[ B i r m i n g h a m , 1 9 2 1 ]
"She's going to kill you all."
"Fuck off, Zara, no she won't."
"You know Polly hates her birthday." Zara said plainly, looking at the three Shelby brothers. Zara believed that Polly deserved the world, but she didn't want to risk upsetting the woman on a day she never really cared about.
They were standing in the betting shop waiting for Polly to come in for work, and so Tommy could surprise her with a birthday present. The boys really wanted to show how much they appreciated Polly and were trying to make a big spectacle out of her birthday.
Their attention was stolen as the various employees of the shop started clapping (as they were instructed to do), to show that the birthday girl had arrived. Zara was the first to greet her and she laughed as she saw Polly's suspicious eyes rake over every person in the betting shop.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Polly asked, still wondering why everyone was clapping. "When did you two get back?" She pointed to Zara and Tommy who joined the women as the applause died down.
"Didn't want to miss your birthday, Pol." Tommy wrapped an arm around his Aunt's shoulders as Zara excitedly gave the Gray woman a side hug.
"Back to work!" Arthur commanded the men to leave the family alone.
"How do you know it's my birthday? Nobody ever knows except..." Polly trailed off as she glared at Zara. The King woman stuck her hands up in defense.
"We love you, Pol, and for once just wanted to show you how much we appreciate you." Polly had entrusted Zara with the date of her birth after she walked in on Polly crying, hunched over a small cake with a single candle whilst she was living in the Shelby house during the war. Ever since then, Zara always took Polly out for her birthday each year, and promised to keep the date a secret, until now of course.
"John, Finn, bring the car around." Tommy called to his younger brothers as he steered Polly back out of the betting shop.
"Where are we going?" Polly asked suspiciously.
"To unwrap your birthday present." Zara squealed, stealing Polly from under Tommy's arm and looping her own arm around her. Even though Zara knew that Polly hated her birthday, she was glad the boys finally wanted to take care of their Aunt instead of taking her for granted.
Tommy helped Polly out of the car as they pulled up in front of a nice suburban neighborhood, far from the smog of downtown Small Heath. It was like a breath of fresh air and Zara enjoyed taking deep breaths as she observed the area around them. The neighborhood was clean and proper. If only they knew of the dangerous gangsters loose in the streets.
Polly was still confused as her nephews took her around the house. "You said you were going to buy Ada a house." She nodded, as she thought this was the house for her niece.
"Yep, that's right, I did." Tommy agreed. "Just had a bit of cash left over."
Polly turned around to face him. "This is ours?"
"No. Polly, this is yours." Zara beamed.
"Because you deserve it." Tommy continued.
Polly was on the verge of tears as she looked at Arthur, John, and Finn for any signs of a joke, but all she was met with were happy smiles as they looked back at her.
"What would I do with all these rooms?" Polly asked, making Tommy chuckle.
"Well, you could relax for one. Come here at weekends. It has a garden. Eh?" Tommy pointed out the window. "You love gardens. You can grow roses, Pol. I don't know. Have a piano, have people round, they can have a singsong, eh?"
"God help the bloody neighbors." John muttered.
"Fuck the neighbors." Arthur joined in, and reached into the pocket of his coat to give Polly her house key. "Welcome home, Pol."
Polly sank onto the couch, overwhelmed and in disbelief that this beautiful, normal, house was all hers.
"Arthur, why don't you take the boys outside. Wait by the car." Tommy said, ready to give Polly the next part of her present.
Polly took her hat off and watched the boys leave as Zara sat next to her and Tommy cleared his throat.
"Pol, I know you haven't been happy for a while. And I know why." He came to sit in front of the women. "Esme is all right, you know? She's got a good heart, she has. I've spoken to her and she told me."
"Told you what?" Polly asked, already knowing the answer.
"She told me what it is that would make you happy. I've spoken to our contacts in the police, and Zara has spoken to her father. They have contacts in the council, and they have contacts with the people who keep the parish records."Tommy kept eye contact with his Aunt.
"Records of adoptions. And of confidential forced removals." Zara finished.
"Now with your permission, I'd like to grease a few palms and take a look at the records they never showed you."
Polly took a deep breath and leaned back on the couch.
"Pol, I am going to find your son and daughter. And I'm gonna bring them home."
♔♔♔♔
The King siblings were as stubborn as they come.
Theodore refused to admit that he was wrong, that he had been blindsided by the Irish barmaid. As pathetic as it might sound, Theo was confident in the fact that he still loved Grace Burgess, and that fact drove him to near insanity.
He hadn't spoken to his sister or Tommy in over two years, and was not planning on a family reunion anytime soon, but since they practically owned all of Small Heath, Theo knew they were going to find him eventually.
"So this is where you've been hiding." Zara sniped as Theo opened the door to Lizzie Stark's house. "Crawling from the arms of one whore into another?"
Theo rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
Zara thrust a piece of paper into his chest. "You need to stop using my mailing address. Why are you getting letters from America? And what the fuck are you doing living with Lizzie fucking Stark?"
Zara was pissed, no she was livid at her twin. Two years without a phone call and now she only found her brother's whereabouts through the gossip of the town ladies, as even her own father refused to tell her where he was.
Theo hastily shoved the letter into his pocket. "It was lovely seeing you, Zara, but I must be going." He tried to slam the door in her face but Zara was quick to slip in past him, her baby bump slightly dragging against the door frame. She still wasn't used to it yet.
Theo's eyes widened as he looked at his sister fully for the first time in over two years, staring at her bump. "You're having a baby?" He felt his resolve weaken as his eyes brimmed with tears. He knew how much Zara wanted kids, to be the mother they never got to have.
She nodded, resting a hand over her bump. "A few months in. And the first person I wanted to tell was you." Zara wiped the tears that were beginning to form in her own eyes. A major downside of pregnancy, Zara decided, was that her emotions were all over the place leading to the normally strong woman to break down over the smallest inconveniences. Tommy thought it was hilarious. Zara did not.
He internally rolled his eyes. "Does Dad know?"
Zara shook her head. "Not yet. The only people who know are you, Polly, and Ada. Tommy and I want to keep it a secret for as long as we can."
Theo chuckled. "You could always just say you put on some weight."
Zara narrowed her eyes and hit her brother on the arm. "That's not fucking funny."
"You deserved it." Theo shrugged.
Zara stepped further into Lizzie's house, almost forgetting the fact that here out of all places is where Theo lived for two years.
"Are you ever going to tell me why you're living with Lizzie?"
"She's really not bad. I don't know why you hate her so much." He followed his sister as she walked around.
Zara rolled her eyes. "You try having to see your boyfriend's ex-whore everyday when you're the one pregnant with his child. I swear she's going to push me down the stairs one day, and she doesn't even know I'm pregnant."
That made Theo laugh loudly. "She's harmless. Although it is quite tiring having to hear her whine about Tommy." He started to rile his sister up, but Zara shook off her annoyance. "Anyway, I knew you wouldn't be caught dead near this house so it seemed like the best option, I offered to help Lizzie pay her rent so she could focus on being Tommy's secretary and not need to see clients anymore."
Even though he was annoying at times, Zara always loved and admired Theo for his kind heart. Not a day went by in their two years of silence where she didn't think of and miss her brother, often crying to Tommy who had no choice but to comfort her.
"Why are you getting letters from America?" Zara asked.
Theo tensed. Even without opening it he knew who the letters were from. He could recognize the delicate handwriting anywhere.
"It's from Grace." He let out a shaky breath. "She's in New York now. A place called Poughkeepsie. She's married to a banker, and she's probably very happy."
"If she's happy then why is she writing to you?" Zara raised an eyebrow.
"I don't fucking know. To keep me holding on to her." He roughly ran his hands through his hair.
Zara sighed. "Theo, I'm so sorry."
He shook his head sadly. "What do you have to be sorry for, you were right about her after all."
"Don't do this."
"Do what, Zara?" He snapped, raising his voice. "Let you finally say 'I told you so'? Go on then, tell me how stupid I was. How I nearly fucked everything up!" He threw his hands up in the air as he yelled at his sister. Zara only stood in silence, letting Theo vent.
Zara finally spoke up after a few moments of heavy silence. "Theo...I'm so sorry." She tried to hold in the tears, but one betrayed her, flowing down her cheek. She sadly chuckled, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Ignore all the crying. My hormones are all fucked up."
Theo sighed and clenched his jaw, looking down at the floor avoiding all eye contact with Zara. "I think you should go."
"Theo, no." Zara said firmly, trying to take a step towards her twin.
He held his hand out to stop her. "Leave." He said desperately.
Defeated, Zara looked at her brother one last time before silently nodding and walking out the door. Theo had no clue when he would see his sister next, but he secretly felt relieved when she finally left.
Theo quickly plastered a fake smile on his face as he heard movement coming down the stairs. His tense shoulders relaxed at the comforting touch between his shoulder blades.
"Who was that, love? I thought I heard yelling from upstairs."
"No one, Lizzie. No one at all."
So what if Theo hadn't told his sister the whole truth about his living arrangements, but could you blame him? After all she had done, did she really deserve to know?
♔♔♔♔
THEO IS BACK BABY
Sorry that this is a little bit of a shorter chapter than usual, I just thought that their reunion would be a good way to end it and writing any other scenes after that would feel awkward.
ALSO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALMOST 25K <3333 you guys are actually amazing and have no clue how much I appreciate you guys for sticking with me and my inconsistent schedule
sooooo I decided that for ever 5k milestone we hit I will write and release a bonus chapter of a scenario that I may mention in the book but don't make into a full scene, or other ideas I had that didn't really fit anywhere so far
let me know if that is something you guys would be interested in!!!
and as always please remember to vote and comment !! <33