hardly believe it.

Before, in the privacy of Beau's rooms, she had clutched Beau's arm, grinning like a cat at the absurdity of it all. "Now, I'm not Eleanor Butler to anybody anymore. Isn't that just the strangest thing? I'll be Eleanor Wilkes...Mrs. Beau Wilkes..."

She stared off into far off amazement and Beau caught her chin to bring her back to earth. He chuckled in amusement, "You can be whoever you want, darling. We could go by Butler for all I care, I never liked Wilkes anyhow."

Her mouth dropped open in a fine little o. "Why, you shouldn't say that, Beau. Wilkes is a mighty fine name. Your pa is downstairs right now and you ought not say any such thing in front of him."

He chuckled louder, "As if his opinion means anything to me."

Thoughtfully, Eleanor came to sit gently on his lap, brushing away the stray hairs coming loose onto his forehead. She observed his soft features in silence, with downturned lips and a knitted brow. She knew he was hurting, he had always been painfully aware of his father's indifference. Soothingly, Eleanor pressed her forehead to his, "He must be just as heartbroken that he let you slip through his fingers."

"Not enough to do something about it apparently," he smiled weakly, ironically.

Eleanor drew a sigh, resting an arm on each of his shoulders. "But he's here, Beau darling. That should be worth something."