VICES AND VIRTUES | Thomas Shelby

SEVENTEEN

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"Come on, Ada love, let's get you inside," Polly soothed as she guided Ada towards the house, Florence following behind.

"Flo," Tommy spoke up as he leant against his car, having driven the three women back to Small Heath, "Can we talk?"

"Your sister's in labour, can it wait?" Florence replied, glancing at Polly for reassurance.

"I'll take care of this, take as long as you need," Polly assured the girl, sensing that there was some unfinished business between the pair that needed to be dealt with.

"Everything alright?" Florence asked as she turned and paced back towards Tommy.

"Are you happy now that you know John's happy?" Tommy answered, placing a cigarette between his lips and lighting it.

"He's lucky, she seems like a nice girl, I just hope they're happy together," Florence sighed, staring at the ground.

"John seemed happy enough with his new motor," Tommy replied, noticing how closed off Florence had become in the past few months.

"I should probably see if Pol and Ada need any help," Florence sighed, despising Tommy's ability to always manage to find a way to bring it back to money.

"What's wrong?" Tommy asked as Florence focused her gaze further down the street, her eyes glossing over as she remembered one of the warmest days of the summer when she was a little girl. The boys all being older than her had offered to take the girls to get an ice cream, Arthur was in charge, meaning the afternoon ended in chaos. That was all she wanted for her baby, to feel loved and cared for and part of something. Florence wasn't tied to the Shelby family by blood, but to them that never mattered.

"You were so different before the war," Florence whispered, looking back at him, "I fell in love with you long before you returned from the war, when I was eighteen and maybe I was naive, but in my eyes you were the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Flo-"

"I shouldn't have expected you to come back as the same man you were before, and it's taken me some time to come to terms with that, but I see now that war changed all of you," Florence explained, cradling her bump, "I see it in your eyes when you look at Finn, I see it in George when there's a sudden loud noise, I see it in Elijah's face when he's sleeping and the thoughts are lingering."

"We all agreed not to talk about the things we saw with people who didn't have to experience it, to protect you," Tommy told her.

"I know," Florence sighed, "I just wish it didn't change you the way it did."

"Can I just ask you something?" Tommy replied.

"Fire away." Florence answered, bracing herself for whatever Tommy could possibly want to say.

"Why did you bring Elijah to John's wedding?" Tommy asked.

"Because he's my husband, and there are only three of us that know why he's my husband," Florence answered, "And he has been by my side through all of this in ways I never imagined he could."

"So he's looking after you?" Tommy continued.

"He is," Florence nodded, "Not that I deserve it, I wake up every morning wondering if it might be the day he changes his mind."

"He'll never do that," Tommy muttered, "He cares about you far too much to leave you like that."

Before Florence could respond John's car came speeding around the corner, parking up behind Tommy's as Arthur, John and Esme climbed out.