Cannonball

Chapter Thirteen: Stepping Up

"How are you feeling?" Polly asked setting a cup of tea before Rosemary, this was not the most ideal situation but there was little that they could do about it with the boys so far away. 

The days seemed to fly by now, with little news or any idea of when the war would be done.

 The very idea that Thomas might not make it home in time to see the birth of his first child troubled Polly, with each passing day she feared that Rosemary could be left a widow at any moment.

"We are well," Rosemary assured her, a hand resting on the steadily growing bump that seemed bigger and bigger with each passing day. 

The thrill of feeling her baby moved was only overshadowed by the regret that Thomas could not be here to feel such things; her letters often spoke in the developments that he was missing at home.

Rosemary had been surprised by Polly's sudden invite for tea but she was happy to come and see her; it was better than being stuck in the house alone on her day off. 

There was not that much work at the store these days and Rosemary found herself spending time home alone trying to prepare for the birth of her first child.

There was so much to be done and Victoria had been more than helpful in that regard, she was throwing herself into aiding her eldest in preparing her home for the arrival. 

The birth of Robert had only made Victoria even more determined to have everything prepared for Rosemary to deliver at home with little left to chance.

Polly sipped on her tea and stared at Rosemary, she had put a lot of thought into this and if she were not desperate then she would not be considering it; she needed help and there was no one else she could trust with this. 

Arthur, Thomas, and John were away fighting in the war, Ada was doing what she could, Martha had her hands full trying to manage the three children while her husband was away and Finn was much too young to be involved in this.

"I need help running the business," Polly said firmly, she knew it was a lot to ask and she was certain that Thomas would throw a fit if he knew what she was doing but there was no one else that she could trust with this.

Rosemary was a Shelby now and with work slow at the shop, people were cutting back on such expenses and it meant that more often than not she was pottering around the house. 

Polly did her best to offer support when she could, she knew that Yvette had moved in to stay with her sister to help around the house but extra work before the baby arrived would not hurt. 

There were bills that would need paying, items that needed buying and the baby would add extra expenses that had yet to make themselves known.

"It's not much work... just running the office and doing some filing, paperwork, nothing that you don't do now," Polly informed her, sipping on her own drink, watching Rosemary over the top. 

Polly had sworn that she would take care of things when the boys had left, she wasn't going to let them down and she would keep things running as smoothly as she could with them gone.

Rosemary blinked a little taken back that Polly was asking for her help, she had assumed that she would turn to Ada or Martha instead of her first especially since she was a newcomer to the family. 

In fact, Thomas had done his best to keep her in the dark about what his family actually did; he insisted that it was for the best just in case he upset the wrong person.

"Ada's taking some nursing classes and does what she can... Martha, well you've seen how busy she is with all those children of hers," Polly continued clutching at her cup as she stared at Rosemary, this was a big ask but she was sure that she was making the right decision.