red↳ thomas shelby

- XIX. -

[ B i r m i n g h a m , 1 9 2 1 ]

"She's going to kill you all."

"Fuck off, Zara, no she won't."

"You know Polly hates her birthday." Zara said plainly, looking at the three Shelby brothers. Zara believed that Polly deserved the world, but she didn't want to risk upsetting the woman on a day she never really cared about.

They were standing in the betting shop waiting for Polly to come in for work, and so Tommy could surprise her with a birthday present. The boys really wanted to show how much they appreciated Polly and were trying to make a big spectacle out of her birthday.

Their attention was stolen as the various employees of the shop started clapping (as they were instructed to do), to show that the birthday girl had arrived. Zara was the first to greet her and she laughed as she saw Polly's suspicious eyes rake over every person in the betting shop.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Polly asked, still wondering why everyone was clapping. "When did you two get back?" She pointed to Zara and Tommy who joined the women as the applause died down.

"Didn't want to miss your birthday, Pol." Tommy wrapped an arm around his Aunt's shoulders as Zara excitedly gave the Gray woman a side hug.

"Back to work!" Arthur commanded the men to leave the family alone.

"How do you know it's my birthday? Nobody ever knows except..." Polly trailed off as she glared at Zara. The King woman stuck her hands up in defense.

"We love you, Pol, and for once just wanted to show you how much we appreciate you." Polly had entrusted Zara with the date of her birth after she walked in on Polly crying, hunched over a small cake with a single candle whilst she was living in the Shelby house during the war. Ever since then, Zara always took Polly out for her birthday each year, and promised to keep the date a secret, until now of course.

"John, Finn, bring the car around." Tommy called to his younger brothers as he steered Polly back out of the betting shop.

"Where are we going?" Polly asked suspiciously.

"To unwrap your birthday present." Zara squealed, stealing Polly from under Tommy's arm and looping her own arm around her. Even though Zara knew that Polly hated her birthday, she was glad the boys finally wanted to take care of their Aunt instead of taking her for granted.

Tommy helped Polly out of the car as they pulled up in front of a nice suburban neighborhood, far from the smog of downtown Small Heath. It was like a breath of fresh air and Zara enjoyed taking deep breaths as she observed the area around them. The neighborhood was clean and proper. If only they knew of the dangerous gangsters loose in the streets.

Polly was still confused as her nephews took her around the house. "You said you were going to buy Ada a house." She nodded, as she thought this was the house for her niece.

"Yep, that's right, I did." Tommy agreed. "Just had a bit of cash left over."

Polly turned around to face him. "This is ours?"

"No. Polly, this is yours." Zara beamed.

"Because you deserve it." Tommy continued.

Polly was on the verge of tears as she looked at Arthur, John, and Finn for any signs of a joke, but all she was met with were happy smiles as they looked back at her.

"What would I do with all these rooms?" Polly asked, making Tommy chuckle.

"Well, you could relax for one. Come here at weekends. It has a garden. Eh?" Tommy pointed out the window. "You love gardens. You can grow roses, Pol. I don't know. Have a piano, have people round, they can have a singsong, eh?"