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Matilda threw her cigarette on the floor as she raised a hand to the door of the betting shop, knocking on it a couple times. "We're not open yet!" A voice shouted from behind the door.
"It's only me, Esme!" Matilda smiled at the woman as she opened the door, stepping in and hanging her bag and coat up before walking further in the room.
Matilda sighed at the silence of the shop, it was extremely rare to find this place quiet, so both women were appreciating it while it lasted.
There was another knock on the door making Esme groan in frustration. "We're not open until twelve!"
"Bloody let me in!" Matilda stood at Polly's voice, walking over and opening the door, her smile dropping as she looked at the woman. "Shit, Pol, what's happened? Are you drunk?"
"Yep." Polly laughed emotionlessly. Matilda took Polly's hand and walked in the direction of Tommy's office which was empty, letting Pol in before shutting the door behind them. "Don't know whether to give you whisky or water." Matilda mumbled.
"Whisky." Polly nodded, lighting a cigarette. Matilda placed a glass of whiskey infront of Pol and one in front of herself as she sat down. "What's happened, Pol? Talk to me."
Polly let out a sob and she rested her head in her hands. Before she could get out a word, the office door opened, revealing Ada. "What the bloody hell is going on in here?" She asked, holding Karl on her hip.
"Shut the door." Matilda waved her hand before turning her attention back to Polly. "Come on, tell us." She encouraged.
"I'm not sure if you know this, Matilda, and Ada I'm not sure you'd remember, but I have two children. They got taken away from me when they were 3 and 5, and I haven't seen them since." Pol sniffled. "Today would have been my Ana's 16th birthday."
"Polly." Matilda looked at the woman she'd grown to see as a mother figure herself with sympathetic eyes. "What do you mean 'would have been'? I thought she was alive still?" Ada questioned softly.
"Well I don't know, I've been having this dream recently. I see a girl, with dark hair, and dark eyes. She claims to be my Ana and tells me she's not longer here." Polly sighed. "I just want to know what's happened to my children, if they're okay."
"I honestly understand your pain, Pol." Matilda reassured. "I promise I will make sure Tommy does all he can to find out what happened to your kids."
"What's wrong?" Ada was confused to see tears streaming down Matilda's cheeks. "Nothing, nothing." Matilda stood up and opened the door, jumping slightly as she walked into Tommy.
He looked from Matilda to Polly and Ada, then back to Matilda. "Everything alright here?" He questioned.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you in a minute." Matilda nodded before leaving the room, smiling as John and Arthur both stood up to greet her. "There she is!" John picked Matilda up and spun around with her before placing her down again. "What's the matter?"
"I'm fine." Matilda flashed a smile. "What's got you in a good mood?" She questioned, walking over to Arthur and falling into his embrace as she waited for John's reply.
"Not sure, Til, just happy!" John smiled as he began writing on the chalkboard. Matilda nodded with a smile, but it faltered as Tommy called out her name. "Come here." He waved her over.
"What's happened? Why were you upset, hm?" He questioned, pushing stray hairs behind her ears. There was a knock on the door at the front of the house and Arthur stood. "I'll get it."
Matilda looked back at Tommy, who still looked as concerned. "I'm fine, Tom, just got a bit emotional that's all." Tommy sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Alright, as long-"
Tommy was cut short as Arthur walked back in, a man that no one recognised following behind. "Uh, Matilda, he wants to speak to you."
"Matilda Mitchell?" The man questioned. Matilda's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the man. "Yeah, that's me?"
"I'm Officer Green. I was wondering if I could have a conversation with you in private for a minute, if that's okay with you?"
"No." Tommy instantly answered, a protective arm placed around her waist. "You can have the conversation here, no secrets." Tommy's voice was cold. He didn't want to put Matilda at risk of harm, and he didn't know who this man was.
"What's going on? And who is that?" Polly questioned. "My name is Officer Green, I'm here to speak with Miss Mitchell."
"Listen, I'm not going to go anywhere just the two of us, so please, say what you have to say." Matilda instructed politely, tired of the day already.
"If you wish." Officer Green cleared his throat. "Matilda, Evie Mitchell has been turned into us."
Everyone looked around in confusion as to who Evie was, but Matilda's stomach dropped through her arse at the mention of the name. "You what?" She barley even got it out as a whisper.
"That's right. We have your daughter."
••••••
Everyone stood in the kitchen of Polly's home as Matilda was sat, stroking her daughter's blonde locks as she slept peacefully on her chest. "I thought she was fucking dead." Matilda sniffled, the tears hadn't stopped since she found out.
After Matilda was told her daughter was alive and safe, she followed the Officer out to the car where another police officer had reunited Evie with her mother. From there, Polly offered Matilda to come to her home with the child, and the family followed. It had been hours since then, and the hours were spent in pretty much silence, everyone just comforting Matilda and the child.
"What happened, when did this happen?" John asked. Everyone was in as much shock as Matilda was. No one knew she had a daughter.
"Evie was born 4 months before I moved here. She was abducted only 1 month after she was born, and then after not even 2 months police gave up looking and told me she was most probably dead. That's the main reason I moved to Small Heath. Of course I also didn't want to stay in my family home after my parents died, I knew that after Evie was gone I would go insane if I didn't leave. So I did, and I came here. I didn't tell anyone about her because I decided that if I just pretended nothing ever happened I would be okay. Of course that's not how it works, and I never forgot about her. But in my mind I accepted she was dead." Matilda explained, looking down at her daughter.
"So how old is she?" Polly asked, smiling at the little girl. Apart from her platinum blonde hair, she was the spitting image of Matilda.
"She was born January 23rd 1919, I moved here in the April, and it's now December 15th 1920 so she's about to be 2." Matilda nodded to herself as she did the maths in her head.
"Who's the dad?" Arthur questioned making Polly and Ada scold him. Matilda simply laughed to herself. "No it's alright, his name was Zack Hudson. We were never together, we just messed around. He was a school teacher so he never went to war, but he killed himself just after I had found out I was pregnant. His death was unexpected, he looked to be a happy man, but looks can be deceiving."
"Well, we're more than happy to have her join the family, Tilly." Polly smiled at Matilda. "Yeah, she's just as important to us as you are." John smiled, walking over and kissed Matilda's head before ruffling her hair.
"Come on, I'll take you home." Tommy grinned. "You've both had a long day."
