Chapter 10
"No." Tommy states, not looking up from the paperwork on his desk, at his sister who was stood in front of him.
"What?" Edith asks incredulously, furrowing her brow.
"No." Tommy repeats, eyes still glued to the desk.
"I wasn't asking for your permission. I was telling you. I'm going away for the weekend with Bonnie." Edith states, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And I'm saying no."
"Tommy! Why?" She demands, throwing herself into a chair opposite him.
"You are not going away by yourself, with that boy." He explains, lighting a cigarette as he finally looks up at Edith.
"That boy, has a name." She grounds out, immediately furious at her brother.
"No Edith. That's my final answer."
"I'm nearly 18 Tommy!" She protests, snatching the paper off his desk, bringing his attention back to her.
"I don't care Edith. While you are under my care, you are not going away with a boy by yourself. No." He retorts, snatching the papers back from her.
"Oh right." She scoffs. "So I'm under your care am I? When? When do you care for me Tommy?"
"Edith! Do not talk to me like that."
"No, tell me Tom. When? I live with Finn, Thomas! Not you! You're never here! I don't live in your house! You don't get to tell me what to do!" She all but shouts, temper flaring as she stands again, leaning over the desk towards her brother.
"Yes. I do." He grounds out, pushing her shoulder, hard enough to knock her back into the chair, but not enough to hurt her.
"I really can't stand you sometimes Tommy." She spits, kicking her foot out against the table, jolting the desk and as a result, jogging his hand where he was writing on the paper.
"Yeah? Well I can't stand your attitude." He retorts, sending her a glare.
"Wow. Really mature." Edith mocks
"Like you can talk!"
"Ya know what? Piss off Tommy. I'm going away with Bonnie whether you like it or not." She states, leaning forwards in her chair to look him in the eye.
"Ha. Dream on princess." Tommy laughs, shaking his head in amusement.
"Fuck you!" Edith exclaims, standing up and shrugging on her coat, storming to the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Tommy calls after her, rising from his desk.
"To Aunt Pol." She states, taking hold of the door handle, pausing to see if Tommy had anything else to add.
"And how are you going to get there?" He asks, with an amused chuckle.
"I'll walk." She says stubbornly, back still turned to him.
"Don't be stupid. That's miles away."
"Don't call me stupid! You're so fucking rude Thomas Shelby."
"Stop swearing at me!" Tommy shouts
"Fuck. Off." Edith snaps, over her shoulder, slamming the door behind her.
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"Get in Edith." John calls through the open window as he drives slowly alongside her.
"No." She snaps, still angry from her conversation with Tommy.
"Edith." John shouts, still moving at a snails pace beside her.
"Go away John." She calls back, not turning to look at him.
"Not gonna happen. Come on. In." John stops the car beside his sister, leaning over to open the passenger door for her to get in. "Now. Where are we off to?"
"Aunt Pol's." Edith says stubbornly, getting into the car and looking anywhere but at her older brother.
"Ok."
"You're not going to ask why?" She asks, glancing his way as he shrugs.
"Nope." He says. "We've all gone running to Aunt Pol at some point."
"How did you know I was here?"
"I didn't. Heard you and Tommy shouting in his office. I was heading home anyway. Saw you. Thought I'd pick you up on the way." John replies
"But Aunt Pol's is out of your way. I'll just walk John." Edith protests, reaching for the door.
"No! Don't touch that door handle Edith. I'll drive you. It's fine." He insists, reaching one hand out across his sister's body to gently grab her wrist.
"Thank you." She says softly, leaning back in the seat.
"Of course." He replies, focusing back on the road, increasing the speed of the car. "What were you shouting about?"
"I'm going away with Bonnie for the weekend." Edith says, twirling the rings on her fingers, a nervous habit she had picked up.
"Are you?" Her brother asks with a frown, eyes still locked on the road in front of them.
"Yes."
"And what did Tommy say?" He questions
"Fuck Tommy and what he says." She states, making John scoff and shake his head.
"Really?" He asks incredulously
"Yes." She repeats, crossing her arms over her chest, once again looking out of the window and away from her brother.
"Huh."
The pair sit in silence for a few minutes as Edith considers her brother's response. "You don't think I should?"
"I think you're young...and it's not the best idea." John replies carefully, attempting to keep his sister's temper in check.
"Why? So you're going to try and stop me too?" She demands, turning her head to look at him.
John sighs, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "No. But you need to be so careful Edith."
"I'm not going to get pregnant if that's what you're worried about?" She bites out, scowling at him.
"Edith I really don't want to be talking about you getting pregnant." John groans with a frown of his own.
"But that's what you're all worried about, right?"
"Edith." He sighs again, frowning. "We just know what it's like when you get caught up in the moment..."
"But I'm not going to! I'm not stupid! I'm not going to have sex or have a baby..."
"You say that now..." he begins, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm not! For goodness sake! I promise. Ok?John? Ok?" Edith says, begging her brother to side with her.
John shrugs. "I don't think you should go Edith. Not yet."
"Why the fuck not?" She exclaims, angry now at how her brother is acting.
"Because you're still a child!" He shouts, his volume and anger matching hers. "You shouldn't be fucking off to who know's where for the weekend with a boy you hardly know, that we hardly know!"
"Oh so it's all about you boys then is it? You don't care what I want either? It's all 'do as we say, not as we do' with you lot. It's fucking ridiculous. You're so fucking hypocritical! One minute you're all 'yeah, be with him, we approve, I was having kids at your age anyway'" she mocks him, deepening her voice. "And the next you're all 'I don't think you should go. It's a bad idea' What's changed?"
"Don't be rude Edith. I know you're upset but that's enough." John all but shouts, glancing between the road and his sister who was shooting him daggers.
"Fuck you. Let me out. I'll walk from here." This time Edith does grab the door handle, John stopping the car immediately with a yell as she goes to swing the door open. "Edith Mary Shelby. Get back in the car. Now." Edith pretends to ignore him, quickly walking off down the road away from John, who sits in the car, watching her go, deciding to let her walk the last short bit to Polly's house to cool off.
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"Can I stay here tonight?" Edith asks when Polly answers the door, soaking wet from the rain storm that had started just after she had jumped out of John's car, tears welling in her eyes.
"Oh sweetheart." Polly coos, pulling her niece into her arms. "Of course you can." Edith falls into Polly's embrace, her body shaking with silent sobs, her emotions raging with her anger at her brothers, self-pity for having walked in the rain, and sadness that she knew, in reality, there was no way she was going to be able to sneak off with Bonnie for the weekend. "Come on, let's get you dried off." Polly says, leading Edith into the house.
Edith sat, watching as her Aunt made her up a warm bath, engulfed in a pair of Polly's pyjamas and wrapped in warm towels to fight off the chill.
"Come on then, in you get." Polly says, rising from beside the tub. "We'll get you warm again and then you can tell me what's happened." Edith strips in the middle of the room, stepping into the warm bath water, sinking in with a sigh, tears forming in her eyes again.
"I got into a fight with Tommy. Then with John." She explains, voice wobbly as Polly hands her a bar of soap.
"Now that's nothing to get so upset about," Polly soothes, brushing Edith's hair back from her face. "That happens all the time. We can fix it."
"I said some really mean things Aunt Pol." She clarifies, ducking her head in shame.
"And what was the argument about?" Her Aunt asks softly, settling herself on to the floor beside the tub.
"I've been seeing this boy, Bonnie Gold..." Edith begins, resting her head on the side of the tub to look at her Aunt.
"Ah yes, Ada told me about him when she came around the other day. Sounds like a nice boy." Polly replies, still threading her fingers gently through her niece's hair.
"He is! He's lovely Aunt Pol! And he wants to take me away for the weekend!" Edith exclaims in reply, smiling for the first time since arriving at Polly's house.
"But your brothers don't approve." Polly responds, more of a statement than a question.
"I don't know why!" Edith states, tears welling in her eyes again.
"Because you're their baby Edith." Polly says gently, watching as the tears stream down her niece's face. "And it's going to be hard for them to let go."
"I know!" Edith wails, throwing her head back. "But it's not fair!"
"Hush now, come on Edith." Her aunt soothes. "It all seems terrible now, but it'll blow over. You need to give it time. Just relax for now, eh? I'll make us a cup of tea."
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"Hi, thought I'd find you here." Bonnie says as Edith answers the door to Polly's house.
"How did you know?" She asked with a smile, beckoning him in.
"Finn told me." He replies, hanging his coat on the stand by the door.
"How did he know?"
"Tommy." At Edith's grumble, Bonnie tugs her into his arms, tucking her under his chin as she wraps her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Did he tell you what happened?" She mumbles into his chest, the vibrations from her voice making Bonnie laugh.
"He did."
"I'm still angry." Edith replies as Bonnie leans down and presses a kiss to the top of her head, rubbing his hands up and down her back.
"I know. I can feel it. You're so tense love." He says softly, lifting her head to look up at him, hands gently cupping her cheeks as he leans down to kiss her. "Let's go and sit down, huh? We'll figure this out."
"It's not fair, Bon." Edith says tearfully as she curls into Bonnie's side, his fingers running through her hair as she fiddles with the rings on her fingers.
"I know." He replies, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. "Hey, don't get upset." He softly brushes the tears from her face, kissing the tracks they had made down her cheeks.
"But they're not going to let us go."
"If we don't go this weekend, we'll talk to your brothers, bring them round to the idea, and go another time."
"I want to go away with you though!"
"And we will, love. We will." Bonnie says, holding her tightly in his arms. "But if your brothers are saying no for this weekend, then we can't go this weekend. We can't go against their wishes."
"I know." Edith sighs, burrowing her head into Bonnie's chest. "They just make me so damn angry!" Bonnie runs his hands up and down her back again, waiting for her body to relax against his before speaking again.
"How about we talk to Finn first, get him on board, and then we'll talk to the others?" He suggests, pressing light kiss to the top of Edith's head.
"Finn won't have a problem with it, neither will Ada or Michael...well, maybe Michael, but I can talk to him." She mumbles in response, his motions making her relax further into his arms.
"Then let's head back into Small Heath and get this sorted, huh? It'll help you feel better Edith, if you just talk to them." Bonnie says, gently lifting Edith's head up to look at him. She nods, leaning up to rest her forehead against his.
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"I wanted to apologise - Arthur please, I'm really trying here!" Edith shoots at her oldest brother, who had let out a snort of laughter at her statement.
"Sorry, sorry! Carry on." Ada shoots Arthur a glare of her own as he tries to hide his laughter over his youngest sister, who was not known for backing down in from a major argument with her older brothers, or apologising, especially in front of the whole family, her stubborn nature often prevailing, trying to do exactly that.
"I'm sorry Tommy, and John, I shouldn't have spoken to you how I did. But please, will you just hear me out?" At this, Tommy motions for her to carry on, Edith letting out a sigh of relief and slightly loosening her grip on Bonnie's hand. "I would really appreciate it if you would at least consider the idea of Bonnie and I going away for a weekend. I promise Tom, I do, that we'll be sensible! I haven't been out of Small Heath in so long, and I'd really love to travel a bit, like you all did when you were younger!"
"Leaving Small Heath is not the problem Edith." Tommy counters, Edith sighs in exasperation, turning to Bonnie, silently saying to him with her eyes 'See! I've tried!'
"What Edith is trying to say," Bonnie continues, throwing his girlfriend a look in response, telling her to keep her composure. "Is that we're not going to do anything that you all wouldn't approve of. All we want is some time, away from Peaky business, to get to know each other more. And I can promise you, I will be completely respectful of Edith, and of your wishes, whatever they may be."
"Look. Let's face it," Ada cuts in, throwing an encouraging smile at Edith and Bonnie. "Edith's nearly an adult, she's proved to all of us that she is independent and can look after herself. She's our little sister, and I would hope that we all know her well enough to trust, that she will respect that what we say goes. And with that in mind, I think it's time that we give her the opportunity to have a little breathing space, start to figure things out on her own a little more, without all of you, breathing down her neck!" At this, Ada looks around the room, pointing at her older brothers.
"I second that." Finn pipes up, raising his hand. "John, she looks after your babies for god sake, she's clearly responsible and sensible. And if she says that's how her and Bonnie are going to be, that's what gonna happen. Come on! We all know that!"
"But why if something did happen, huh Finn? Then what?" Arthur jumps in now, leaning forward in his chair.
"Like what?" Michael asks, deciding to join the conversation and help his youngest cousin out.
"Like...anything!" Arthur grumbles
"I'll make sure nothing happens." Bonnie assures Arthur. "I promise. No harm will come to Edith. None."
"I should hope so." John murmurs from the corner of the room.
"So we can go?" Edith asks, sitting up right in her chair.
"Woah, slow down Edith!" Tommy says, stepping forwards. "I think we should vote on this."
"Oh for fuck sake." Edith mutters, sinking back into the chair.
"Tommy..." Ada starts, rolling her eyes.
"No, Ada. This is how we do it in this family. All those in favour?" Tommy asks, Ada, Finn and Michael immediately raising their hands, John glances at his older brothers, before joining them and raising his hand as well. Edith grins, practically bouncing in her seat as she turns to Bonnie. Unbeknownst to the young couple, Michael had witnessed Ada and Finn cornering John before the meeting, moving quickly from begging their brother, to threatening him (of what, they wouldn't tell Michael), to side with them during the meeting.
"I guess that's settled then!" She says, throwing her older siblings and cousins grateful smiles.
"Uh, no! Wait a minute!" Arthur protests, rising from his chair.
"No, Arthur. We voted." Ada quips, winking at Edith.
"Tommy!" Arthur implores, motioning to Edith and Bonnie. "You can't be serious!"
"Ada's right Arthur, we voted, 4 against 2." Tommy replies, downing the last of his whiskey and turning away from his siblings to head back to work.