EVELYN HAD NEVER been to Margate, but now it felt like it was the only place she ever was. Previously, she had only ever heard of the town from stories that Alfie told her over pillow-talk – the man promising to take her one day.
Leaning against the balcony, Evelyn looked out towards the ocean – the distant sound of a ship horn causing her to use the binoculars to see if she could catch a glimpse of it. Reaching down, Evelyn gave Cyril a pat as the dog obediently sat at her feet, his tail wagging as he looked up at her.
"It's nice here, Cyril," she bent down to his level, picking up the ball that his paw was resting on. "Shame that the first time I'm here is when he's hurt."
Cyril whined at her words, pawing at her leg as he tried to snatch the ball out of her hands – Evelyn giggled when he practically jumped into her lap. The sound of someone clearing their throat had Evelyn turning her head towards the doorway – he eyes landing on the house nurse, Margaret.
"What is it, Maggie?" Evelyn offered the woman a soft smile. The slightly older woman was new and trying to get used to her job being in a house instead of hospital, but overall she was a lovely lady.
"He's awake," Maggie softly spoke, watching Evelyn turn her attention back to Cyril. "He asked for you, ma'am."
Evelyn's head perked up, her eyes slightly wide as her mouth parted in shock. Maggie gave the woman a soft giggle before reaching her arms out to help Evelyn stand. Evelyn's hand rested on her ever growing baby bump as she stood, looking towards Maggie who was grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Are you okay, ma'am?"
Evelyn nodded as she stumbled over her words. "Yeah, it's just – are you sure he asked for me? It's been three months and he hasn't wanted to see me once."
"I'm positive ma'am. He sent me to collect you."
Evelyn quickly brushed her hands off on her red dress, running a hand through her very knotty hair before thanking Maggie – rushing towards the bedroom that Alfie had locked himself away in for the last three months.
Evelyn would never forget the night that Alfie got shot, her entire world being forced into a state of panic when the ambulance arrived and took him from the floor of her club. She had forced Ollie to go get his car, the girl driving the pair of them to the London hospital in record time.
She had spent the entire night pacing the hallway, only stopping to call Tommy and inform him of what was going on – it was actually Tommy's idea to take Alfie to Margate if he made it. For an easier recovery, he had told her. But Evelyn knew that Tommy had suggested it for reasons between the pair that she didn't know about.
So when the doctors had informed her that Alfie would make it through the surgery, however, not without losing his sight and terrible scarring – Evelyn was quick to ask if she could take him to Margate. The doctor agreed, so long as he had a nurse with him twenty-four-seven.
When he had woken in bed at his Margate cottage that Evelyn had coaxed Tommy to find, Alfie refused to allow her to see him. The man yelled until Maggie pulled a sobbing Evelyn out of the room, shutting the door on her as Evelyn begged to be let back in. From that day on he ignored her whenever she asked to come inside, and only ever allowed Maggie to change his bandages and look after him.
Evelyn had to deal with the fact that she had killed another man, watched her fiancé get shot and was pregnant by herself while she waited for Alfie to be ready to see her. Maggie would always report back to Evelyn on his condition and how well he was healing only to ever have Evelyn ask if he wanted to see her – the older woman having to tell her no. However, now that he had specifically requested for her to come see him – she was scared to enter the room.
Standing in-front of the wooden door that was the only thing separating her and Alfie, Evelyn had to talk herself into turning the handle, pushing it open with her shoulder as she timidly walked in. Her eyes darted around the room to land on the large figure of Alfie who was sat in a chair that was turned towards the window. Evelyn cleared her throat, noticing Alfie's figure tense before relaxing at the sound.
"Me and God, yeah? We don't get along," Evelyn felt her breath hitch at the sound of his gruff voice, taking a few steps closer to him even though he didn't turn around to look at her.
"God?" Evelyn questioned softly, watching as he lifted a Bible from the armrest of the chair.
"Maggie gave it to me a week after we got 'ere. Said to read it and my first thought was, well I fuckin' can't read now that I only have one fuckin' eye can I?" He laughed as if he was telling a joke. "So I got her to read me a passage every night until I picked it up myself to try and read.
"I realised, right, that compared to angels and disciples and whatever the fuck else is written in this book of your faith – I definitely don't fit into any of those categories. Because, yeah, I'm a monster and now I even look the part."
"Don't fucking say that shit, Alfie," Evelyn crossed her arms, watching as Alfie grunted before he stood and turned towards her.
She didn't know what she was expecting when the doctor said that he was going to have permanent scarring. Perhaps she was imagining a small mark left from the bullet – but it certainly wasn't the lines that covered the entire left side of his face.
"Look at me and tell me that I'm not a monster, Eve. This," he gestured to the marking. "This is why I didn't want yer' to see me."
Evelyn let out a shaky breath as she tenaciously closed the space between herself and Alfie, her shaky hands reaching towards him for the first time in months as he shuddered before melting into her touch. Her fingers were soft as they hovered over the scarred skin, Alfie watching her as soft tears fell past her lash-line and down her rosy cheeks.
"You're not a monster, Alfred." Evelyn sternly told him, making sure he listened to her. "You will never be a monster to me."
"Are yer' sure you still want to be with me? I don't want our kid to fuckin' grow up bein' scared of their own fuckin' father."
Evelyn watched as one of the toughest men she had ever met became his most vulnerable – overtaken with nothing but insecurities. She was quick to pull him into a tight hug, letting him express his emotions into the crook of her neck as she comforted him by rubbing small hearts on his back.
"No matter what Alf, I'm never leaving your side. You're stuck with me forever, whether you like it or not. The invisible thread, remember?"
Alfie let out a breath he had been holding as he pulled away, his hands coming to hover over her small stomach – Evelyn quickly grabbed them, placing them on the bump.
"You've gotten so big," he muttered, and Evelyn quickly wiped away his own tears. "I've missed so much already."
"There's still another six months to go," Evelyn was quick to stop his overthinking. "You've missed barely anything but my cravings for apples."
"You hate apples," Alfie laughed, causing Evelyn's lips to split into a grin.
"Well baby Solomons loves them."
As quickly as he could, Alfie pulled Evelyn back into his arms – muttering continuous apologies into her hair as they both held each other. Neither knew how long they were standing there, only pulling apart when the door was nudged opened and in strolled Cyril who was quick to rush to his father.
Evelyn perched herself on the edge of the unnecessarily big bed as Alfie sat next to her and tapped his knees for Cyril to put his front paws on them. She couldn't help but smile as she watched Alfie pat Cyril who was basically begging for love from his dad who he hadn't seen in three months too.
"He missed you," Evelyn told Alfie. "Would sit outside the door all night even when I called him. You know he used to come running whenever I called him, seems like he loves you more after all." She teased.
Alfie reached an arm out to tug his girl to his right side, "I know, could hear yer' callin' him. Did yer' miss me too?"
"We all missed you," Evelyn admitted, nodding down at her stomach before Alfie picked up her left hand and placed a kiss to her engagement ring.
"As long as something doesn't fuck it up again, I'm going to marry yer' before our bub is born." Evelyn chuckled at his words, resting her head against Alfie's shoulder.
"We could just get married now?" She shrugged, squealing when Alfie pulled her with him as he flopped backward onto the mattress. "I just have to give Tommy a call and he'll get Jeremiah here to officiate as well as the rest of the family. You can call Ollie – oh, and Matya!"
"Yer' would do that? I thought you'd want to get married in a church. Yer' don't even have a dress." Alfie frowned, turning his head to take in the pretty woman who had waited so long for him.
"Alfie, I don't care where we get married or what the hell I'm wearing. I just don't want to spend another second without being your wife. If everything that has happened to us has proved anything to me, it was that I could lose you and you can lose me at any moment. I don't want that to happen. It can't."
"Mrs. Solomons," Alfie mused, brush a piece of stray hair away from Evelyn's face. "You ready to lose the Shelby name, love?"
Evelyn's laughter echoed around the room as she rested a gentle palm on Alfie's cheek – already used to the feeling of rough skin beneath her skin and a cloudy coloured eye staring towards her. He was ripped at every edged and torn apart by the world, but to her, he was a complete masterpiece that deserved to be shown at galleries and admired by those socialites they both hated so much.
"I may lose the Shelby name, but I will always have Shelby blood."
"As will our bub," Alfie pretended to be annoyed, but the quirk of his lip behind his ginger beard caused Evelyn to snort. "Half Solomons, half Shelby. He's fuckin' destined to be a warrior."
"He?" Evelyn raised a brow, Alfie humming at her words. "Nah, it's definitely a girl."
"Yeah? Right, love. What proof do yer' have that my son growin' inside yer' is actually a girl?"
Rolling her eyes, Evelyn gently pushed at his shoulder in fake annoyance. "Call it mothers intuition. If you don't believe me we can get Polly to tell us at the wedding – she's never wrong at predicting the gender."
Alfie was silent before he pushed himself up to hover over Evelyn – every bone in his body screaming at him to lay back down but he ignored them because the sight of the love of his life sending him a smile that had his heart thumping and palms sweating was worth it.
"Yer' still want to get married? Now?"
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Evelyn gently pulled Alfie down so his lips were ghosting over hers – their breaths melting into one. "Let's get fucking married, Mr. Solomons – I can't wait any longer."
That sentiment was all it took for Alfie to smash his lips into hers, the man quick to shoo Cyril out of the room as both he and Evelyn ignored Maggie who rushed to shut the door while she walked down the hallway. A breathless laugh passed Evelyn's swollen lips as Alfie pulled her under the covers with him, his arms holding his girl and unborn child as close as possible.
In that moment, Alfie vowed to never make Evelyn wait for anything she wanted again.