𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 ᵖᵉᵃᵏʸ ᵇˡⁱⁿᵈᵉʳˢ

17 (act 2)

Season 2/ Act 2
1921

"Happy Birthday Lottie" Arthur shook her shoulders as she came down the stairs. "Thanks Arthur" she smiled, hugging his side. "This one's from me" he gave her a soft smile, handing her a small box.

"You didn't have to get me anything" she sighed.

"Oh please, your turning 17, i have too" he excused, sitting on the couch. She opened the box and smiled at the pearl earrings. "Woah Arthur" she looked up.

"They were mums before she died, thought you'd like them"

"I do, thank you" she smiled brightly at him, admiring the earrings. "Happy birthday love" Polly said, handing her a present wrapped with a bow around it.

Lottie cautiously opened it, pulling out a dark dress. "Polly it's beautiful" she gasped.

"I remember you looking at it in the shop," she winked. She checked her watch and shook her head. "Where the bloody hell is Tommy and John" Polly asked.

"Here" Tommy appeared, making them jump. He placed a bunch of flowers in front of her. "Happy Birthday"

"Thanks Tom"

John leaned down, wrapping an arm around her to hug her. "This is off me an Esme" he whispered, handing her the envelope.

Her eyes widened at the large stack of money. "John" she whispered, "it's too much" she shook her head. He smiled at her, placing his hat on her head. "Thought you could buy yourself something special with it"

Her mouth parted, it was a lot of money. Where did he get it? Surely not from the business.

"I could buy myself a fucking house with this" she whispered. "You could if you wanted to" he grinned.

"Our little Lottie isn't so little anymore eh?" Tommy said, lighting a cigarette. Her cheeks burned red as they fussed over the girl.

-

"Happy birthday to you" Isaiah smiled, placing a kiss on her lips. "Thank you"

"Where we going" she asked. "Meeting the boys, we all have something for you"

Isaiah and Lottie were still together two years later.

One event that replayed in her head was him sat beside John at her hospital bed after she'd been shot. They were both so distraught. They both refused to leave her side.

"Reg!" Isaiah shouted as they entered Reggie and Ronnie's house. "In here" he shouted.

"It's the birthday girl" Ronnie nodded, taking the cigar from his mouth. "Danny not here?" she asked, passing her coat to Isaiah.

They shook their heads. "He's on house arrest, got caught stealing from the shop"

She laughed slightly, sitting opposite the brothers. "Happy birthday" Reggie leaned forward passing her a bottle of whiskey. "Thanks Reg"

"And from me, you have my company" Ronnie nodded. Ronnie was unique, got diagnosed with a few things after the war.

"How's Ada and the baby" Isaiah asked. "Not sure, not seen her in a while" Lottie admitted. "That's a shame"

"When's Freddie's funeral" Reggie asked, sipping his drink.

Lottie thought for a moment.

"Next week, Wednesday" she nodded, leaning into Isaiah. "Reckon she'll turn up?" he asked. "Absolutely, her husbands funeral, dad of her baby, be sick of her not too"

The boy shrugged.

"It's sad he died, he would have been a good dad" she nodded. "Let's stop talking about this, it's depressing, it's your birthday" they interrupted.

-

A week had passed since her birthday and she stood beside her family as Tommy spoke on behalf of Freddie Thorne's death.

"I promised my friend Freddie Thorne, that i'd say a few words over his grave if her were to die before me" he began.

Lottie glanced at Ada who held Karl close to her.

"I made this promise, before he became me brother in law" he nodded, "when we were in France, fighting for the king"

"Amen" Arthur said.

"And in the end, it wasn't war that took Freddie, pestilence took him"

Esme passed her crying baby over to John.

"But Freddie passed on his soul and his spirit to a new generation" Tommy said, "before he was cruelly taken"

After everyone had said their goodbyes and made a few words, Lottie stood in front of John, entertaining the young child as Tommy and Ada walked off.

"We thought now Freddie's gone, you might come back to Birmingham" he suggested. "God do you know how funny it is that you've got chauffeurs in uniform" she scoffed.

"Just for the occasion Ada"

"Do you know how unfair it is that you've got four Bugatti's but half the country are starving?"

"So now they've made you ashamed of us" he questioned, "When i think how i used to be, it makes me embarrassed" she admitted.

"Karl's with his cousins" Polly interrupted, joining them. "Caught them trying to pinch flowers off a grave"

"Ada" Polly began, "are you coming home"

"I'm going home" Ada said coldly. "It's all right Pol, we make Ada embarrassed"

"That's not what i said"

"There's another reason we want you home" he argued, "we're planning on expansion. I'm taking premises in London"

"It's a funeral, business can wait" Polly said. "Polly, if Ada was weeping then i'd stop, but she's not"

"The expansion means it'll be dangerous for a Shelby in London for a while"

"Yeah" Ada nodded. "Well i'm not a Shelby anymore, and i'm not a Thorne now either" she whispered. "I'm free"

"I've got to get Karl home" she excused herself.

Tommy exhaled. "I told you, let me handle it" Polly said. "It's all right, i'll have some men watch her house till the danger passes"

They watched as a bike approached.

"Till the danger passed" she repeated. Arthur began walking to them.

"That'll be the bloody day" she scoffed.