VICES AND VIRTUES | Thomas Shelby

TWENTY THREE

The pair shared a small laugh and a smile as they pulled apart, leaving just one person, the person Florence had dreaded laying eyes on, knowing how much it would ache to see him. She had few words for the man, because she still blamed him for his part in the events that caused her mother's death. She had considered banning him from the funeral, but she thought better, because she knew that it would raise questions, and above all, Imelda would've wanted him there.

"Florence." Tommy nodded, not wanting to make a fuss, but aware of the prying eyes that surrounded them both.

"Tommy." Florence replied, glancing at Elijah who was talking to Polly.

"Thank you for coming," Florence muttered, with not much else to say.

"Flo, are you ready?" Elijah came to her side as Tommy moved on to join the rest of his family, "It seems that everyone is here."

"I'm not sure if ready is the right word, but I just want this all to be over," Florence replied as he took ahold of her hand and squeezed it as she noticed the absence of Daisy's pram, "Where's Daisy?"

"Polly's looking after her," Elijah gestured up the path towards the members of the Shelby family walking into the chapel, Polly pushing Daisy's pram, "She offered so that I could focus on you."

"Thank you," Florence smiled half heartedly as the pair strolled up the path towards the chapel.

As they reached the open double doors Florence felt her heartbeat quickening. Each side of the aisle was filled with people Florence knew, and people who adored Imelda. At the front of the small church was Imelda's light wood coffin, which was covered in bouquets of yellow and white flowers, with daisy chains scattered across.

"If you need anything, you just squeeze my hand, alright?" Elijah assured the girl as they walked down the aisle, the weight of the gazes that surrounded them were heavy.

"Good morning," The priest spoke as he stood at the altar once everyone was seated, "Thank you for joining us today to celebrate the life of Imelda Dawson, a mother, best friend and grandmother, now to start our service we will be singing one of Imelda's favourite hymns, Abide With Me."

Once the hymn had been sung, everyone sat down and Florence knew that it was time for her to give her eulogy. She had been assured that she didn't have to speak at the funeral if she thought that it would make her emotional. But after dwelling on it, she concluded that the world deserved to know just how wonderful her mother was.

As Florence approached the altar, she felt her hands tremble when her eyes found her mother's coffin before she quickly returned to looking at the people who were sitting in the pews, wishing the ground would swallow her up.

She took out the piece of paper from her left pocket, keeping the envelope that sat in her right pocket safe, knowing she'd need it later before she began to read, "Many of you know Imelda for different reasons, she might have been your neighbour, your dressmaker, your friend, but to me she was my mother, and that makes me the luckiest person in the world."

Florence could feel a lump forming in her throat as she searched the crowd for a reassuring smile, only to be met with Tommy's piercing blue eyes. She quickly returned her attention to the paper in her hand, hoping to finish talking as swiftly as she could.

"My mother had it tougher than most, becoming a mother at fourteen alone, with no sense of what the world had to offer her, but she wasn't truly alone," Florence continued, looking up from her page and finding Polly in the crowd, "Because she had her best friend by her side through it all. To be raised by one strong woman is a privilege, to be raised by two strong women, that's my strength."