Field of Poppies

April 1918 Settling In

          Seeing Tommy sitting at the table during breakfast the next morning made Amelia's heart skip a beat. Especially since he was sitting between Max and Annie. Both were chattering on about things they could do together now that he was home.

"You can come down to see me ride. Uncle Charlie says that I'm as good as a horse rider as you were when you were my age!" Max said proudly.

"That right?" Tommy chuckled.

"Mummy says I'm too little to ride." Annie pouted.

"Oh, nonsense. No Shelby is too little to ride." He shook his head.

"I heard that." Amelia glanced over her shoulder as she finished cleaning up the kitchen after making them breakfast.

The three at the table shared a smile. "Well, we'll go down to the Yard this weekend," Tommy promised.

"Okay!" Max looked thrilled.

"But for now, you two are going to go over to see your Auntie Martha and Uncle John after breakfast," Amelia said. "Daddy and I are going to go to church."

"Church is boring," Max mumbled, not about to ask to go with them. But he seemed uneasy to know that Tommy would be away from him even if just down the street.

"Then will daddy come back?" Annie asked.

"Of course," Tommy answered. "We're going to come back to make lunch then we'll go to the park."

"So, go wash up," Amelia said once Annie cleared her plate. "Get teddy if you want to bring him to your aunt's."

"Okay!" Annie popped up from the table and rushed upstairs. Max picked at the rest of his food.

"What's wrong, love?" Amelia stroked his hair back.

"Just thinking 'bout something."

"What are you thinking about?" Tommy wondered.

"We went to London when you were gone," Max said. "Annie was little. Really little."

"Oh yeah? That must've been fun. Where did you go?"

"To the park."

"That's right." Amelia nodded. She was surprised that he remembered that day. But she supposed it was a big change from being in Small Heath all the time.

"There was a lady there that mummy was mad at."

Tommy looked up to his wife who frowned. "Oh..." He figured it was something she didn't want to talk about in front of their son. "Well, are you done?" He pointed to the plate in front of Max.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Okay, go get ready to go over to your aunt's." Amelia cleared the table.

After Max was heading upstairs, Tommy glanced over to her at the sink. "What happened?"

"When we went to Hyde Park, we ran into my mother." She admitted quietly. "It wasn't pretty."

After all they'd gone through, Tommy hadn't given much thought to Amelia's family or past in London. They had done enough harm to her that he was willing to write them off. He didn't want them to hurt her anymore and that meant keeping even their names out of their lives.

"Did you talk to her?"

"Of course, I-I didn't know what else to do." She sighed. "She tried to claim Annie and Max as her grandchildren and she threatened to tell..." Even after all those years she couldn't speak his name. The man who had assaulted her. The man her parents chose to believe over her.