Chapter 23
"I think we should go back." Edith says, running her fingers lightly over Bonnie's chest, one night a couple of months into travelling with Bonnie's family.
"To Small Heath?" He clarifies, his fingers weaving through her hair as she nods. "Ok."
"I have a bad feeling," she says softly, lifting her head to look Bonnie in the eye as he frowns.
"Ok," he repeats, brushing her hair back off her face. "Let's go back then, we can head off in the morning?" Edith nods, resting her head back on his chest, sighing deeply as she shuts her eyes.
"What's going on?" Iris calls from the steps of her caravan, leaning over the banister to watch Bonnie pack up the bits he had used to make breakfast. "You're up early."
"We're heading back to Small Heath." He replies, heading over to his sister, leaning against the banister below her. "Edith feels like something is wrong. I need to get her back to her brothers."
"Will you be back before Christmas?" Bonnie sighs and runs a hand over his face with a shake of his head.
"I don't know, Iris. It'll take us at least three or four days to get back to Small Heath, I'd have to drop Edith off and then do the whole journey again by myself; it's quite the trek." He admits. "I'd have loved to if we'd been closer to home."
"So Small Heath is home now?" Iris asks lightly, raising her eyebrows. Bonnie sighs and slumps down on to the steps, not prepared to argue with his sister so early in the morning, especially when his mind was filled with Edith and how to get her home as soon as possible.
"I don't know Iris. Yes? I guess so?" He shakes his head to gather his thoughts as Iris settles on to the step beside him. "For now, it is. Home for me is where Edith is. I have a life in Small Heath with Edith, and the Peaky Blinders. There's a gym to fight at, fights lined up ready for me in the new year."
"But it's not the open air that you're used to." Iris counters, Bonnie shrugging in response.
"It's not. But it won't be this way forever. Edith and I want to settle down in the country somewhere, close enough to see her family, with land to keep a caravan so that we can travel with you all too." He responds, rubbing at his temples.
"The best of both worlds." His sister says, Bonnie humming in response. "As long as you're happy, Bon."
"I'm happy, Iris." He assures her, turning to face her. "I really am. I wouldn't change this for the world."
"Then we're happy for you too." She replies, rising to her feet, holding her hand out to pull Bonnie up off the step. "Now go and get your girl home. We'll finish packing up here, I'll talk to Gwen. We'll follow you either later today or tomorrow, find somewhere just outside Small Heath to stay for Christmas. You and Edith can decide what to do when you get back." Bonnie lets out a breath of relief, hugging his older sister tightly as a silent thank you, giving her one last squeeze before pulling away and jogging off to find Edith.
Bonnie and Edith return to Small Heath late at night, nearing the end of the week. They spend a final night alone together just outside of the city, heading back to Watery Lane in the morning for Edith to find Tommy, Bonnie deciding to leave her to it and take some time back in the gym. Bonnie leaves Edith in the doorway of the Shelby Company offices, pressing a lingering kiss to her lips as she clings to the lapels of his coat, reluctant to let him go.
"You'll be ok. Come and find me when you're done, eh?" He says gently, brushing his lips lightly over hers as he talks, kissing her once more before gently pushing her through the open door. "Go on, get out of the cold, love." Edith nods, giving him a weak smile as she walks backwards into the building, turning to walk slowly up the stairs to her brother's office. The few days they had been travelling had given Edith time to think through what she would say to her brothers when she saw them next. Her oldest brothers would be the hardest, that much she knew. They were, in her eyes, stuck in their ways, the war having changed them drastically, no longer being the fun loving boys she had known before they had gone to France. Inside, she was dreading this meeting with Tommy, turning up at his office unannounced, but her exterior remained steely as she pushed open the door to the meeting room she could see Tommy residing in.
"You're back." Tommy comments as she enters the room, barely looking up from the paperwork in front of him. Edith stops still in her tracks, taking in her brother's statement. She hadn't expected a welcome home party from her brother after not having spoken in months, but the coldness of his greeting had shocked her.
"I am." She replies, equally as curtly as she pulls off her hat, laying it on the desk.
"Why?" Edith frowns at Tommy's question, slipping her coat off and throwing it over the back of the chair beside her.
"You're not happy to see me?" She questions, arms hanging loosely at her sides, brows furrowed as she eyes Tommy, waiting for his eyes to meet hers.
"I didn't say that." He replies, still not looking up from the desk, angering Edith even more.
"No but you thought it." She spits out, arms coming to cross over her chest.
"Don't put words into my mouth."
"They talk sense, Tommy. Tell me what you really think. Go on." Edith prompts him, stepping slightly closer to her brother who finally looks up, eyes locking with hers.
"I think you've been acting like a spoilt brat." He starts, eyes still locked on hers. Edith's face remains the same, no change except the rate of her heartbeat to indicate the shock she felt at his reply. "I think, that this has gone on for long enough. We've let you get away with too much for too long."
Edith takes a second before replying, refusing to let Tommy see how hurt she was by his words, "Oh yeah? Like what?"
"Arthur has moved away. Did you know that?" Tommy asks, deciding to change the course of the conversation as he rises from his chair.
"I didn't."
"And John, he's gone too."
"I know."
"Ada's stayed in Boston."
"Good for her. Maybe I should have gone too. Stayed away. God knows why I came back. Pride probably. Family." Edith's resolve finally begins to crack as Tommy inches towards her with each new statement, her temper beginning to break through.
"Maybe you should have. Come back a better person, rather than this smart mouthed little brat that thinks she can square up to her big brother." He suggests, stopping in front of her, hands in his pockets.
"You don't scare me Tommy." She states, voice still strong, despite her heart racing in her chest.
"Ok." He says with a shrug.
"Don't you see what you've done?" Edith questions with a bitter laugh, cocking her head to the side.
"What I've done?"
"Yes Tommy. What you've done."
"And what exactly have I done, Edith? Eh? Tell me." He questions, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Pol's gone. Arthur's gone. John's gone. Ada's gone." Edith ticks each family member off on her fingers as she talks, holding eye contact with Tommy the whole time. "I'm half way out the door. Finn'll be next, I'm sure. Michael." She pauses to laugh, shaking her head. "Well, saw him this morning. He's clearly going down the same path as Arthur. High as a fucking kite too. Tried to hide it. But he couldn't, of course. Too fucking far gone. Just like the rest of them. Hey, maybe I should give that a go? Maybe you'll notice me finally."
"Oh I notice you plenty. No need for drugs to make your temper worse."
Edith scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Oh, but it's ok for Arthur to use drugs. Makes his temper worse too, doesn't it?" Tommy raises his eyebrows at her, pulling out a cigarette as she continues to scan his face. "You've changed."
"Haven't we all." Tommy replies sarcastically, briefly glancing up at Edith before turning his back on her, clearly finished with the conversation.
"But you most of all." She says softly, turning to pull her hat and coat back on. "You're not the big brother I knew. You're not the man that brought me up, chased me through the streets of Small Heath, took me to my first picture show, held me when I had nightmares, was held by me, when you had yours. You're not the one I learnt to love." At Tommy's lack of response, she shrugs at his back, shaking her head with a bitter laugh. If her words had hurt him as his did her, he didn't show it, choosing to ignore his sister as she continues to look him up and down. "Whatever." Edith pauses at the door, half in the room, half out as she watches Tommy walk to the end of the office, sitting back down behind the table. "I came back because the spirits came to me. If you're interested."
"I'm not." He states, picking up his pen once more. "You're starting to sound like Pol."
"Then maybe you should listen to Pol." Edith replies, stepping into the hallway. "There's trouble coming Thomas. Not that you'd even care."