In the night - John Shelby
1914
The morning was still, the smog that covered Birmingham just starting to appear. Children running around, avoiding their mothers and the chances of entering school grounds. It was blissful, everyone savoring the sunny weather.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I rose from my position from the shared bed. Finn pushed himself further into the woolen blanket, as I stepped over to the window. Peering down onto the street below, I waved at the passing children, smiling as wide as I could.
I had good news for the soon to be fiance of mine. I was pregnant, Polly had confirmed my suspicions. She was ecstatic as I asked her to be the child’s grandmother. We both had planned to reveal it to John and the rest of the Shelby family within the coming days.
Releasing a deep sigh, I turned back to Finn who sat up in the bed his hair facing every other angle. The sleep-ridden 6 year old giggled, and pulled himself from the blanket.
“Good morning Y/N,” He stated politely, bowing his head down.
Picking up his actions, I bent my knees and curtsied. “Good morning to you too, Finn,”.
Looking up we smiled at each other, reaching for each other’s hands at the same moment. Starting up a small discussion, Finn explained his dream in detail, jumping around adding some spice to his talk. Reaching the bottom of both floors, we raced to the kitchen.
Seated together, Ada and Polly held hands tears silently dripping from their faces. Finn frowned, and hesitantly stepped towards them. Forcing a smile, Polly engulfed Finn and shook her head in my direction.
The night was cool, and in John’s arms, it was the warmest night it could’ve ever been. Sweet nothings and promises for a lifetime had just been exchanged, over the sounds of soft sighs and heavy breathing.
“You wouldn’t be able to tell there’s a war going on right now, would you Y/N?” John whispered, his finger gliding across the line of the horizon.
I shook my head softly, “Please promise me, don’t jump into something like this. I feel as if it isn’t as easy as they say. You don’t have to follow Tommy’s every word,”. I turned in his arms, to hold his face in my hands.
Rubbing my thumb across his cheekbone, a small tear left his eye. “I promise,”
My actions were no longer mine, stumbling over to the couch I took a seat. Ada stood and slowly walked over, sitting beside me. She attempted to push the handwritten letter into my hands, but I pushed it away.
“Aunt Pol, where’s Arthur?” Finn mumbled from her shoulder, and the tears left Polly’s eyes faster.
“He’s gone on a holiday my dear Finn,” I said, taking him from Polly’s grasp. “How would you like to go on one. You, me and Ada if she liked,” I proposed, looking into his eyes.
He grinned toothily and wriggled from my grip, landing on the wooden paneling with a loud thud. Ada nodded at Finn, and he let out a series of cheers. Polly walked towards me. In her embrace, she gave directions to a gypsy settlement she knew where we would be safe.
Helping Ada and Finn pack was easy, not knowing how long we’d be on ‘holiday’ for was the hard part. Polly encouraged to stay hidden until the war ended, knowing her crippled brothers enemies would take this time to pry upon the remaining Shelby family. And as I knew best, I listened to Polly Grey’s every word.
1919
Running around the commune Finn and Eleanor made whoosh sounds and held their arms out as if they were airplanes. Ada and I watched on, the shotgun Aberama left behind sitting between us. The gold children sung, and danced around the campfire, encouraging Eleanor and Finn to join.
Cheers erupted when they both attempted to dance, and the teaching begun. Watching on, a sense of sorrow filled me; John wasn’t there to witness the birth of his firstborn child, something he always expressed he wanted to be there for. He wasn’t able to see Eleanor’s first steps, or hear her say dada for the first time.
Coming back to, I held my arms out as Eleanor ran towards me. Smiling back at my daughter, I held her close and kissed her head. Finn ran over, breathless from dancing energetically.
“Aberama, was the trip well?” Finn asked, standing up straighter. Ada turned at his words, and smiled.
“Yes it was indeed, but I bring news that your holiday is now over, as per Polly’s request,” He stated, picking up the shotgun.
“They’re back?” Ada asked, her shoulders tensing. Aberama tipped his hat in her direction and continued on to his own children.
As the sun began to reach it’s peak our Shelby vardo was packed, and we mounted the horses and started on our trip back to Small Heath. When Eleanor fell bored, Finn was quick to come up with ideas to entertain her.
When the remnants of the sunlight forced it’s way through the cracks of the stone buildings, we reached our destination. The loud sound of horseshoe on stone brought great amounts of attention, but we all held our heads high.
Jumping off the horse, I pulled Eleanor off as she bid the horse a wonderful evening. Bringing in our bags, we settled into the apartment that was once our own. Aberama looked around, like a misplaced item. He didn’t feel at home, and it was incredibly noticeable.
Each of us stood around anxiously, while Finn and Eleanor filled the silence. Who would be returning? Would it just be John? Were the other two Shelby boy’s ok?
Our questions were answered when the door opened, and there stood the Shelby brothers. Only John had a new ring on his finger, and a new woman on his arm. .
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