The Girl and The Gangster
Summary: After being turned down from every secretarial role in Birmingham, Alice becomes desperate. Unable to provide for her sick mother, herself and more importantly, her young child, she takes a chance on joining the Shelby Company ltd. But when she runs into a familiar face, her whole world comes crumbling down around her.
Chapter Four
As promised, Alice had to let Johnny sit behind the steering wheel with both hands rested on it; once the notion was in his head, there was no disagreeing with him. Michael kept him firmly on his lap, one hand keeping the car moving straight and the other on his shoulder. He was enjoying the time they were spending together already, the journey out of the city was long enough to get Johnny out of his shy mood and open up around his father. He hadn't stopped giggling and messing around since he got behind the steering wheel. Alice watched them for a while, feeling content with letting Michael into Johnny's life and after a while, she turned her attention to the countryside that passed by her window. She preferred the open air and green fields; it called to her, she blamed her gypsy blood for the will for freedom. He looked at her and saw the way her eyes clung onto every empty pasture and how she longed for the liberty that came with it. Sometimes he felt like that too, he didn't want to admit it, but he enjoyed his time in hiding with the gypsies a little too much. It was hard to leave Birmingham though, he just loved the thrill more.
His house was beautiful, two storeys and front garden full of little pebbles and stone. The inside was just as lovely, finely decorated due to the money Shelby Company ltd provided him. She let go of Johnny's hand and watched him run to the huge glass door that looked out to the big garden Michael had promised. He looked over his shoulder with a playful gaze and a pout.
"Can we play outside, please mumma?"
She looked at Michael and handed her coat to a maid that appeared from the kitchen. "Well Michael, are you up for a runabout?"
"You're coming out as well?"
"Who do you think roughhouses with him?" she smiled as she walked over to her son and picked him up, letting him glide in the air for a moment before resting him on her hip. "Our little Johnny is like a whippet."
"Do you fancy a game of football, Johnny?" he stepped towards them and opened the doors, letting the fresh air into the house.
"Yes please! I love football." He exclaimed, bouncing up and down in glee.
"Fancy playing goalie?" he looked at Alice as he walked outside, picking up a ball from the side of the house. When she followed him out, he kept the ball between his hands and dared her to say yes with a grin.
"Fine, but I'll only accept if you admit that you're scared to play me." She set Johnny down on the grass and picked up two rocks, setting them apart as a makeshift goal post. "You remember how good I used to be at football don't you?" when he threw the ball at her, she caught it easily.
"Maybe you should jog my memory."
She smirked, readied herself between the two rocks and rolled the ball towards the father and son. "Maybe later."
He let Johnny have most time with the ball, watching him dribble it around him; he was running rings around Michael and he wasn't used to it. He was already starting to feel tired as he chased him up and down the large plain of grass. He had no idea how Alice was able to keep up with the youngster because he was full of energy. Now he knew what she meant when she said she was always exhausted, he could only imagine how many times a day Johnny begged to be played with. He let Johnny run on with the ball towards the goal and grinned as he saw the ball slip past Alice. She pretended to be annoyed for a second before grabbing Johnny and tossing him into the air.
"Good job, Johnny boy." She kissed him on the head and set him back on the floor. "Go get the ball." She glanced over her shoulder at Johnny as she strolled towards Michael. "Are you having fun?"
"He's got me knackered." He rested his hands on his hips and watched the boy mess around with the ball. "I don't know how you keep up with him."
"With great difficulty. He comes home from school and has so much energy in him that his hard to sit him down and do his homework."
He turned to Alice and stared at her face, noticing the way her face changed every time she caught Johnny dropping the ball as hard as he could before catching it in the air. She looked so joyful and he could tell that to her, this was complete bliss.
"Thank you for letting me spend this time with him."
"You're his father, I know that it's my fault that you missed out on so much so I can't let you miss anymore."
He shook his head and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself. Why don't you head into the house and get yourself settled? I've got Johnny a kite and I think we should fly it."
As much as she didn't want to miss the important moments, she realised that Michael needed to spend some time alone with their son. She had five and half years with him alone, the least she could do was give him some time.
"Of course, I'll take the opportunity to explore this wonderful home you have."
He couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked away; he was getting lost in Alice's spell all over again, but he didn't mind at all. There were worse women to be entranced by.
Johnny kept his eyes closed as he was instructed and kept his hands out waiting for his surprise. Michael placed the kite into his small hands and told him to open his eyes once more. The child looked confused, he had never saw a kite before and he didn't know what it was supposed to do.
"What is it dad?" he turned the kite over and looked at the little bits of wood that kept the shape.
"Have you never flown one of these before?"
"It can fly?"
Michael chuckled and squatted in front of his son. "That's what makes it fun. See that string? Hold onto it, sprint as fast as you can and look behind you." He patted him gently on the top of the head and stood up again. "Go on, take it for a spin."
Johnny tried as best as he could to make the kite fly, but he wasn't running fast enough; he kept slowing down every time he looked over his shoulder at the kite which made it fall to the floor.
"Keep running, Johnny and I'll tell you when to look." Michael called out to him as he took a cigarette from his top pocket.
He changed his path and ran back towards Michael, pushing himself as hard as he could. "Am I doing it?"
"You're almost there, keep going."
He was so determined to get the kite off the floor that he was almost tripping over himself but wasn't going to fall. When his father finally told him to look, he decided to run backwards and looked up at the kite in awe. He'd never saw anything like it before. He laughed as the wind pulled it a little bit away from him, almost taking him along with the kite and now that it was in the air, he didn't have to run, he could stand and watch it float in the wind.
"Do you like your kite, Johnny?" He stepped towards him and kept his eyes on it as it floated in the breeze.
"I love it dad," he wrapped one arm around Michael's leg, pressing his head against him and squeezing as tightly as he could, "thank you so, so much."
He looked down at him and smiled as he rested his hand on top of his thick head of hair. A warm feeling fluttered through his chest as he watched his boy grin at the drifting kite in the sky. Was this what it felt like to be a father? To be so full of pride and joy? The feeling was so alien, but it felt right.
There were plenty of rooms to explore, granted most of them were empty but the ones that were full had plenty of antiques and treasures begging to be gawked at. Alice had never saw so many collectibles and riches anywhere before but the place that called to her the most was Michael's library. Books of every description filled the shelves and she could tell by looking at them that it would take a lifetime to read every single one. Alice had ever only owned one book and it was one that she forgot to return to one of the libraries in London. She picked a book up and scanned the first page, her finger trailing the words, unable to keep up with her eyes. She closed the book when the maid knocked lightly on the open door.
"Miss Finlay, Mr Gray asks if you and Johnny would like to stay for tea?"
She held the book to her chest and pursed her lips together as she thought about her answer; she didn't want to leave but she worried about her mother being home alone. The guilt of cutting their time together short was eating at her but she had other responsibilities to attend to.
"Tell Michael, I'd love to but it's time for me and Johnny to go home." When the maid nodded and left, Alice placed the book back onto the shelf and prepared herself to face her son's disappointment.
When she walked down the stairs, she saw Michael crouched down, whispering something to Johnny. Whatever it was, it stopped him from bursting into tears. She took her coat from the maid and placed it onto her body, watching her son with a slight frown.
"Are you ready to go back to Birmingham, Johnny?"
"I don't want to go, mumma. I want to stay with dad and fly kites!" he protested.
"I know baby, but nanny needs us. There will be more days to fly kites with dad, I promise."
"See, didn't I tell you that?" Michael said as he tickled under his chin. "If your mum allows, you can come here any weekend you want."
"Really? Please say that I can, mumma. Oh please!" he ran over to her, tugging on her coat.
"A whole weekend?"
"Why not?" he asked with a shrug.
"We need to speak about this first, Michael. I don't know if I'm ready to give him over to you for the whole weekend."
"Then one night, you can even stay here, and I'll have a room set up for the both of you."
She looked down at Johnny's twinkling brown eyes and let out a sigh. "If nanny has more good days where she can be left alone, then maybe, we can stay with dad for one night."
"It's just one night, Alice. What's the worst that can happen?"
She glared up at him with a warning look; he had no idea what it was like to care for someone that was so ill. He could tell that he hit a nerve with her and left the room to get their coats. He used to know all the right things to say to her, but he was so out of the loop now and both of their personalities had changed; she was more emotional and on edge whereas he was harsher and stern. They were going to have to get to know each other all over again.
The whole way home, Johnny planned the activities for next weekend out loud. As much as she loved how quickly Johnny was taking to his father, she couldn't help but worry. She knew that Michael wanted to spend as much time as possible with Johnny, but he was a Peaky Blinder and with that title came the violence and the threats. Alice wanted to keep Johnny out of that life and before she could let him stay with Michael, she had to lay out some rules. It was for their child's safety, it had to be done.
"Johnny, give your dad a hug and go into the house, I need to speak with him privately."
Michael kept his eyes on Alice, his brow arching as he looked at her firm face. When he felt Johnny's arms wrap around him, he lifted him off his feet and hugged him affectionately. "I'll see you soon, Johnny. Be good for your mother."
"Bye dad."
He kissed him quickly on the side of the head and watched him run into the house and slam the door shut. He leaned against the bonnet of the car and watched Alice as she shifted her weight awkwardly.
"What do you need to speak to me about?"
She looked down at the floor and let out a sigh. She felt conflicted. "I love how you and Johnny are excited to be in each other's lives, it's all I've ever wanted."
"But?"
"There needs to be some boundaries." She could feel the air between them become tense and at this moment, Michael could either resonate with her concerns or show the animalistic side she didn't want to see. "I don't want Johnny to know what you do for a living, he's at the age where he's so impressionable and he picks up on everything. I don't want weapons around him, and I don't want Peaky business around him. No mention of it while he's in your care."
He was dumbfounded, did she really think that low of him? He screwed up his face and turned his head away from her; he couldn't bear to look at Alice. "I would never, ever let Peaky business happen around him and as for my weapons, they'll be somewhere safe, where I can access them, but he can't. Do you really think that I would risk his safety?"
"You have to understand that for the longest time, I've had him every day and I'm trying to lay the foundations for you to have him every weekend by yourself because you do deserve that time with him, away from me. I've kept him in this pristine little bubble where nothing can hurt him, where he doesn't see the bad parts of life; he doesn't even know what a gun is or that it exists..." she ran her hands down her face and kept them over her eyes briefly. "This is difficult for me, Michael. He's my baby."
He stepped towards her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer towards him. "He will be safe with me, Alice," he whispered to her, removing her hands from her face. When she looked at him, he nodded at her reassuringly, "no Peaky business, no weapons… I swear to you. And if you're not comfortable leaving him with me then you're more than welcome to stay at my home. I'll have a room made up for you, I already told you that."
"I can't leave my mother alone."
"And you can't put your life on hold either." He ran his fingertips along her silky hair and resisted the urge to kiss her. "Think about it, Alice. Your mother survives when you leave the house for work, she survives the time it takes you to walk Johnny home from school so, why do you think she couldn't survive a night without you?"
"Because when she's bad, she's really bad."
"Then we'll see what she's like next weekend, I'll have your room put together and if you stay in it, then that's fine… If you don't, that's fine too. Just don't write it off just yet."
She nodded in agreement and repositioned her coat around her body. "One way or the other, Johnny can go to your house next weekend."
"And what about my family? I know that my mother would love to know about her grandchild, and I don't want to keep him a secret."
She moved towards her front door, stepping backwards as she kept her eyes on him. "Now that you've met him, you can tell whoever you want. But please, don't bring trouble to my doorstep."
"None of them will say a bad word to you, or I'll deal with them."
His words gave her some sort of encouragement, one thing she knew about the Shelby family was that they cared about family above everything else. Because Michael accepted Johnny, they would too. That's what she hoped for, anyway.
He called for a family meeting to take place at the office. When Michael arrived, the Shelby brothers, Ada and his mother were sitting around the table waiting for him. He walked into the room and took a seat beside his mother, looking at each of them in turn as they all fell silent. Tommy already had a feeling that this was going to be about Alice and his curiosity was piqued; he wanted to know why seeing each other again sparked so much animosity between them.
"I'm sure you all know by now that there's a history between Alice Finlay and I; if you didn't, there's a history between us." He watched Pol from the corner of his eye, she was watching him so closely as she smoked her roll up. "You probably know about her son, Johnny because knowing Alice she's spoke freely about him, he is the apple of her eye after all."
"Get to the point Michael, why'd you drag us all here?" Arthur said as he swayed on the edge of his seat. His comment made Tommy smirk ever so slightly.
"Well, Johnny's family. I'm his father."
Polly looked at the floor and then back to her son; Alice had told her so many stories about Johnny and now she was starting to think that it was one big hint that was thrown in her direction. She felt blind for not seeing it.
"How long have you known that you had a son and why on earth didn't you tell me?" she asked as she turned her whole body towards him.
"I've known since that night you told me to speak to girl that broke my heart. Alice was that girl and the night we spoke, she told me about Johnny although I'm surprised no one else mentioned it considering most of you saw the way we acted around each other." He looked in Tommy's direction and raised a brow.
"It's her business to tell you, not mine." He replied stoically.
"Shut up, Tommy," Pol said as she held her hand out towards him, "have you met him? Is he definitely yours?"
"I spent all day with him and Alice; he's my double, mum." He smiled at Pol and it was a genuinely happy smile. She hadn't saw him smile like this in a long time. "He's such a good boy, so content."
"I don't want to ruin this moment, but I've got to ask," Ada spoke up for the first time, "if she knew you were Johnny's father, why didn't she tell you long ago? Why did she wait until you were well off before telling you?"
"Ada's got a point, it's very well timed." Tommy added as he placed a cigarette between his lips. "She gets a job at Shelby Company ltd and befriends us all then drops this grenade into our laps."
"Because I don't go by Henry Johnson anymore, she couldn't find me. That's all you need to know, she's explained to me and I don't think she owes an explanation to anyone else. It's between us and only us."
"When can I meet him?" Polly looked up at him, clinging onto his arm in anticipation.
"I'll speak with Alice, but she doesn't want to confuse him; it's been him and her for his whole life."
"Do you love her?" Tommy asked as the cigarette that dangled from his mouth.
"Of course, he does it's written all over his face." Ada said with a smirk.
"I still love her, Tommy but I don't know if it's reciprocated."
"Here's a bit of advice, I don't dish it out often so listen if you want. She's smart, beautiful and most importantly, she's the mother of your child; if you want an easy life, marry her."
"He just said that he doesn't know if she feels the same, Tommy." Polly exclaimed, she was angry that Tommy was the one to give her son advice and not her.
"I can find that out, that is if you want a future with Alice."
Michael hadn't taken his eyes off Tommy since he spoke negatively about her; it was the way he was, no matter how much he liked someone, he always had something bad to say about them, but Michael didn't expect to feel so protective over her, it shocked him.
"How are you going to find out?"
He shrugged and glanced at his brother before turning back to Michael. "I'll put her to the test."
A:N Thank you for reading/reviewing/favouriting and following. Your support means a lot to me and I hope you're enjoying the story. Next chapter, Tommy will test Alice's feelings and Polly will get to meet Johnny for the first time. Again, thank you for reading!