Lydia pov
At 4 o'clock, we arrived at a nice house not far from Arthur's. It looked so beautiful and wonderful that I jut wanted to scream with joy yet somehow I managed to contain my excitement. Arthur walked in and we followed to see many people, some of which I met yesterday, sitting around drinking. There were younger children running around with pure joy that it just made my heart swell. Oh how I missed having a family
"He's here pol" John yelled. A woman walked in from another room with a small smile on her face.
"This is aunt pol" Arthur introduced
"Its lovely to meet you" I said shaking her hand. She seemed taken aback by my manners but smiled and shook my hand
"Like wise" she turned to Mason who just huffed and looked down at the floor
"I'm Lydia-Rose. This is my brother Mason. I apologise for his rudeness" I said feeling slightly embarrassed due to masons bad manners
"That's no worries. Make yourself at home. Tea should be ready in 2 hours" aunt pol said. I went and sat down next to Michael on the sofa. Mason sat the other side of me and Arthut in an arm chair. The atmosphere was quite pleasant. Awkward at first but we soon started to act as if we have no eachother our entire wonderful lives.
"How's business with Alfie?" John asked turning to Tommy. Alfie? Did he just say Alfie?
"Fine. The cockney bastard is a pain in the arse but nothing we can't handle" Tommy replied
"Alfie?" I asked confused
"He's a business partner of ours. Alfie Solomon" Michael said. It was him. Oh how wonderful
"Oh Mason did you hear that? They know where uncle Alfie is" I exclaimed happily turning to my brother. He didn't look too happy but I'm sure he is just hiding it
"Uncle Alfie?" Arthur asked
"Our dad's best friend. But we call him uncle Alfie. Do you think he knows where our father is?" I asked excitedly. I know my dad is working with the government and the letters were of content which i adored. But I just wanted to see him. Uncle Alfie would tell us where he is and then maybe we can atleast get a phone number. So I can hear his voice again
"No. I already tried it lyds. He doesn't know" Mason said to me. I frowned slightly and the room went silent. So I decided to perk up and not put everyone in a bad mood
"Oh well. I suppose the longer we wait the more happy the reunion will be" I said cheerily. Everyone smiled at me and then we got to talking again. I've always been good at that. Changing the mood almost instantly. Stopping awkward silences. Mama said it was one of my gifts
"Mason, can I speak with you" Arthur said. I turned to my brother who seemed reluctant at first
"Oh go on mase. Arthur doesn't bite" I teased making him roll his eyes but follow Arthur anyway
Arthur pov
I lead Mason to the dining room where we would be eating tonight. No one was there so it would be quiet. I closed the door and turned to the slouching boy who was clearly uncomfortable. But this had to be said
"You have to tell her" i told him
"Piss off" he grumbled
"I'm serious. She is a sweet little girl who thinks her father is coming home. Now you and I both know he isn't. And the longer we wait, the more she will miss him. If you tell her now, then sure she will be upset but she will also be able to move on" I reasoned with him
"Listen. I know you're trying to help us. But we don't need your help. We've been living just fine without you and the only reason I havnt left already is because how happy Lydia is. Don't ever try and tell me how to raise Lydia. Because so far I've been doing a pretty decent job and she is my responsibility. Not yours" he whisper yelled not wanting anyone else to hear before storming out of the room and slamming the door.
Mason pov
At tea, we all sat down and started eating. I'm gonna be honest. This is the best meal I've had in a long time. Like it was actually incredible. After we had finished eating, no one moved from their places except the youngest of children who went to play. And then we all just got talking at the dining table. I wasn't saying much, just the odd remark. But then I heard something which made me panick
"Please can I learn to read?" Oh god it was Lydia
"Sure love. You can go school if you want. Although I'm not gonna force ya. We can get you a tutor instead or one of us could teach ya." Arthur replied making her smile
"No. You don't need to read" I told Lydia sternly. Her smile disappeared for a small second before reappearing on her petite face
"Oh please mase. You know how much I want to learn. Pretty please with a cherry ontop" she begged but I simply couldn't let her have her way. Not this time
"She can learn to read if she wants Mason. That's her decision" ada told me.
"NO. YOU ARENT LEARNING TO READ AND THATS FINAL" I yelled before storming out of the room. Then I ran from the house and sat down by the river
Arthur pov
After a few minutes of silence, Lydia spoke up
"I'm sorry. I'm not really that bothered anyway" she lied
"No. If you want to read the you can. I'm gonna go find mason" I told her. I kissed her forehead before leaving her in the trusting hands of my family. I went outside and to the first place I thought. It's where everyone goes after a family argument to cool off. The river. That's when I saw Mason kicking rocks and yelling
"Mason. Talk to me son" I said sitting down near him. He didn't reply for a good 4 minutes. Then much to my surprise, he answered
"I find pieces of adverts, news letters, anything. And then I pretend I'm reading a letter from our dad to Lydia. She thinks he's working for the government and can't see us. But the letters make her think he's still out there." He wasn't looking at me but straight ahead. I thought for a moment before realising
"You don't want her to read because then she will know the letters aren't real" I said. He nodded his head and started to cry. I moved closer unsure on what to do, but I put my arm around him and let him cry with only the sound of the river in the air. We sat like that for a while before he wiped his tears, and stood up
"We should go back" he said. I nodded and got myself up before we walked the 5 minute walk back to pollys House.
"Mase" I heard Lydia's voice yell happily as she engulfed her brother in a hug
"I'm sorry for making you angry" she said a little quieter
"It's not your fault darling. I was being rash" he admitted kissing her cheek. As much as I hate when I see kids upset, I'm glad Mason cried. It let him get everything he hides from Lydia out into the open
YOU ARE READING
The Gift- Complete
FanfictionArthur Shelby has 0 to very little experience with children. Sure he entertains his nieces and nephews but it's not quite the same as being a father. He doesn't need to take responsibility for them and he can give them as much alcohol as he pleases ...
