Another love

Part Forty - Two

The women had the door shut and giggled to themselves as they waited for Tommy to walk into their 'union meeting.' Lizzie had a smug smile as she opened the door for a confused Tommy.

"The executive committee of the union of bookies and allied trades will see you now, sir."

Tommy slowly walked in and eyed them all before his eyes landed on Pol who was sprawled over her chair with a cloth over her eyes.

"I heard you were giving speeches off the back of a wagon, Pol." He said as he exhaled smoke from his cigarette.

Sarah and Lizzie exchanged a sheepish look, knowing that it was Sarah giving the speeches.

"I can't remember a fucking thing," Polly said tiredly.

"Well, Moss tells me that one of you were threatening to burn down the town hall," Tommy said taking a drag of his cigarette, his eyes glancing over at Sarah who pretended to be offended.

"That one was all Pol."

"Oh, that one was, was it?" Tommy asked with a raised eyebrow, if Sarah looked close enough she could see the humour behind his expression but he was determined to keep his mask.

"Oh, Tommy, we were having a laugh. You know, actually, the crowd around us was bigger than the crowd around Jessie Eden." Pol told him proudly, as she slowly removed the cloth from her head.

"Who's Jessie Eden?" Tommy asked in confusion.

"She's too soft. You're not gonna break the capitalist system talking about separate lavatories for women." Polly mocked as she walked over to the fireplace and got a cigarette.

"Who is Jessie Eden?" Tommy asked again.

"She's our new best friend," Lizzie smirked

"Shop steward at the Lucas factory," Esme said as she crossed her arms.

"A woman shop steward, I've heard of her." He nodded in thought

"There is a leaflet here if you want to take a look, Tommy," Lizzie said as she passed Tommy the leaflet.

He scanned the leaflet and took a deep breath before looking at the women

"So, a separate lavatory? Is that it? Is that what you want? I don't know what you want. You have to tell me what it is that you want and then I'll know." Tommy told them exasperatedly.

In all fairness after going to the rally and seeing how many women were mistreated in their workplace Sarah held more understanding to their cause, however this company was different. Tommy was a busy and usually fair man, in his own way, so all they have to do is speak to him about it.

"Actually, we want to know about the robbery you're planning. Not the factory robbery. The other one. The one you're not telling the women about." Esme spat at him as she walked over with a stern face.

Lizzie looked at Polly who stared back innocently as she ran her fingers through her hair. Equally, Tommy shot Sarah a subtle look which she responded with a slight shake of the head. Esme scoffed at the realisation that Sarah had known the whole time, although she shouldn't have really been surprised.

"John has a big mouth."

"No. Arthur's got a big mouth. Arthur told Linda, Linda told me." Esme hissed in defence of her husband, her arms still folded.

Tommy didn't have the patience for Esme's usual ranting and looked over at Sarah and Polly for their help to diffuse her

"Polly?"

"Read the leaflet, Tommy." Lizzie encouraged quietly, trying to avoid any conflict.

"Ladies, why don't I talk to Tommy privately, and then I'll report back to you faithfully," Polly told the others.