A Shelby Mistress

Selfish

The spring sun had retreated behind a mass of black clouds and replaced by a furious downpour. Rain hit everyone with such force it had became painful to remain in, leaving people running for shelter. Within homes windows sounded like they were bound to crack if the heavens continued their assault. Aurora now red eyed and distressed welcomed the rain as she walked the long distance to the office, her feet painfully screaming to rest. She was soaked to the bone, her shoes squelching which each passing puddle she kicked and stepped in. Aurora wasn't cold yet her body trembled, threatening to send her teeth through her tongue the longer she stayed outside.
After Tommy had left her crying in the kitchen, she had spent an hour staring into the wall, regretting her decision to find out the truth while also remaining angry at Tommy from keeping the truth from her. Aurora had tried to sort herself out in time for work, she had attempted to bake that cake yet each round had ended in disaster with the last batch ending up across the kitchen floor and Aurora in tears once more. In the end she had left the mess, grabbed her coat and walked out into the rain.

By the time she reached the office, Aurora was in no mood to deal with her Mam today. Her Dad would be easy but her Mam would not stop the interrogation on her whereabouts until war had broken out between the two. To get through the day, Aurora would avoid anyone she could and when work was over she would go home, clean up and slip into her bedsheets.
Opening the entrance door, Aurora ignored the bewildered stares from the workers as she headed for her office, trailing water behind her. She cursed, slipping slightly on the corner before quickly managing to steady herself hoping no one had seen. A rule of her Dads was to leave any personal matters by the door on the way in and get on with work. He did not care for dramatics particularly if it involved the family.

Upon entering her office, Aurora hung up her coat and pulled her shoes off, sighing in relief as her feet received their much deserved mercy. Throwing her shoes to the side like she had done with the cake, she tried to ignore the disgust she felt at the feeling of her damp clothes rubbing against her skin. Instead of starting on the work left on her desk, Aurora slumped down in her chair and stared out the door window, waiting.
It didn't take long for her Dad to appear, he had most likely been told of her presence as soon as she had entered. Like Aurora had guessed, her Dad did not seem angry in the slightest, in fact noticing her staring at him he proceeded to give her a wide smile.

"Nice to see you at work Chavi, did you enjoy your trip?" William questioned taking in his daughters wet clothes and the sadness in her eyes but being her Dad he knew when not to say or mention anything.
Aurora always opened up on her own and only when she did would he offer his comfort or help.
"I did thank you Dad" Aurora began placing a small smile on her face "Masilda got married and I had to be there but I completely forgot to mention it, m'sorry it won't happen again"
"Not to worry my love, you can do as you will just remember to leave a note or phone next time" William replied distantly, wondering how he could keep his wife away from Aurora until she was back to her normal self.
"I will Dad" Aurora nodded looking down at the papers sat in front of her trying to decide what she wanted to focus on first.
"Now that you're here, I need you to phone Tommy and reschedule the next shipment. I've had word that there are multiple boats going up and down the canal early Tuesday morning. Tell Tommy the earliest we can do it is Thursday morning" William explained unaware of the new wave of sadness that had hit Aurora.
Tommy wasn't in Birmingham and even if he had headed home after their disagreement he wouldn't have made it back yet. She could phone and speak with Arthur instead yet Aurora knew when it came to trades, her Dad would prefer to hear directly from the boss, that boss being the man she couldn't bring herself to deal with today.

"Could you not do the trade by car?" Aurora offered with a shrug, trying to exhort possible alternatives that didn't involve her phoning anyone.
"No the trucks would be checked and taking it all in cars is too time consuming. Just phone Aurora, it will take you no time"
Keeping her face void of emotion, Aurora slowly nodded and reaching out she pulled the phone towards her.
"Of course Dad, I'll phone now"
"Good, if you need me I'm in the office"
With one last smile, her Dad turned and walked out her office, Aurora staring after him to make sure he was truly gone before she pushed the phone away like it had burnt her. She wouldn't call just yet, she would wait until her Dad was packing up for the day and then quickly do it. Picking up the papers in front of her, Aurora began to read through them, focusing her mind on the words rather than those blue eyes she had fallen so deeply for.