( 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆-𝗼𝗻𝗲 ) 彡❁ཻུ۪۪༉‧˚₊· ✩
˖°✩·₊̣̇ ｡ﾟ𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐑 ┊𝚓𝚘𝚑𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚋𝚢.
𝐒𝐀𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐗 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲, 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦. 𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩-𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧, 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 "𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞" 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐬.
Sabrina had ushered Dot down into the servant's quarters - something Dot would normally scoff at - and fixed them up drinks and cut her a hefty slice. Once Sabrina had sorted out Dorothy's story, the rumors that ran her out of America to Birmingham of all places, they relaxed more. Dorothy was just as desperate for an explanation as to why Sabrina did not return with Henry and was now pregnant.
Dottie was surprised to hear Sabrina's true story. She had never known much more than the superficial copy that she sent out to everyone, she was a sweet girl from Birmingham who traveled to America and happened to fall in love. Yet there Dot was, learning how much was hidden. Sabrina explained how she had grown up in squalor and fell young in love with her neighbor, how that love was unbothered by Henry's presence and took control.
John appeared flustered as he breached the stairs to the kitchen, his fluster only grew as he noticed that the strange woman was still there with his wife. He sent Sabrina a curious eyebrow as he made his way to the ground. Sabrina lifted from her seat, her hand flew to his shoulder, to both harness and eliminate any upset Tommy impeded onto him with their conversation. Arthur was far gone making Sabrina assume the plan has only become more complex for the men. "John, this is my American friend, Dorothy," John and Dot fiercely faced in an unwavering stare as Sabrina mitigated. "Dot, this is my husband, John. Dot fell into a bit of tough luck, but," Sabrina continued, whirling to face John and pull him away from his match with the blonde. "I told her we could help her out."
John gave no response, he bobbed his head, seeming to examine the situation. "Ah," he rolled a toothpick between his lips, "Sab, can I talk with you for a minute?" He gestured towards to the washroom that stood adjacent from where they sat. Sabrina gave a wide smile to Dottie before turning off with her husband, the blonde gave a bit of a hmph at the site. Sabrina's life was nothing like she had expected and her concern grew.
Cramped in the servants' cleaning corner, all Sabrina felt was her husbands awaiting stare, that yearned for her to just say her piece. With only a minute more, she split, "Well, Christ, Johnny, the girl has no where else to go. We have got to figure something for her," her voice dropped to a plead, "She was my only friend there and now, I seem to be the only one for her. Please can't we do something for her?"
With a calculative stare, not as keen as Tom's, John deliberated her spiel before a cheeky smile dragged out of his lips. "If that's what ya need Sab, we got it. We'll figure out someplace safe for the gal, but tell her to loose the lip, eh?" Sabrina shoot her head at his tough act and reached to give him a kiss. "We gotta head out. Something with the Russians or what not, don't know when I'll be back."
Sabrina nodded, she wasn't surprised, Arthur was probably on the phone apologizing the same way he has a hundred times about how he can't make it home for supper because of Tommy. "All right well," Sabrina propped her hands on her hips. "Be safe love."
John grinned at her, he gave her another smooch before they shuffled out of the room, his arm lapped over her chest. John straightened his jacket up, he tilted over to give Sabrina a kiss goodbye. She whispered to him something soft and quiet, "I can't wait to see you later," before she preened his suit and swiped his cap off the counter with an appreciative smirk.
John gave her a light and low chuckle, accepting the hat. He flipped it on, grabbing the brim low on his hat as he gave acknowledgment of the guest for the first time, "Dot," and he began back towards the staircase.
Sabrina smiled as she watched him leave, she then spun to face her friend, a bit gleeful as she showed her the automobile key he had given her. "What do you say to a nice ride out to the city?" Sabrina was a bit surprised for the extension of the car, but she was happy nonetheless especially since the prospect of a long seemed to inspire Dot.
︵︵︵︵︵︵︵︵︵︵︵︵︵
❁ཻུ۪۪༉‧˚₊· ✩
︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶
𝐀𝐃𝐀 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐁𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩, 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 "𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥" 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.
Ada had swung the door opened with a smile, expecting the woman for their meeting, but her face quickly shrunk from her greeting as she noticed the guest. A thin woman with a wire like frame and short blonde hair that stuck out around her head like a halo. The blonde gave her a curious lazy smile which caused Ada to lift her eyes from the stranger to her sister, sending Sabrina a raised brow. Sabrina hustled in the door, leaving Dot at the threshold as she whispered with Ada about her situation. "It's only proper business, she won't hurt anyone, she just has no where else to go." Ada's eyes softened at the story, they flickered over Sabrina's shoulder to meet the stranger's face once more.
"All right, come in, darling," she instructed the blonde who finally made her way over the threshold. The blinding brightness of artificial lighting paired with her restrained enter made Dot appear as like a mystical vampire. "You want a cuppa?"
Dot examined the house with sweeping calculated eyes that fell on its owner, "No, but if you have cognac it would be splendid."
Ada obliged the woman's request and returned, "Pol and Michael are in the study," she explained as she handed a glass of water to Sabrina before turning to the blonde. The darken glass exchanged hands with ease, but it still brought a chill through Dottie's arm as it went. "I suppose you can come with us..." Ada began unsure, "It's just business, of course."
Sabrina whispered to Dot, "Please just don't say anything while we're all there," Dot didn't exactly understand the need for the instructions, but she wasn't in a position to barter. They stepped into the dimly lit study to find Polly in her debonair fur coat and Michael looking rather flustered. They glanced up at the appearance of the women, Polly's face tettered on the brink of confusion and aggravation before spilling back into its diminutive state. She said nothing while the blonde took a seat on the couch.
Ada shuffled through a stack of papers and spread them on the table while Polly revealed two thick pens from her case. She scolded her son, "Michael, stop looking at your watch." Sabrina glanced up from her papers to try and catch Michael's eye, but he merely shoved her pocket watch away and turned his eyes low.
Sabrina returned her gaze to the paperwork before her, but Michael broke her attention once more, "Ada, whilst you are reading this, um, can I go and use your phone?"
Ada was quick to return to her papers, "Who is the lucky girl, Michael?" Sabrina gulped as she realized. Polly elaborated in a dismissive fashion, but Michael pleaded. Sabrina gave Ada a bit of a stomp which jolted the woman, "Phone's in the hall." He must be awaiting the news, Sabrina assumed, feeling bad for the kid. With Michael gone and Dot appearing half asleep on the sofa, Sabrina took a breath and returned to finishing off her signatures. Head of International Development, a bit of a cheeky snub, no doubt, but Sabrina was excited to become a part of the Shelby Limited Company nevertheless.
"Think about it," Ada spoke in a hushed tone as she looked between Polly and Sabrina, "Together we can take control. With three of us in the company, we can straighten things out." Sabrina was allured by her hope. Polly, surprisingly, didn't dismiss the idea, merely questioned the politics of it, to which Ada replied, "Us fighting together and winning, that is politics. That's a new kind of politics." For being a communist, Ada was quite a good business woman. "It is just this way I get paid and Karl gets a nice Christmas."
"Would be nice to have some money of my own," Sabrina added sheepishly. She had always been dependent on men for so much and she loved Johnny, no doubt in her mind, but she couldn't say it wouldn't be nice to provide for herself. It could make things a little easier on him, allow for more time with the children, more for her baby girl.
Polly held a tight face as she heard the women's plight, "Good," she smiled, "Welcome to the bourgeoisie." Ada chuckled, but she was obviously relieved. The woman surrounded the table filled with hope. With Sabrina adding her last signature to the forms, Polly congratulated them, "Welcome to Shelby Company Limited, girls."
Ada pressed her stamp in, softly repeating the company's name before she handed it to Sabrina, "Limited and unarmed," they quipped.
The click of the door engaged Pol, "Michael, would you like to welcome the newest members of the Shelby Company?" Michael gave a weak congrats, he briefly looked over the documents before signing them and asked for some whiskey. Ada retorted, calling him Tommy, but the man didn't care. "I've already told him. He's becoming too like his cousin."
"I thought that was the idea?" Michael responded glumly, his voice caused Dot to stir slightly.
"Yeah, Tommy but with a bit more fucking charm and class," Polly's reprimand fell to silence as Michael poured himself a full glass and began to head to the door, Polly called to him, but he ignored her requests and asked where he would sleep.
The door shut behind him, Ada, always so positive, pivoted the conversation. "So, how shall we celebrate?"
"Well," Polly started folding the papers into her purse. "With Michael in bed I thought I might, um, go for a little drive."
Ada questioned her answer, the older woman only adding more disbelief as she avoided their eyes. Sabrina giggled with excitement for her, "Oh Pol!"
"Things have begun to develop with the man who is painting my portrait." She said vaguely, but the distant look in her eyes told the girls everything they needed. Polly brought her head to her cheek, her eyes searching around as if they would discover the right words, "It's...it's when you stand there in the dress, you just find yourself talking about every little thing." Ada began to ask if things have escalated, Pol quickly dismissed it, but added, "Not yet," earning glee from her surrogate daughters. She explained that the painter had called her to say that the portrait was finished, "I said I'd go there in the morning. But he said no, he wanted me there tonight."
Ada flushed with excitement as Polly wrapped herself in her coat. "Polly, that sounds divine, go get him," Sabrina cooed sweetly, but when Pol saw the look of the two, her demeanor changed for lovesick to sick as she severely instructed that they not tell the boys. Ada diverged with questions, but found her way back on track with Sabrina insisting that Polly go to him. After some deliberating, she nodded and collected her purse, "Why should the boys have all the fun?"
Sabrina and Ada found themselves chuckling over Polly's entanglement throughout three cigarettes and a glass and a half of gin. Sabrina rested her hand on the top of her belly, in slowing her laughter, she remembered Dot. With a glance, it was clear the blonde was fast asleep, probably the first sound sleep she had gotten in weeks. "So, what are you going to do with the stray?" Ada questioned, noticing Sabrina's gaze, "I'm sure John wasn't thrilled with the prospect of another houseguest."
"Certainly not," Sabrina snorted, "I'm not too sure though. Maybe with some of my company money I can get her a place for a bit. Poor girl has no one."
They sat for a moment in silence, proofing possible solutions. "You should keep your money for the baby," Ada said definitively, her face showed traces of sporadic thoughts that she struggled to place. "I suppose, she could take the room Michael's staying in." Sabrina dismissed the suggestion, insisting that she couldn't impose. "We're family, Sabrina, there are no impositions."
̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚ 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒔! ＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙
ooo. 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘
okay here we go! i'm currently isolated in quarantine because i have a cold v cool!! umm but i'm watching a ton of movies and i posted it to my board, but everyone should go watch A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. it's an iranian movie it's a totally mass up of genres, but basically it's all these different overlapping stories that all connect to a hot skateboarding vampire chick!!!
© 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋.
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