𝐞𝐠𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 · 𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟓

BLISSFULNESS BLANKETS THE Solomons family, like the morning fog that surrounds them as they make their way down to the shores of Margate.

The sound of bright laughter spurring from her daughter, makes Evelyn's smile grow impossibly wider. She watches as her now sixteen-year-old runs down the beach, straight into the water, her steps followed by a giant dog that was destined to knock her face first into the waves.

"Fuckin' 'ell, Sarge," the teenager scolds, spitting salt-water out. "Almost bloody drowned me."

Evelyn shakes her head at the sight, Sarge the bullmastiff looking down at the poor girl who was now sitting in the ocean - almost as if he was happy with what he had done. Catching up with the pair, Evelyn brushes back the hair that sticks to her face with the wind, reaching a hand outward to help her daughter back upright.

"It's like this dog has somethin' against me, I swear it Ma," Julia scoffs, reaching down to pat Sarge. "I fuckin' rescue him, and he treats me like this but follows you around everywhere - not once, yeah, not once does he bump into you a bit too hard."

"I think he just loves his mum, perhaps you should take a page out of his book," Evelyn teased.

Julia giggled, sassing her mother back. "I love my mum very much, thank you."

Pulling her not-so-little girl anymore into her arms, Evelyn planted a kiss on her cheek, before reaching into the water and splashing the unexpecting girl.

"Ma!" 

"I'll race you along the shore!" Evelyn teased, running away from Julia with Sarge hot on her heels. "You can splash me twice as hard if you can!"

"You're goin' to be the fuckin' death of me!" Julia screamed, rushing after her child-like mother.

All Evelyn could think in this moment of absolute serenity was how much Alfie would have loved to be there. Their daughter was almost a splitting image of him, sometimes it scared her how much Julia resembled her father. She had certainly gotten Alfie's personality, but Evelyn's brains - as Tommy told her countless times.

"She looks just like fucking Alfie if he had our blue eyes," he would chuckle, watching his niece talk to her cousins. "She's got your brains though. Going to be unstoppable once she's older." 

And by God, was Julia Louise Solomons an Ego Check to everyone. 

~~~~~~~~

A/N:

That's the end of my baby ahh!! 

Thank you so so much for taking the time to read this book, it may seem silly but I never expected for it to gain so much traction. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

Thank you for sticking through all the plot holes, long breaks between chapters (I mean, I hadn't updated this book in over half a year and still so many of you are here, reading it. Which is INSANE to me.) Your dedication is what got me back into writing the final chapters. Waking up to comments on every chapter, all of you expressing your thoughts on words that I wrote - I can't even express how happy it makes me.

Thank you for sharing the laughs, the tears and most of all the experience of my first proper series dedicated story.

Here's to Evelyn Shelby!