A Twist In Time

The Devil Himself

Give me a chance, he said.

I was all up for that, there was nothing else I wanted more.

Trying to find Tommy was the problem. Well, trying to find him during the day was a problem. He was always making his way round somewhere, finding trouble wherever he went.

Polly was waiting for the day he wouldn' come home, dead in a ditch somewhere.

"Dada!" TJ said, raising his arms up as the devil himself walked into the kitchen.

"Have you been good for your mum?" Tommy asked, cuddling the boy and pressing a kiss to his head.

"Yep!" TJ said, and I almost rolled my eyes in distaste as he picked up the slang from me. I could just imagine him walking around saying something like' defo' or 'no probs' when he was older. I was going to have to work on that with him, which meant I had to try and speak more like ... well, more like Ada.

"Alright', what's your ma been up to?"

"Making plans with Polly about minding TJ when I go back to work," I said, counting in my head. I knew he wasn't going to like it.

"Back to work? Where?"

"It's a magical job, working for the wizarding government."

"You ain't working," Tommy said, sitting down at the table opposite me and making sure I had eye contact with him. "You should be looking after our son."

"You can't tell me what to do, Tommy," I spat, resisting the urge to pull TJ from his arms. I felt like Tommy was using him as a shield, but he'd be mistaken if he thought I would hold myself back just because he was holding our son.

"As your husband, I have every right to tell you what to do!"

"You are not my husband, Thomas Shelby. You're not even my fiance, so don't think for one second you can tell me what to do." I rose from the table, frowning as TJ looked up at me, his bottom lip trembling. "Look, I don't want to argue in front of TJ, but if you think, for one second, Thomas, that you can tell me what to do, he will be the only child you ever have!"

"Romy," Tommy started but I glared at him and pulled TJ from his arms and marched up to his room.

"TJ, your father is a right old bastard," I said as I walked over to his crib and laid him down. "Take it from me, love. Anything he says, don't take it to heart. He's been through a lot and I think he says things he doesn't mean, but that man, he will always love you, no matter how pissed off at the world he is."

"Dada," TJ said, tilting his head to the side as if he was agreeing to what I said.

"Hmm, yeah, your dad can be hard work. He's not what I was expecting when he returned home, but I know some of the things he's seen in France and I can't blame him for being a changed man." I ran my hand over his face and leaned down and pressed a kiss to his head. "Be a good boy for mumma and go to sleep so I can deal with your father."

As if he knew that I needed not to be interrupted, he turned over and cuddled into his teddy, showing his thumb in his mouth. I hesitated as I came down the stairs, surprised to find Tommy still sat at the kitchen table as if he was waiting for me.

"I didn't—"

"You don't need to apologise," I said, resting my hand on his shoulder as I pulled out the chair next to him. "You have the right to your own opinion, even if I feel it's outdated." I sighed and took his hand in mine, lifting my head so I could keep eye contact with him. "Where I'm from, Tommy, women aren't ruled by men. We're allowed to do what we want, even when we're married. It's not all about cooking for your husband and pushing out the babies. We can have a career, we can work and bring money to the table and I really don't want you stopping me from doing that."