Disclaimer: I do not own anything Peaky Blinder related, that belongs to the series creator Steven Knight.
Face Claim for Rosemary Parker: Celina Sinden.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Change for the Better.
Hearing the front door shutting, Rosemary looked up curiously from where she was repairing one of Kathleen's dresses; she had been worried when she had woken up that morning to find Thomas missing and the side of his bed cold. She had been slowly recovering from the Influenza and things were returning to normal for their small family; she was almost relieved that he was home more often than not now.
"You were gone early this morning," Rosemary mused watching Thomas step into the kitchen, she had hoped that things would not go back to how they had been before she fell ill. It eased her mind that he was home often for dinner and spent as much time with Kathleen when he was around; their daughter adored him and she knew that it made up for the time that Thomas had missed.
"Arthur called a meeting… it was important," Thomas replied shrugging off his jacket and hanging it up on the door; he moved to sit down while Rosemary returned to her work wanting to finish the dress quickly. Kathleen would be back soon, Ada had taken the little girl for a couple of hours so that she could get the housework done before Thomas returned home. Watching his wife work, Thomas tilted his head thinking about what Arthur had planned; it was not any different from the usual and Thomas knew it was up to him to make a difference.
"What did Arthur have to say?" Rosemary asked curiously, she recalled the times where she had known everything about the business and the work that she had done there; now it seemed that it had not mattered at all. That the work that she had done while Thomas and the boys had away been for nothing, it had returned to their hands and the women were expected to carry on as they had been before.
"The usual," Thomas replied lighting his cigarette, if he was going to make a better future for his family then things needed to change and the small betting ring that they ran needed to start bringing in some serious money. He could not deny that his plans would take a little time to come together but if they made some serious money then he could afford to do nice things for his wife and daughter.
Rosemary and Kathleen meant the world to him, they were what he had fought for when he had been stuck across the ocean digging tunnels and fighting the enemy. They deserved better than this house that seemed to be crumbling around them, they deserved to wear nice clothes rather than hand-me-downs or second-hand items. Raising an eyebrow at her husband, Rosemary knew that there had to be more to it than that and she waited for him to speak while she finished off the dress on which she was working.
"You have something planned," Rosemary guessed setting down her work, she watched him with a smile knowing her husband far too well; Arthur might have been in charge but Thomas was the brains. Things might have been going well for them right now, but it was not in Thomas's nature to just settle; she had always admired him for that and he was not going to change now that Kathleen was here.
The war had only made him more driven to have better than his father had done, to be a better man than those who had lived and died on the very same street. Thomas chuckled, he should have guessed that Rosemary would see what he was up-to; he might fool his brothers but there was no fooling her. If there was anyone in this world that knew him better than he knew himself, then it was Rosemary; his wife only had to look at him some days to know what he was thinking.
However, the sound of the front door opening stopped Thomas from replying; a smile formed on his face as Kathleen dashed into the room followed by a frazzled Ada. Rosemary could only imagine that Kathleen had given her aunt a run for her money, the two of them only going to the park to feed the ducks and yet Kathleen had somehow managed to cover herself in dirt.
Nodding to his sister, Thomas listened as his daughter recounted the time that she had spent with her aunt; it still seemed unreal that he was here with them now. There were times during the war that Thomas had truly feared that he would not return home to them; it was something that he would never forget and what happened would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Stepping into the room, Thomas shut the door silently behind him so that he did not attract any attention to himself; he wanted a moment of quiet while Rosemary and Ada worked on dinner downstairs. While it had been nice to spend a little time with his sister, he had forgotten how much Ada seemed to talk and Thomas needed a couple of minutes to himself.
Sitting down on the bed, Thomas closed his eyes and rubbed his temples trying to warn off the headache that was starting to build; he was almost surprised that things had been so calm since he came home. The sound of the bedroom door opening quickly and slamming against the wall made Thomas jump, his heart pounding in his chest as his mind flashed back to the nights that he had spent sleeping in a trench with the enemy just feet away from him.
He reached for a weapon, fearing that his life would be ended in the next few moments; he had to fight his way out, it was him or the enemy and he needed to get back home to his family. Kathleen toddled inside, completely unaware of the alarm that she had just caused; her hand held on tightly to her dolly and a book as she approached her father with a large smile on her face. Blinking rapidly, Thomas took several deep breathes as he attempted to calm himself before Kathleen realised that there was something wrong; his hands shook as he tried to shake the memories that threatened to consume him.
"Daddy, will you read to me?" Kathleen asked sweetly, she stared up at her father with big eyes; she did not notice the sweat that seemed to now cover his face. Taking a couple of deep breathes, Thomas stared down at Kathleen trying to ignore the pounding of his heart; he nodded his head when he was sure that he was calm enough.
The smile that Kathleen gave him as she clambered onto the bed was enough to melt his heart; no matter what horrors he had seen during the war, being here with her nearly made up for all of that. Kathleen was completely oblivious to the horrors of the world, something that only made Thomas more determined to protect that innocence; the world was a cruel place and he was not going to allow it to corrupt his daughter.
Taking the book from Kathleen, Thomas eyed the scruffy looking doll that had clearly seen better days that Kathleen was carrying around; he was sure that he could get her a nicer looking dolly that she would love just as much. Cuddling the doll that she had brought with her, Kathleen watched her father closely as he opened the book and prepared to read to her; her mother and aunt where busy with dinner and would not be calling for them anytime soon.
Clearing his throat, Thomas slowly started to read the book that he had been handed by Kathleen while the little girl made herself comfortable on the bed. Neither of them seemed to notice that they were being watched while Thomas read to Kathleen; the two were engrossed in what they were doing like they did this sort of thing all the time.
Peeking through the doorway, Rosemary smiled to herself as she silently moved away from the door not wanting to disturb them; she had come to tell them that dinner was ready, but it could wait a little longer. It was wonderful to see the two bonding and Rosemary had no doubts that Kathleen would only bring out the best in Thomas; she had been worried that the two wouldn't bond because Thomas had been away for so long and missed so much.
It was one of the reasons that Rosemary hoped for another child one day, so that Thomas would get to experience all the things that he missed when he was away with Kathleen and the joys of expecting a baby together. Quietly leaving them to read, Rosemary headed back downstairs to where Ada was putting on her coat; the two shared a smile before Ada said her goodbyes and left not wanting to linger and having to get home herself.
She had promised Polly that she would be home to look after Finn when she was done here; she had liked seeing her brother and she was thrilled they had all come home safely. Although she couldn't deny that her three older brothers had all been changed by their experiences, none of them had come back unchanged by what they had experienced during the war.
Moving to make sure that the dinner did not go cold while Thomas was upstairs with Kathleen, Rosemary smiled to herself feeling blessed that things had worked out like they had.
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