A/N Sorry for the late post! I had a bit of writers block. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think!
A couple of hours later we were stood on the side of a road. "Why are we here, Tommy?" I asked, pulling my coat around me. "Just wait." he told me, lighting a cigarette as he leant against a lamppost. "Are we going to talk about what happened the other day?" I asked, watching him closely. "What's there to talk about? You were high and I should've known better." he said, nonchalantly smoking his cigarette and watching me. "It was nothing more than that?" I prompted. "Do you want it to be more than that? I thought you and John were back on good terms." he asked, a hint of a smirk in his voice. "No, that's all it was. I didn't know what I was doing." I conceded, looking away from him. "I lied to him about what happened that night. I told him Campbell got there in time." I admitted, knowing he would know what I was talking about. "I didn't want him to do anything stupid." I added. "My brother does do stupid things sometimes." he said, a double meaning hidden in his voice.
Tommy looked across the street, saw something and he quickly moved. "Ada." he called. She turned but continued walking. "How the fuck did you find me?" she asked before noticing me. "Evie!" she called and we went to each other for a hug. Ada was deceptively strong and I winced slightly when she pushed on my bruises. When we broke apart she ran her thumb along my yellow jaw. "It looks like we've both been scrapping." I laughed, indicating her eye.
"You think you're safe. But you're not. Polly thinks the same." Tommy told her. "Evie lives two bloody feet from you and she weren't safe either, Thomas." Ada countered, turning on her brother. "When will you understand? I just want you out of my life." She told him. "Ada, look at us, eh? And it'll happen again." he reminded her, gesturing to each of our bruised faces. "Next time, I'll be ready. Let them try again. I'll shoot their fucking balls off." she told him, taking a gun out of her bag. "Ada put the fucking gun away." Tommy replied, looking around.
"Get away from me. I'm late for work." she told him, trying to push past him. "All right, fine." he said, holding his hands out in surrender. "Just take this. Take it." he handed her an envelope. "Where you're living now is on the edge of Sabini's territory. All the coppers round there work for him. I've got a lot of money coming in. No banks. My accountant says to buy property for cash and put it in the name of a family member." he explained. Ada took the keys from the envelope and looked up at him. "A house? A whole house?" she questioned. "It's all yours. Four stories, eight bedrooms, kitchen, scullery, and rooms for a maid if your political conscience will allow. At least go and have a look?" he told her. She nodded at him before putting the keys in her pocket. "I'll see you soon, Evie." she told me before walking away.
The next morning, the shop was busy. Polly was late which was understandable means it was her birthday. She never liked to make a fuss on her birthday so hadn't told us when it was. I wasn't sure how Tommy knew, but he did.
Polly looked confused as she walked into the shop and everyone started clapping. Lily was balanced on my hip when I went over to her, smiling as Lily clapped along with the men. "What the bloody hell is going on?" she asked me, absentmindedly brushing Lily's cheek with her finger. "When did you get back?" she asked over my shoulder and when I turned I saw Tommy coming towards us. "Last night. I didn't want to miss your birthday, Pol." he told her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Back to work." Arthur commanded as Tommy walked with Polly under his arm towards the kitchen.
"How do you know it's my birthday? Nobody ever knows." she questioned, growing suspicious. I followed them, walking a few steps behind them "It's different this year. John, Finn, bring the car around." Tommy said. I smiled at John as he pressed a kiss to Lily's head then mine before leaving with Finn to get the car. "Where we going?" Polly asked. "To unwrap your birthday present." Tommy told her. Arthur put an arm over my shoulders as we followed them out through the kitchen and to the car.
I was sandwiched in the front between Tommy and Arthur with Lily on my lap while Polly sat between John and Finn behind us. The sun was shining and the roof was down as we pulled into the quiet suburban road. Arthur got out first, turning to take Lily from my arms as I climbed out, closely followed by Tommy. Arthur passed her to John and he balanced her on one arm while he took my hand with the other. I turned to see Finn helping Aunt Pol out the car.
Arthur was first up the steps and called a greeting to the watching neighbours. Tommy and Polly followed him up the steps and Finn waved for us to go in front of him. John playfully barging his shoulder and Lily into him, causing her to giggle and try to push her uncle away. Arthur opened the door and let Polly go through first. Tommy taking his hat off as he followed her. I let go of John's hand to walk in, Arthur still holding the door.
"You said you were gonna buy Ada a house." Polly said to Tommy. "Yup, that's right, I did. Just had a bit of cash left over." Tommy explained. "This is ours?" Polly asked, looking around the living room. "No. Polly, this is yours." I told her. Finn and John stood either side of me and Arthur stood the other side of John. She turned to look at each of us, settling on Tommy. "Because you deserve it." he told her. She looked unsure and turned to us. We all nodded encouragingly at her.
"What do I do with all these rooms?" she asked. "There's one for Lily and Karl." I told her, smiling. "And one for you, I guess?" she said, looking at Finn. "Finn's going to be staying in Small Heath. He'll either be at home with Tommy or John and I have set him up a room at ours, so I can keep an eye on him." I told her, I could practically hear his eyes rolling next to me. The teenager had surpassed my height in his recent growth spurt and he thought this meant I couldn't tell him what to do any more.
"What am I supposed to do?" Polly asked. "You could, eh, relax for one." Tommy told her. "Come here at weekends. It has a garden. Eh? You love gardens. You can grow roses, Pol. I don't know. Have a piano. Have people round. They can have a singsong." Tommy added. "God help the bloody neighbours." John laughed behind me. "Fuck the neighbours." Arthur said, holding out the keys to Polly. "Welcome home, Pol." he added, passing them to her. Polly didn't look happy and she slowly sank down into the sofa, placing the keys on the table. I shared a look with Tommy. "Eves, why don't you take the boys and Lil outside and wait by the car?" I nodded once at him before looking around, each of them moving to leave as instructed.
Once outside, John put Lily down on the warm grass before lighting a cigarette. "She didn't look very bloody happy." he commented. I shrugged my shoulders as I watched Lily crawling to get away from Finn who had crouched down next to her. "She hasn't been right for a few weeks." I replied. "I tried speaking to her the other day but she told me to mind my own business." I added. "Tommy will speak to her and sort it out." Arthur reassured us. I looked at the eldest Shelby as he leant against the car, his eyes on his youngest brother and niece as they played. "Do you know what's going on?" John asked. Arthur shook his head. "No, but last time I saw our Pol like this was when her kids were taken. With having Lil around, it might be playing on her mind." he told us, taking a drag from his cigarette.
I shared a look with John before we both looked at Lily. We were both thinking the same thing, we would be devastated if anything happened to her. It was a few more moments before Polly and Tommy emerged from the house. Polly first, head down as she headed to the car while Tommy locked the door behind him. Finn scooped a giggling Lily up into his arms and walked towards us, shooting me a 'what the hell is going on' look. I shrugged my shoulders at him as he passed. He got in the back with Arthur and Polly, placing Lily on his lap as Tommy, John and I climbed into the front.
The drive back to Small Heath was quiet apart from Lily babbling away to Finn. Tommy was her favourite uncle but Finn was a very close second. Tommy would always carry her around the shop, explaining things as they went, talking as if she was an adult. We all knew she wasn't taking it all in but she looked up at him with wide blue eyes as he talked, raptured by his voice as many people were. Finn would always play with her and she was almost constantly laughing when he was around. He would babble back to her as she started to learn how to talk, responding as if they were having a full conversation. I had even caught him playing dolls with her one day, I had laughed hard as he begged me not to tell anyone what I had seen. He had to hold up the Shelby name, he kept telling me. Arthur seemed to have a calming effect on her and her on him. She'd nearly always fall asleep on him when he held her and he frowned a little less when she was around.
She had had a good effect on the entire Shelby family and often had various Peaky Blinders doting over her, with her big blue eyes and dark curls it was easy to see how she had captured so many mens hearts at such a young age. Polly had told John that he'd have to watch her as she got older, warning that if she was anything like me we'd have our hands full.
I looked up at John beside me, watching him watch the road ahead and the toothpick that was between his full lips. We hadn't discussed having anymore children yet but we had before the war, saying that we would want them close together. We would want them to grow up together like we all had. That seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind at the moment, especially with everything going on. I smiled at him as he turned to find me looking up at him. He smiled back, kissing my forehead before I rested my temple on his shoulder. His hand went to my thigh and I rested mine on top of his. He gave my leg a squeeze and I knew that no matter what happened, we would be okay.