❝ PICKET FENCE! ❞ → GRAY ✓

→ ii.ii

Act Two, Scene Two

→ ❝ my innocent darling! ❞

             In the three days since Michael had picked up Carol's evening dress (it had been completed just the day after Michael had placed an order), the young girl had tried it on four times. She wasn't conceited – she was sure of it – but she couldn't bring herself to let Michael down every time he asked to see her in it "just one more time". Carol couldn't lie: watching Michael's eyes light up when she approached from behind the changing screen in the green gown made her heart swell, and she found herself constantly falling more and more in love with him as the hours passed, no matter how impossible it seemed to her.

             Grace's charity dinner had approached faster than Carol had anticipated, and before she knew it, she and Michael were rolling up the driveway in the Bentley, excited for the night ahead of them. Spending time together was a blessing, but doing it in such a glamorous way was exciting for any 18 year old.

             "I'm so glad you're my fiancée," Michael grinned as pulled up in front of the house and opened the door for Carol, "You're fuc- you're so beautiful."

             Carol appreciated Michael trying not to swear around her. The words sounded funny coming from his mouth (when he accidentally let them slip), and often made her wonder just how much of Henry Johnson she had lost. "I'm surprised you're not bored of me yet," she commented as she climbed out of the passenger seat and waited for Michael to toss the keys to a nearby boy to park the car.

             Michael shoved his left hand into his pocket as Carol linked their arms together, shivering in the frigid air (how she envied Michael in his coat, thick suit jacket and all the layers beneath). The boy kissed her gently on the cheek as they entered through the large doors, and felt warmth immediately greet them, even after they took of their coats and handed them to the servants waiting. Michael had bought Carol her very own fur coat (she had never had one before) for the occasion, and the girl couldn't wait to snuggle into it on the long car journey home.

             "What's Polly doing by that mirror?" Carol innocently nodded in the older woman's direction as she and Michael navigated the crowds, mingling as Tommy had instructed them to.

             Michael whisked two glasses of champagne from a waiter's tray as they passed him, handing one to Carol, "Don't worry about her," he shook his head as he took a sip of the expensive alcohol, "Come on, let's see our Ada."

             Anxious to be in the company of another woman, Carol eagerly followed Michael to meet the Thorne woman, who had come up from London especially for the occasion. With Ada living so far away and balancing a full time job with motherhood, Carol saw the woman much less often than she would have liked, and it was their first reunion after the Shelby wedding.

             "Carol, Michael," Ada greeted Carol with a hug and kissed Michael's cheek. Her hair brushed against Carol's cheek, and the younger girl had to refrain from giggling as it tickled her skin. "How are you? How are you finding life down here, Carol?"

             "I hate going into Birmingham," Carol answered honestly, feeling compelled to tell the truth in Ada's presence, "The air is so dirty and it makes me miss Sheffield. But I adore Sutton Coldfield, it's so beautiful everywhere and it reminds me of home just enough."

             Ada couldn't help but laugh as Carol described Small Heath, and the two women began to talk about Ada's job at the library, accidentally ostracising Michael from the conversation (he stood awkwardly beside Carol with his arm around her waist). Tommy's only rule of 'mingling' was quickly forgotten as the pair had a long awaited catchup. Their peaceful conversation was interrupted much too soon by the raucous, obnoxious laughter of John, who was making his way towards the trio with his brothers.