We were all in the betting shop waiting for Polly. She walked in looking lovely, as usual
Everyone started clapping and I went to hug her.
"Happy birthday Polly." "What the hell is going on?" Tommy came from around the corner and she looked confused. "When did you get back?" "I didn't want to miss your birthday, pol. " "how do you know it's my birthday? Nobody other than mercy and ada know." John came around and pulled me into his side.
"You're beautiful, love." He said kissing my neck. It was so hard to resist him. "I love you, john, but not right now. This is Polly's moment." "Whatever you say, Mrs.Shelby."
"John, Finn, bring the cars around. Mercy go get your demon children" "haha, very funny Thomas." Tommy got bit a week ago by Frances cause she's teething and Sammy yanked his hair one morning so he refers to them as demons.
They were upstairs in John's old room taking a nap. "Come on baby's, it's time for auntie Polly's surprise." Samuel was easy to wake up but Frances slept like her father, she snores and sleeps like the dead.
Samuel put his hat on while I pushed his shoes on and grabbed his sister. "Let's go."
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We arrived at Polly's house. Finn, Arthur, Tommy, and Polly came in one car while the kids, John and I came in ours. "Jesus John, when are you gonna get me a nice house?" I asked him. He knew I was just joking though.
"Oh my sweet mercy, ill get you a nice big house when we need the room. But, no new baby, no new house." I leaned over Sammy and kissed john while holding Frances and passing her over to her dad who smirked like an idiot.
"Well, you better enjoy fancy being this small while you can cause I can survive without a new house." I grabbed Samuel and opened the car to get out while john just looked at me. I turned around to look at him still sitting in the car.
"You're getting that house." "I would hope so, I would want my only son and daughter to live a better life than either of us." I smiled at him and walked Samuel to the front door where everyone was waiting.
"Oi! John did you hold Frances while driving?! Have you lost it?" "No I held the princess and he lost it a long time ago if you ask me." Sammy, Arthur, Finn, and Polly started to laugh as john almost got hit by a car.
"You get my child hurt and ill hurt you myself!" He ran to us and she was crying in his arms. "John!" "Calm down she's just scared" I smacked his head and Arthur and Finn took the kids. "Come on kiddos, mummy's gonna kill your daddy." I took my shoes off and started play fighting with john.
"Come on then Mrs.Shelby." I pushed him to the grass and sat on his lap.
"Say sorry." "Okay, okay sorry." "What else?" "What else is there?" "I'm sorry Mrs. Shelby, your very beautiful and I love you, say it." He grabbed my waist and looked at me
"I am very sorry for making you upset Mrs. Shelby, and I think you are absolutely beautiful and I love you more than I could ever say and I'm very happy that you're my wife." He kissed me and Polly came out to us.
"Oi! Baby number 3 won't be made on my grass! Get your arses up!"
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We were at the betting shop when Finn and Isaiah Jesus came in and went straight to Tommy's office. They both looked terrified so I went to check on them.
"Finn, Isaiah, what's wrong?" "I-I'm sorry mercy, we tried to stop him but-" "stop who?" "Arthur, he-he killed this boy." "Alright, Tommy will be here any second, so make up a story and a good one." As soon as I finished Tommy walked in.
"All right what happened?" I walked out of the room before I could be asked anything.
"Somethings not right with Arthur, Polly." "Nothings ever right with him, he tries too hard to keep it together." "He needs help." "I tried, but Thomas just pushes it all aside and treats him like he's still a soldier" "we need to get him proper medicine whether Thomas likes it or not cause that's his brother, not his soldier."
Arthur sat in the living room and Thomas went in closing the door but Polly and I could still hear him treat his brother as a kid.
"Just fuck off. Supposed to treat you like a fucking kid again, eh? Keep you away from guns and fucking rope is that it? You think I haven't got enough on?!" I heard Tommy yell at his brother.
"Polly, we should help him-" "theirs nothing we can do that we haven't already done."
"I AM NOT FUCKING YOU! EVERYONE FUCKING KNOWS IT!" I went to stop them but Polly pulled me towards the stairs. "Let them figure it out, go check on your baby's" I went to see Frances sitting up in bed and Samuel playing with his toy.
"Hello, my loves." "Mommy!" Samuel waved me over and Frances smiled. "What are you doing up?" "I-" we heard glass break downstairs and I set the kids into the covers and went to see what the hell happened.
I get to the living room to see Arthur balled up on the floor crying."Arthur?" I grabbed him and sat him on the couch. "Arthur, breathe." He started to calm down. "What's the wrong Arthur?"
"I don't know how they do it. They just left France and forgot everything." "They didn't forget everything, they're forcing it away. It's okay to still be hurt, what you did was very brave and for your people, you sacrificed your sanity." "John and Thomas came home and moved on. Why can't I?" "Cause, your not john or Tommy, your Arthur, and theirs nothing wrong with that. Tommy shuts everyone out so he doesn't have to feel and john is just like you but only in the comfort of our home. He distracts himself with the kids and me but he hurts just as much as you do. Even I still hurt and I was only there in the beginning."
"How do you do it?" "Do what?" "Your good with people's mercy." "It's the mom in me, I have to learn to deal with this stuff but if you ever need to talk Arthur, im here. I've found that writing your feelings on paper and burning it helps."
"Johns lucky to have you." "I'm lucky to have him, he's a pain in my ass but I could never live without him"
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"Oh, sweet, sweet garrison, mommy and daddy have missed you!" John says admiring the building as he held Sammy and I held Frances. "You could say that again, now I can finally have breaks again." John wore a black suit while I wore a gold flapper-styled dress with black heels and a thin fur coat and my bangs freshly cut. Samuel wore a suit like his father's and Frances wore a loose white dress with baby doll shoes.
We entered the pub and Finn immediately grabbed Frances only to have her taken by Arthur "come 'ere princess." Polly came and took Sammy while john and I went to get some drinks.
"So Mrs. Shelby, do you think uncle Finn would watch the munchkins for the night so we could have some fun?" "You know either way we'll have fun" "that is very true my love." We went to the table where the rest of the Shelby's sat.
Finn was drinking so I decided we should just keep the kids home. "Finn, give me that." Tommy caught him as he just topped off his glass and took it. "Keep him off the whiskey john." John laughed like if he didn't top off the glass and messed up Finn's hair.
"So, Polly, I heard" "heard what?" "Your son is alive. I'm happy for you." "Yeah well, Thomas won't tell me where he lives." "Satan means well, I hope, he just has a funny way of showing it but he's just trying not to cause any trouble...for once." Polly got up and followed Thomas out of the room. I think I might've hit a nerve.
I got up to get another drink but I saw ada and her son Karl walk in. "I'll be back." I got up and met her by the door. "Oh, ada I can't tell you how good it is to see you!" "You to mercy, wheres France? I've been wanting to get my hands on her" "with Arthur, Karl aren't you adorable!" I grabbed him from his mom and began to make silly faces at him.
"Let's go see your crazy uncles." He giggled as I took him to john and Finn. "Look who finally arrived." "Karl lad! My god, he looks like his mom, poor thing." "I know you're not talking john. You have a face only I could love" I smothered his face with kisses as he got upset. "You wasn't saying that this morning." "John you know I'm just cracking a joke, that's all. I love your face."
Ada came over to us to greet her brothers. "Hello, ada." "Hello, trouble, how are you doing?" "Trying to get mercy to have another baby." "Poor girl" she laughed as john went off to call over Arthur. Somebody's feelings are hurt tonight.
"Finn watches the kids I'm going to go speak to aunt Polly." I spotted her smoking by the bar and went straight to her. "Enjoying the fun-" "Polly? Why don't you come to join us?" Ada soon joined us "I'm not an idiot, he asked you to come didn't he?" "Alright, that's my cue to leave." "No, stay. It hasn't been just us 3 in a while."
We got caught up on everything but when ada accidentally hit my boob I thought I would cry from pain. "Shit. Mercy I'm so sorry are you alright?" "Yeah, it's fine I've just been sore lately." "Sore? My god are you-" "oh Jesus, Polly, no, Frances is growing teeth though and I swear she's worse than Samuel. I think my tits might fall off." "Karl was the same way" "I told you if they're related to the Shelby's their terrors for the tit."
Polly had a few more drinks before ada and I declared her wasted. "It's a party girls! And I'm going to enjoy myself." "No Polly-" "pol, don't be silly." "Oh my god." She went up to a man who was in between john and Tommy's age.
"My god ada, i cant watch" "its like, i want to look away but i cant." He took her coat and they began to dance but they were close enough to hear.
"My love, pleasure hasnt even begun." Ada and i started to laugh at the awkward encounter.
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After a while the kids fell asleep so john and i went home. " so, how was your night, mr. Shelby." "Wonderful mrs. Shelby, but I predict its going to be much better when we get the kids in bed."
"Indeed it is, john." He smirked over at me as we entered our house and went up the stairs.
"I love you, mercy." He whispered as we stood over Frances cradle. "I love you more john."