Burned

Legacy of Alfie Solomons

//This is the second one-shot I did a while ago but this will be the last! Thanks for all the love, it means so much!

          It meant something to Louise that she was there for her daughter-in-law. When she had given birth, she didn't have the comfort of her mother. It was heartwarming to know that Ruby was well taken care of. In fact, she may have been OVER-taken care of.

Not including the midwife, there were five women in the room. Ada, Polly, Louise, Ruby, and Charlie's fiancée who was studying to be a nurse. And it was about as chaotic as it could be. The poor midwife was sidelined as Polly took control of the birth.

Ruby was in immense pain and her relatives crowding around her weren't doing her any good. But she didn't have the heart or the energy to yell at them. She was too busy screaming to high heavens. She cursed men, cursed their cocks, cursed childbirth, and cursed God. She would've continued the list but then finally, she gave birth to her son.

Alfred Thomas Solomons

He would grow up to be a very well-educated young man. Quieter than most, he took solace in books and was often soft-spoken as well as shy. But he knew the type of family he came from. The grandson of gangsters who made the family's fortune through criminal manners. He saw the portraits of his grandfathers. Ones painted of them in their prime in the 20's and 30's. Men with calculating stares, intimidating statures, and not to mention power. But his parents and his grandmothers told him stories that looked beyond the men in the portraits. The men who raised their families, who loved their wives, and cared for their kids.

He grew up to know his Grandad Tommy and heard stories from him. Tommy didn't spare details either. But he never met Alfie, so he had to rely on his father and grandmother for stories about him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Nan?" Alfie knocked on the door and stamped his feet on the mat to stave away the cold. Winter in Margate was never enjoyable. The high winds on the sea only made everything feel colder than it was. But the young man always made it his job to check on his aging grandmother when his parents weren't able to.

Louise always called Teddy or Ruby without fail. But her mind was slowly going so they felt it was important to keep an eye on her.

Alfie used his copy of the key to open the door and head inside. "Nan, you home?"

"Oh, Alfie, love come in from the cold!" Louise called from the parlor. "I just let Cyril out and it was unbearable!"

The mastiff came padding out of the parlor to greet the young man. But his name wasn't Cyril. It was Hercules.

Alfie frowned at the inconsistency. "You well?" He asked as he removed his coat, hat, and scarf.

"You're asking if I'm well, you've only been down the street to the shops. Hasn't been more than an hour." Louise chuckled.

Alfie hadn't been to the shops. In fact, he had been in Paris studying. He hadn't seen his grandmother in more than a month. "What're you on about?" He smiled and figured she was toying with him.

"It's Sabbath, I didn't expect you to even go."

Sabbath? Even though they weren't orthodox, the Solomons family kept a few Jewish traditions. But Alfie hadn't ever observed Sabbath as his grandfather might have.

Besides, Sabbath was on Saturday. It was Tuesday.

"Nan, what are you talking 'bout?" Alfie stepped into the parlor and Louise glanced up at him. A look of confusion crossed her face as she took in his appearance. The tall man only had his grandfather's messy brown hair. He'd acquired the famous Shelby blue eyes and their slender build.