Tommy plays hide and seek with Edith and Finn
1914
Age: 4 (just before the boys go off to war, Finn is 6)
—
"Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. Ready or not, here I come!" Tommy turns away from the wall he had been stood facing, listening out for any noise coming from his youngest siblings, who had taken their hiding places around the house. It was rare for Tommy to be out of the betting shop for the day, but he had recently noticed changes in the behaviour of his youngest two siblings, Edith and Finn hanging off their older brothers any time they were set to leave the house. Keeping this in the back of his head, he was making sure to spend a little more time around the children before leaving for the day, and taking the time, where he could, to tuck them into bed before slipping out to the pub with Arthur and John. However, seeing no change in their behaviour, Tommy had decided to take the day off work, sending Polly away early that morning, seeing whether a weekend of their older brother's undivided attention would settle some of the youngest Shelby's anxiety. None of the family could tell where this anxiety had come from, possibly a delayed reaction to their mother passing, but nonetheless, Tommy made sure to get the three other siblings on board for a family trip out of the city over the weekend. Tommy slowly makes his way through the downstairs of the house, calling out to Finn and Edith, already fairly certain they were both hiding upstairs, checking all the usual hiding spots just in case. With no luck downstairs, as expected, Tommy makes his way upstairs, ears strained for the sound of giggles of his youngest siblings.
Meanwhile, in the spare room at the end of the hallway (the room that used to be John and Tommy's when they were younger), Edith had wiggled her way through the boxes stacked there, and had slid down beside the bed, crawling underneath where she now lay in wait of her brother. Edith hadn't been shy to show her excitement when she had made her way downstairs that morning to find Polly already out, and Tommy sat at the kitchen table waiting for Edith and Finn to wake up.
"Hello," Edith says, jumping down the last two steps, her typical daily entrance into the kitchen. Tommy watches from behind his newspaper as she pulls herself up on to the chair beside him, reaching across the table for the bread and jam. "Where's Aunt Pol?"
"She's out." Tommy replies, still scanning the headlines.
"Oh." Edith hums, slumping back against the chair. "So, who's gonna look after me and Finn today? Today's not a school day."
"I am." Tommy states, refolding the paper and placing it on the table. Edith's head snaps up so quickly, Tommy worries she'd get whiplash, spinning in her seat to face him.
"You are?" She asks, mouth wide open, slice of bread hanging from her hand. "Really really?"
"Really really." Tommy repeats with a small smile. Edith lets out a shriek of excitement, dropping her bread on to the table and throwing herself into her brother's arms as he laughs, bringing her tiny body into his.
"I'll wake Finn!" Edith exclaims, leaping from Tommy's lap, only to have the back of her dress caught in his hand as he pulls her back towards him.
"Leave your brother to sleep. We've got all day. Sit with me, eh?" Edith tilts her head to the side, contemplating Tommy's suggestion; Tommy watches Edith's face as she considers her choices, noting the moment she decides, her face breaking into a cheeky grin as she runs into the living room, returning seconds later with a book in her hand. Tommy watches with an amused, small smile as she clambers back up on to her chair, settling down cross legged, and opening the book in her lap. He continues to watch as she runs her fingers along the lines, silently mouthing the words to the children's story as she goes; Tommy knew it was unlikely Edith could read a lot of the words, but she seemed to enjoy having her own books to read, so he often would buy her a new story, and leave her to it. Content that Edith was now preoccupied for a while, and wouldn't be rushing off to wake Finn any time soon, Tommy turned back to his discarded newspaper.
—
When Finn finally makes his way slowly down the stairs nearly an hour later, Edith is practically vibrating from excitement, barely able to remain in her chair, despite Tommy's best attempts.
"Finally!" She exclaims, jumping off the chair and taking Finn's hand in hers. "Tommy's staying home with us today!"
"Uh huh." Finn yawns, shaking his hand free as he rubs at his eyes with his other hand, still half asleep. "You eat all the bread?"
"Nu-uh." Edith replies, shaking her head and pointing to the plate of bread on the table. "But hurry up, Finn! We're going to play hide and seek?"
"We are?" Tommy asks with a smirk, watching as Edith's eyes meet his with a hopefully smile.
"Yes?" Tommy ruffles Finn's hair as he rises from his chair, taking his and Edith's empty plates over to the sink.
"Alright, then. You'd better get thinking of your hiding place. I'm a pretty good seeker." Edith wiggles in excitement, letting out a squeal of happiness as she throws herself back into her chair, head in her hands as she watches Finn eat his breakfast.
—
Tommy pauses now at the top of the staircase, deciding whether to start at the left side of the house, or the right. He spots the door at the end of the hallway left ajar, heading that way first, knowing as he made his way over, that the door had more than likely been thrown open by one of his siblings in an attempt to throw him off. Finding that room empty, he shuts the door soundly behind him, choosing the door in front of him, leading to the bathroom next. Once inside, he moves over to the tin bath tub that was in the middle of the room, his face breaking into a smile as he spies Finn curled up in there, hand clasped over his mouth.
"Found you!" He exclaims, reaching into the tub to run his fingers over Finn's ribs, making the young boy squeal in laughter.
"Nooo!" Finn cries in between laughs, letting Tommy lift him from the tub nonetheless. "How did you find me?"
"You need to find a new hiding spot, Finn. You always choose the tub." Tiny teases, ruffling Finn's hair again as he pulls him into his side. "Come on, let's find that little sister of ours."
It didn't take Tommy and Finn long to clear the rest of the upstairs of the house, finding Edith's hiding place easily, the two brothers pouncing on her, a tickle fight soon erupting between the three. When they eventually tire of play fighting, both of the youngest Shelbys jump on to their brother's back, Tommy carrying them downstairs where he drops them gently to the floor, letting them play at his feet while he fixes them a picnic. Scooping his youngest siblings up again, Tommy makes sure they both have their coat and shoes on, taking their hands in his, he leads them out of the house and towards the field just outside of Small Heath to spend the day running around in the fresh air.
—
When Polly arrives home later that evening, armed with a basket full of food ready to prepare the evening meal, she finds the three siblings curled up on the sofa together; Tommy's legs hang over the arm of the chair, a young Shelby tucked on either side of him, his arms tightly wrapped around their bodies, book laid open on his chest as they all doze by the fire.