Candy [THOMAS SHELBY]

Chapter Forty-Two

Josephine had just locked up the store for the night when Tommy pulled up outside and she quickly jumped in, glad she didn't have to wait for him for long. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before she settled down in the passenger seat and Tommy didn't waste any time before he sped off.

"I want to run something by you..." Tommy said as he drove them home.

"Yeah...?" Josephine was mostly focussed on the scenery that passed them

"I was thinking about starting up a few charitable organizations, put some good associations with the Shelby name."

Josephine turned to him with a raised brow, "Do you want to do these things because you truly care about the community or is it just so you can raise the status of the Shelby name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, of course, it does"

"I was thinking about setting up an orphanage," Tommy said, avoiding answering her previous question.

Josephine let out a hum as she thought about his suggestion, as waited for him to explain a bit more

"I thought we could name it after our mothers" Tommy continued to explain

Josephine slowly nodded, a small smile on her face, "That's a really good idea, Tommy"

"Obviously it's going to take a while to set up but I thought you would want to be involved in helping it get set up."

"I'd like that." Josephine agreed.

"In a few days, I'll be going out to see what suitable buildings are out there in the city."

Josephine nodded in understanding, "What do you want me to do?"

"Once I've found the right place and I figured that you will oversee renovations and all that. Choosing things to your likings."

A sudden thought came to her, "I'm assuming that you'll have no problem getting this registered and certified in all the legal ways?"

"Of course" Tommy confirmed her assumption, "I'll get everything sorted out the legal way. There will be no dirty business involved with this."

"Good" Josephine was relieved, "Do you think it's possible to have it mixed gendered? Separate dormitories obviously but we provide a place for both boys and girls"

"I'll speak to my lawyer and get in contact with the people who regulate things like these and get a bit more information."

"So I shouldn't get ahead of myself?" Josephine asks him as he pulls up outside of their house.

Tommy turns off the engine and shifts to face her, taking her hands in his, "I'm saying there may be obstacles and we'll just have to work our way around them. If we aren't able to have it mixed gendered then after the first one is established, we can set up another one."

Josephine sent Tommy a smile, grateful for his reassurance. She had only found out about his idea thirty minutes ago yet she already felt quite passionate about it.

Things were going smoothly, their plans were approved, Tommy had managed to find a great building and the builders were currently making Josephine's vision for the orphanage come to life.

Josephine had turned all her focus and energy into the project and gave her father temporary reign of the store, something she initially felt guilty about until she saw the pleased expression on his face. He enjoyed having things to do that kept him busy and occupied and Josephine promised herself that after the orphanage was up and running, she would speak to him about him taking a bigger role in the shop. She realised she had been babying him in a way and it wasn't fair for him.

Josephine was currently in Tommy's office waiting for him to return home, they needed to speak about the plans for the orphanage but there was also something else Josephine wanted to bring up with him.

When she heard Tommy's car pull up into the driveway, she jumped up and rushed out of his office so that she could meet him in the foyer, a bright smile on her face.

"Miss me?" Tommy quipped as soon he spotted her smile.

"Of course," Josephine grinned, taking his briefcase from him and placing to the side, "You're my husband."

"Is that the only reason?" Tommy questions as he peels off his coat

"It's one of them" Josephine laughs, taking his hand and pulling him to his office.

"Any updates on the orphanage?" Tommy asked as he made his way to the table that held his alcohol.

"Everything is going according to plan" Josephine updates, "But there's something I want to discuss with you"

"Yeah?" Tommy turned to face her

"The first group of children that we'll take in, do we take in children from overcrowded orphanages or do we take in the children that are on the streets?" She asked

Tommy pondered on the question for a few moments before he flipped the question on her, "What do you think?"

Josephine sighed, "It's not like I want to make it a competition on who has it the worst but even though the children in overcrowded orphanages are suffering greatly, they should, for the most part, have a roof over their head while the street kids don't have anything."

Tommy saw the guilt of not being able to help all of them begin to eat her up and quickly intervened to ease her guilt, "Hey, do not feel as if you're not doing enough. It's a long process, what we're doing."

Josephine knew he was right but it didn't completely relieve the guilt, "It'll be a while before we can set up another orphanage though, Tom."

Tommy rubbed his chin as he thought of possible ideas when one came to him.

"What about, until we are able to build more, we take pre-existing orphanages under our charity. We give them funds and make sure they are regulated."

Josephine thought on his idea before she nodded, it was a solid plan and they didn't have to wait for to set another orphanage up.

"I like that. We can help out way more children this way"

"I'm not just a pretty face, am I?" Tommy jokes

"Maybe there are brains behind your beauty" Josephine joked back before giving him a kiss.

It wasn't until they were getting ready for bed did Josephine decide to tell Tommy the thing she had been pondering on for the past couple of days.

"I'm ready to start trying for children," Josephine told him once he slipped into the bed next to her, "All this orphanage business has sparked something in me. I know it's a bit naff considering we're setting up a home for many parentless children but..."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting your own children and you're going to gives these orphans a home, where they'll get regular meals, beds and lessons, which they'll be forever grateful for."

Tommy had once again managed to soothe her worries.

"Are you ready for children of our own?" Josephine asks him, sending him a shy smile.

Tommy nodded at her, a smile on his face that was growing by the second, "I am."

---------------------------------------------------------

Ik it's been 2 weeks since I updated...I'm sorry. Also, I completely junked up the timeline so you just have to go with it lmao. Also this is just a filler chapter if you couldn't tell lol.Pls join me on my Tumblr, nineteenninety-six! I'll be celebrating hitting 1k followers over the weekend.