@@@@@ "What's the matter, Scarlett, darling? Have
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"What's the matter, Scarlett, darling? Have you turned your ankle?"
"What were you saying about Boston?"
"I said 'tis a shame Stephen won't be with us for the picnicHe's
leaving today for Boston
There'll be no trees flowering there, I'm boundStill, he'll have a
chance to see Thomas and his family and bring back news of them
That'll please Old JamesTo think of all the brothers scattering
through America, it's a wonderful thing Scarlett walked quietly at
Maureen's sideShe was ashamed of herselfHow could I have been
so
horrid? Maureen's my friend, the closest friend I ever had
She wouldn't spy on me, pry into my private lifeIt's just that it's
been so long, and I hadn't even noticedThat's why I'm so jumpy,
probably, why I barked at Maureen like thatBecause it's been so
long, and Rhett hasn't comeShe murmured unthinking agreement to
Maureen's suggestions about food for the picnic while questions
battered against the walls of her mind like birds trapped in a cage
Had she made a mistake not going back to Charleston with her aunts?
Had she been wrong to leave in the first place? This is driving me
crazyI can't think about it or I'll scream! But her mind would not
stop questioningMaybe she should talk to Maureen about it
Maureen
was so comforting, and she was smart, really, about so many thingsNo, I'll talk to Colum!
Tomorrow, at the picnic, there'll be lots of timeI'll tell him I
want to talk, ask him to go for a walkColum will know what to do
In his own way, Colum was like RhettHe was complete in himself,
like
Rhett, and everyone else looked unimportant next to him, just the way
men seem somehow to become only boys, and Rhett the only man in
the
roomColum got things done, too, just like Rhett, and laughed about
the doing, just like RhettScarlett laughed to herself at the memory
of Colum talking about Polly's fath