[Gone with the Wind] Back to the beginning

"That girl's fiancé died half a year ago." Kelly Ashburn said, with an unconcealed envy in her deliberately flat tone, "You should know her. Scarlett O'Hara, Jonesboro The prettiest girl in Luo area."

Tommy Wellborn ignored his companion, and just stared blankly at the dark-haired girl.She looked quiet and sad, but in the depths of her green eyes, there seemed to be a kind of flame, a kind of firmness.She clutched her engagement ring tightly in her palm and placed it gently in René Picard's donation basket.Tommy was impressed almost immediately.

The next thing Tommy Welburn found was that he couldn't take his eyes off the girl, he felt a little smitten with her, but they didn't exchange a word at all-Kelly could see that, he He laughed and patted him on the shoulder, saying that Scarlett had many admirers.Then he sighed again, saying that he had shown such affection for his dead fiancé just now, it seemed that he had no chance in a short time.

Of course Tommy knew that Kelly was trying to persuade him—he, and Kelly, were soldiers recuperating in Atlanta due to injuries, and would have to go back to the front line in a few days.Impossibility in the short term equals total impossibility—even if all he thinks about right now is getting to know her.Tommy sighed, the cruelty of war is far beyond any imagination.He has always had the courage to fight against life, and he once felt that the unchanging south was too comfortable, but who would have thought that everything would be destroyed in a blink of an eye.

He looked worriedly at the happy crowd in the hall, and almost subconsciously searched for Scarlett again.He felt that Scarlett and Kelly were speaking a little differently.Yes, he had heard of Scarlett O'Hara, a beauty in Jonesboro, but he had only seen her today, even from a distance, for the first time.But he actually felt that he could understand her a little bit, that her grief just now was for the irreparable past, not just for her fiancé.Tommy thought he must be crazy, and he talked himself out of it, had a drink to build up his nerves, and tried to get to know her again—why did it go back to Scarlett?Come on, you're stuck, he said to himself jokingly, at that time he didn't know that a word is a proverb, if you don't get to know it, you will definitely regret it in the future.

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Tommy thinks God may have heard him, but unfortunately only half heard.

As soon as Dr. Meade's astonishing proposal came out, Tommy immediately decided to ask Scarlett to dance, no matter what.He hesitated for a moment whether to go over and ask Scarlett herself what she wanted, but the crowd was so crowded that he had to raise his voice and report directly:

"Miss Scarlett O'Hara—fifty dollars."

Then there is the bloody time with René, who invited Miss Maybelle Merriwether, and Kelley, who rushed forward to invite Scarlett.

Everyone must have an impression of the final result - the leading actor Rhett Butler suddenly stood up and killed the male supporting role on the background board with a crushing force. He successfully invited Miss Scarlett O'Hara to dance, and Miss O'Hara readily agreed.

Tommy swore an obscenity.

In the end, he had to lean on the side quietly, watching the hero who broke through the blockade dance with the green-eyed beauty in his arms, one after another, and they seemed to be in a heart-stopping harmony.The raised eyebrows, the smiles, the tacit understanding between the eyes, all kinds of witty words, it seems like a match made in heaven-this time Tommy chose to call himself an idiot.

In fact, the fate of all arrangements was foreshadowed from the very beginning.But Tommy Welburne's memory of that day was always vivid, of a dark-haired girl in an apple-green veil dress and tuberose, with sparkling green eyes and radiance.When he was the first to say her name, she turned to him out of courtesy and smiled.Then she tilted her head, as if carefully identifying if he was someone she knew, revealing a cute little dimple.At last she smiled, turned her gaze back, and waited quietly for the last dancer to appear.

And she did.

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Tommy thought he had forgotten Scarlett until he saw her again.Forget it all.

Tommy was unable to see Scarlett during his final days recovering from his injury in Atlanta, although he desperately wanted to get to know her.Two days later, a train took him and his comrades away, and from then on he began to fight for his life in the hail of bullets.Except for the first two days, he never thought of Scarlett, not once.If it hadn't been for the reunion in Atlanta a year later, Tommy might have really forgotten her.

But that's just maybe.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a girl with black hair and green eyes bent down, carefully wiping his chapped lips with a wet handkerchief.In a flash, he remembered everything, the ball, the ring, the apple-green dress, the burning eyes, and the long-lost throbbing.He whispered, "Miss O'Hara..."

Scarlett looked at him in surprise, then stood up and said something quickly, probably calling for a doctor.But Tommy couldn't hear it.With a slight smile, Tommy slipped into An Tian's dream again.Just like a beautiful dolphin jumped out of the sea and returned to the sea gracefully, Tommy only mumbled a word before falling asleep again.

It was "Thank God the Fuck" and no one heard it except Tommy.

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Tommy thought he must be in love with Scarlett.

He lay almost ashamed on the bed, letting Scarlett wipe his arms and face for him, although she must have seen his body during the operation-speaking of which, he had to admire her bravery, and at the same time felt a little Subtle jealousy.She was not the first person she took care of, and certainly not the last.

But Scarlett did take care of him the most, of all the patients.Every time, she was always the first to go to him.She gave him concerned glances from time to time, and it took Tommy the utmost restraint not to be too rude.On less busy days (and there were not many such times), Scarlett would sit by Tommy's bed, chatting with him, writing letters home for him, reading newspapers, and so on.Tommy's injury is serious, he is stuck in bed all day and can't do anything, the only thing he can look forward to is Scarlett's arrival.

They talked of the time before the war, and of the unsuccessful invitation to the dance--Tommy was delighted to find that Scarlett still remembered him!In the end, the topic inevitably pointed to the war. Tommy usually broke the silence first. He comforted her, not with illusory confidence but with the courage to die for the south.Staring at him sadly, Scarlett says she just hopes everyone survives.

Tommy smiled.

Silly girl, how is it possible.

"You'll be all right, Tommy?" was all she could say at last.Just two weeks later, war separated them again.

And the next meeting will be after the war.

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At Will and Karin's engagement party, Tommy reunites with Scarlett.

Scarlett was a little surprised to see him, and then a sure delight.Yes, rejoice, Tommy thought.They are still alive after the war, and that is enough to thank God a thousand times.They only talked for a while at the raucous engagement party, exchanging information about each other's future.After the war, Tommy was alone, and he was going to come to Atlanta to develop.Scarlett asked a few questions with great interest, and then smiled mysteriously and said that she would definitely contact him when she came to Atlanta.

She really came to him and made up her mind to do something big.Tommy knew that Scarlett was not an ordinary girl, but he didn't expect that she had so many plans to do.He watched her open the lumber factory and shop in a hurry, and she did one by one extremely well.Tommy helped a little in it, but he never boasted of himself.He just thought Scarlett was better and better.Once, he met Scarlett and had a dispute with the traitor Jonathan Wilkerson on the street, and his heartbeat almost stopped-fortunately, he caught up and didn't pass any clues to Jonathan.But after hearing Scarlett talk about the enmity with Jonathan, Tommy still felt deeply worried. He knew that this matter would not be so easy to settle.

Scarlett.He murmured the name over and over again, not understanding how the name had such a magical power, and it entered his heart quietly.He tried his best to take care of her inconvenience as a daughter's family business, drove her car, picked her up and sent her out, and warded off the prying eyes of dirty black people.It was not easy for Scarlett to start a big business, and Tommy wanted to make it easier for her.At least don't let her get hurt.She was so brave and so easily provoked that Tommy was really worried about Scarlett.

Scarlett lived in Atlanta for a long time, and their relationship became close, and for a while they almost became close friends who talked about everything.But it was only almost—Tommy knew it well, chewing the bitter name in his mouth, Rhett Butler.Scarlett barely mentioned him, and occasionally she said a few words to complain, but Tommy knew Rhett and knew everything about him.

Rhett is the man who successfully asked Scarlett to dance at the Atlanta ball during the war. He is handsome, romantic, rich, and always careless.The important thing is that they danced the whole night that day!What Tommy later learned was that during Scarlett's care of him, Rhett picked her up every time she left the hospital door.The man seemed to pamper and love her, but he was indifferent.To hell with it, Tommy thought, he was too inconsiderate, too ignorant to think about her.But by chance, Scarlett liked him.

It's hard to admit that, but it's the way it is.Tommy felt stuck—Scarlett O'Hara was genuinely attached to Rhett Butler, and the latter's affection for her was not serious, if not fake.How can he be willing to let the girl he cares about be treated like this?Scarlett would be hard with him, he knew, and he knew Scarlett knew it too.There were moments when he thought Scarlett was very tired, and she seemed to want to say something to him, but he didn't give her the chance.Because he knew that what Scarlett wanted to persuade him and what he intended to persuade her were actually the same sentence—only to different people.It's not a question of whether it's worth it or not, it's just following your heart.

He was not too far from her, nor too close.His heart was a little cold and a little warm.

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Her two younger sisters were married together, and she was a bridesmaid for both.Tommy saw Rhett in the crowd at first sight, and he felt that he had treated her badly.Maybe they really like each other and it's not his turn to say anything, but Tommy knows that the relationship shouldn't be like this-he shouldn't let her down and wronged, Scarlett deserves the grandest wedding.

The memory behind is a chaotic noise, crowded with people.Scarlett, standing on the podium, wearing a bridesmaid dress, holding a bouquet, smiling charmingly.She tossed the bouquet in two different directions, then ran away laughing like a little girl after a prank.Tommy struggled through the crowd, determined to get the bouquet—the clusters of flowers flashed past his eyes like a ray of multicolored light, and fell.Tommy squeezed past, and he finally got the bouquet, despite his own dismay.He was so happy, he wanted to hold it up for Scarlett to show her, to tell her he got the bouquet she dropped, to tell her that he liked her very much, to tell her that he loved weddings very much - something the other person didn't like... ...but he said nothing, nothing.

For he saw Scarlett grab Rhett Butler at the same time he was grabbing the bouquet.They looked at each other and smiled, as if nothing could get in, and then the man grabbed her hand, like two fish with their tails, and swam away together.

Tommy stood there quietly.He didn't say anything when Scarlett passed him at last.One thing Tommy wasn't going to tell Scarlett was that at the end of the day he managed to get a second bouquet from another lucky recipient.Then he put them away in silence, without saying a word, as he used to do in silence for Scarlett.

Because love is a very personal thing.That day Tommy understood that loving you is my business.Just like Scarlett, Rhett, and himself did.

The author has something to say: the later writing is a bit rushed to QAQ, I originally wanted to rewrite the bouquet plot to abuse my heart