TOO SWEET / thomas shelby

PROLOGUE / part two

1918, Birmingham

      "They're finally coming home! The boys are coming home!"

Nell and Aisling both turned towards Ada, who was rushing into their kitchen, waving a letter wildly.

"John says they should be home in the next month. Can you believe it?"

Aisling smiled softly, shaking her head, "No, darling, I can't."

It seemed to dawn Ada then, "I'm sorry— I didn't mean to... I'm sorry."

Nell pulled the girl into a hug, "It's alright Ada, yeah? We're excited for them to come home too."

She felt the Shelby girl nod against her shoulder, giving Ada a reassuring smile as she let go, "I suppose it's good timing considering Martha..."

The trio shared grim looks, knowing the woman's health was declining quickly. It didn't seem that things would change from that either— and if it did, no one could know how long for. Nell was finding it hard to see her friend, as the days went on all she saw in Martha was Frances. It was all too familiar of a situation.

"Tea, Ada, love?" Aisling asked, filling up the black kettle.

"No, thank you, Aisling. I've got to go find Finn— he keeps running off too far with that Lambert kid. Polly will have his head, if she finds out."

Nell snorted a laugh, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she dodged her mother's towel being playfully whipped in her direction, "That boy knows no bounds."

"Oh, mum, you are so harsh on him. He's just a kid."

"You were just a kid once, too. Not half as bad as him, no saint though. Glad I had my girls— I wouldn't have known what to do with a boy."

"Well, you've always had a soft spot for our Finn, anyways Nelly," Ada mused with a grin, and all Nell could do was grin back because everyone knew it was true.

"He's a sweet boy. Don't get many of those nowadays."

"Don't get many of those ever," Ada added.

"I'll help you find him, ay?" Nell asked, grabbing Ada's hand, "Be back soon mum!"

The two girls made their way out of the house, giggling like they were ten years younger. Aisling smiled fondly at them, the pair reminding her of how she and Polly had been at that age. The front door clicked shut, her smile falling from her face.

Ada had meant no harm, she knew that but it hurt. Her Conor wouldn't be coming home, her Frances wouldn't be coming home. It was too much sometimes. But she had to be strong for Nell, her girl. She had spent too much time relying on her daughter, when it should have been the other way around.

Her eyes stung with tears as she looked to the ceiling, the kettle whistling shrill on the stove. She closed her eyes, sighing as she tried to smile.

It was a lot of trying, these days.

      Aisling and Nell didn't go to the train station. Instead opting to meet everyone at The Garrison later on. Going to the station would only be a reminder that he wasn't coming back, that Conor McNulty was gone for good. It was starting to feel awfully final.

Nell was simmering with nerves, though she wasn't entirely sure on the reason. Not much had changed, not really. She was smart though, she knew that the boys would've changed— and albeit kind of childish, she was hoping that they hadn't. She hoped that they were the same boys that had left, and in some ways they would be, but it some ways they wouldn't be.