Together Again? It All Starts With Melanie’s Funeral

--Those who have wondered whether Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler could ever find happiness together just may get the answer. Warner Books’ bid of $4.94 million won the hard-cover and paperback rights to the sequel to “Gone With the Wind,” Warner spokeswoman Ellen Herrick said. Margaret Mitchell’s heirs revealed in the May edition of Life magazine that they had authorized Alexandra Ripley to write a sequel to the Civil War saga that has sold more than 25 million copies since it was published in 1936. Herrick said the book, expected to be published in 1990, will likely begin at the funeral of Melanie Wilkes. Ripley, 54, is the author of “Charleston,” “Leaving Charleston,” “New Orleans Legacy” and “The Time Returns.”

--It’s up to the jury now. A four-man, two-woman federal jury in White Plains, N.Y., began deliberations on whether rock star Mick Jagger stole a reggae song called “Just Another Night” and turned it into a hit for himself using the same name but different beat. Jagger denies the charge made by Jamaican songwriter Patrick Alley, who wants the Rolling Stones, Jagger’s band, to pay him between $5 million and $7 million for copyright infringement. Alley’s main claim is that Jagger stole the chorus of his tune and says the songs’ sentiments are similar. Jagger testified that he was not aware of ever having heard Alley’s song. Jagger and Alley sat silently on opposite sides of the suburban courtroom, packed with rock fans and reporters, as lawyers gave their closing arguments.

--Proud father Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), who has been homebound since emergency operations in February and March for an aneurysm, ventured out to see his son, Robert (Hunt) Biden, 18, portray the Rev. Jesse Jackson in a mock presidential debate in Wilmington, Del. There was no advance notice that the senator would attend. Even his press secretary, Michael McCabe, did not know of the outing beforehand. “That’s because he took the action as a father. He just went as a father who wanted to see his son in an important debate.” Biden, who has spent his recuperation time reading and walking, faces still another operation next month. He withdrew as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in September, 1987, after he was accused of plagiarism.