❝ PICKET FENCE! ❞ → GRAY ✓

→ ii.x

Act Two, Scene Ten

→ ❝ a real blinder's girl! ❞

             Until the morning of the event, when Polly nearly knocked the bedroom door down telling her to hurry up and get ready, Carol had forgotten that it was the opening of the Grace Shelby Institute for Orphaned Children. She had laid in bed for far too long watching Michael dress for the day, dictating which colour hat looked best with his dark suit and tie (she eventually settled on a light brown, claiming it matched her shoes), and Polly wasn't happy that she had left it until last minute to begin making herself presentable.

             "What a pretty necklace," Polly said as she smoothed down the back of Carol's hair with a brush, helping the soft auburn waves to form. The only blessing was that Carol had set her hair freshly only the day before, so styling her pre-made waves didn't prove too time consuming.

             Carol involuntarily smiled as her hand moved to hold the small silver locket in her fist, "Thank you, Henry got it for me."

             "Can I see inside?" she prompted, not knowing what her son had bought the girl for her birthday; it had been kept a secret from the whole family.

             "It's a tiny snippet of me and Henry in the photograph of Tommy's wedding, I don't know how he managed to get it, but I love it. It's wonderful," she opened the clasp and held it in Polly's direction, allowing her to inspect the picture. Carol's eyes were closed in laughter and Michael was grinning – the older woman remembered watching Michael tickle the Goodwin girl while the photograph was being taken, surveying them from the corner of her eye. It was nice to be reminded of a much simpler, less dangerous time, and it was odd to think that it was only a few months ago.

             Finishing rouging her cheeks and applying some mascara, Carol stood up when she received the all-clear from Polly, stepping back from the vanity as her robe swirled around her ankles in the breeze coming from the window. At the commands of Mrs Gray and the warnings of 'we're going to be late!', Carol quickly shuffled on her new dress for the occasion (yellow, like the day she set foot on Birmingham soil) and pulled her tanned shoes onto her feet, wiggling her toes to sort out her stockings that had bunched up around them.

             "Look at that," Polly took a drag from her newly-lit cigarette and smiled as Carol twirled slowly in front of the mirror, not realising that Michael was leaning against the doorway and watching her lovingly "You look like a real Blinder's girl now."

             Carol's smile dropped suddenly; she quickly made her way over to the coat stand and pulled on her cream coat to cover the dress that was much more revealing than she was used to. "Henry's not a Peaky Blinder," She shook her head, as if she was convincing Polly.

             Michael approached her then, wrapping his arms around her waist and causing Carol to squeal as he lifted her up and span her around, "Come on, beautiful, are you ready to go?"

             "Not if you make me throw up," she grabbed her handbag while she was mid-air and smacked his stomach with it, giggling.

             A car horn tooting outside grabbed the couple's attention (Polly had since disappeared downstairs, presumably for a drink) and pulled them over to the window, which Michael cracked open so Carol could stick her head through it. He held on to her waist tightly, as if he was afraid of her tumbling over the windowsill and to the street below.

             "Are you lot fucking ready or not?" Arthur shouted up to them. He was still inside the car, by the steering wheel, but had somehow managed to get the top part of his body out of the window and was holding onto the roof for support, "Tommy specifically ordered us not to be late, and I'm going to tell him that it was Carol holding us all up."