Another love

Part Eighty - Two

"The fuck are you doing?" Tommy asked, watching Sarah sticking her leg up against the car window on his side.

"Trying to do my fucking shoe! Bloody ridiculous with these gloves." She complained.

Tommy rolled his eyes as he tried to move her leg back down, "Everyone can see up your dress."

"Everyone who? It's only me and you?" Tommy nodded to their driver, sarah followed his eyeline before looking back at Tommy, "Sam? He's seen us do a lot worse in the back of this car."

Tommy rose his eyebrows at her words and shook his head, before gesturing to Sarah to lean back into her seat and let him clip her shoes back in place, "why you wearing gloves anyway?" He asked.

"All the rage apparently."

Tommy nodded and leant back up looking his wife up and down before sending her a smirk, "well I won't comment on the gloves but the dress...."

"What about the dress?"

"Keep it on tonight." He murmured, placing a cigarette between his lips.

Sarah's jaw dropped at him and let out a laugh before leaning into the front seat and grabbing the bottle of champagne that she'd put there.

Tommy let out a puff of smoke and frowned at her, watching her pop open the bottle with a smile, "forgot the glasses." She told him as she took a swig.

Tommy joined in her laughter accepting the bottle and taking a swig himself, "You are full of class my lady."

Their laughter died down as the car slowly came to a stop, they were here and sarah felt overcome with sickness. She hated most political events especially the rallies. On occasion she liked going to Tommy's and hearing him speak about the issues that were real or meant something to him, and often not all these issues he talked of meant much to him because he was too busy playing a role to really take in any of the good work he enjoyed. This rally however was for the fascists and every second that Sarah was there she felt like part of her soul was being taken away, well what was left of it anyway. She liked to pretend she was somewhere else, with Tommy and the kids, riding horses or taking boat trips. Maybe they'd even be back on watery lane, running the betting shop and the garrison. Then sometimes She liked to imagine that secretly John and Polly were still here but were hiding somewhere far away from this life, waiting for them to walk away from this world and live on the road with them as a family, but then the flash of a camera would go off or there would be applause and she'd return to the real world to find men in black suits making pathetic salutes or women wearing pearls being manipulated in the world of aristocracy.

"Ready?" Tommy asked squeezing her hand, knowing how much she hated these events.

"Yeah." She replied quietly.

Tommy nodded at Sam who jumped out to open their door with an umbrella ready to shield them from the rain. Tommy took it from him and gave his arm to sarah to clutch onto tightly as they rushed up the steps to the building, ignoring the shouts from those outside. Once they reached the top step Tommy handed the umbrella to one of the outside ushers, before heading inside with Sarah and helping to adjust her dress. She'd chosen a red halter dress which had a long scarf for a train with crystal detailing.

Tommy wrapped his arm around her waist and placed a kiss to the side of her head for reassurance. Sarah smiled and took his arm again as they ascended the stairs  to the upper floor.

"Mr Shelby! Mr Shelby! Daily Mirror-"

When Sarah and Tommy turned in curiosity at the sound of a man shouting, the black shirts attempted to shield them only for Tommy and sarah to shove them off "Fuck off!" Tommy growled at them as he watched the man being restrained at the door.