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the ticking of the clock along with the sound of a pencil scratching against grainy paper was almost a soothing sound to celia. the key word being almost. normally she would find this calm moment soothing but her mind was running circles around itself. it felt like at any moment bad news was going to come knocking at the door. as if someone was listening to her thoughts, a sound knock came from the front door. celia lifted her head and stared at it momentarily. it felt like a joke that she would hear a knock in the moment and she was almost afraid to get up.
when her legs finally lifted her from the writing desk and guided her to the front door her eyes caught sight of johns jacket. it was hanging neatly on the back of one of the wooden dining chairs. when celia finally got to the door she didn't even decide to look through the peephole, she just opened it. to her surprise a sniffling ada shelby was standing in front of her.
"lia?" she sniffled out. she tucked her hair behind her ears and ashed out her cigarette.
"ada? i- what- come in!" celia ushered the upset shelby inside of her home and closed the door. the two girls said nothing for a moment as the stared each other down. it was as if they were talking through their eyes. the two girls suddenly enveloped each other in a tight, comforting hug. without exchanging words still the duo glided over to the sofa near the fire. the two girls had been friends since diapers. they grew up running the streets together and celia would help ada get back at her bothers any time they would go after her. when everything happened and celia left the city they stayed in touch though letters, they would talk about the most random things but mostly about how they were worried for the boys. ada was always careful to say 'the boys' and never name john specifically. she was good like that.
as the two girls sat together celia grabbed adas hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "what's going on love?" she asked. ada stared down at the girl in front of her. she was so afraid to speak her truth, afraid of what reaction might come. their years of friendship helped push the words to the surface.
"i'm pregnant, lia." ada said, a small quiver in her voice. celia blanked for a moment but quickly enveloped the shelby in another hug. for a few minutes celia held ada as she cried in her arm. "who's is it?" she asked quietly. ada let out an almost bitter laugh.
"you won't believe me. plus the boys will rip him to shreds if they find out." ada said with a shake of her head. celia met the girls eyes and gave her a pleading look.
ada looked down at her hands, they were entangled with each other in her lap. "it's freddie thornes." she whispered so quietly you would miss it if you weren't really listening. suddenly, celia giggled. ada looked up at the girl in front of her and her quivering lips turned into a sly smile.
"i can't bloody believe it. little ada and the grimy freddie. i was wondering when it would finally happen." celia said with another laugh. ada pushed the girls shoulder and shrugged, "we love each other, lia."
for the next hour the girls sat in the parlor of celias home. celia allowed ada to talk her heart out about freddie. it was clear that she had no one she could speak to about him. polly wanted her to get rid of the baby because freddie wasn't here at the moment. celia helped encourage ada that he would come back. after all, ada and freddie were meant to be. a+f has been carved in the underside of a floorboard in ada shelbys room since they were children. celia helped ada rip up the board herself. after a while of talking the duo decided that they would walk down to the movie theatre and help ada get her mind off of the situation for a while.
so the duo sat together in the theatre, silently watching a movie and sharing popcorn. there were few others in the theatre for the time of day it was so that's why when the theatre door slammed open the girls knew there was a problem. celia glanced behind her and saw thomas quickly walking down the isles toward them. "christ's sake," she mumbled.
thomas sat down next to ada and sighed. "tell me the mans name, ada." the girl in question gripped celias hand. "rudolph valentino." she said lamely. thomas suddenly got up and disappeared up the isle and out the door. moments late the movie stopped and ada rolled her eyes.
"get out! all of you, go on now!" thomas yelled as he came back in. thomas stared at celia as well.
"she stays," ada practically growled.
"i said, tell me his fucking name." he said. ada took a deep breath and celia gave her hand another squeeze. with all the confidence she could muster she looked at her brother and spoke.
"freddie fucking thorne. yeah. your best mate since school. the man who saved your life in france! so go on! cut him! cut him up and chuck him in the cut!" ada yelled out at him. you could almost see part of thomas crack before he turned and forced his way out of the theatre.
ada sat up and turned around. "oi! i'm a shelby too, you know. put my fucking film back on!" and sat down once again. together the two sat and continued watching the movie.
"do you think i should write to him?" ada asked. celia looked over at her friend and pursed her lips. "to tell him officially?" she asked. ada nodded in response. celia hummed. "i think you should. you can have pol give it to tommy." celia said to which ada nodded. she knew she wanted to be with freddie still and he deserved to know she was carrying his child.
once the movie ended and the girls stepped out into the smoky birmingham streets they decided to part ways. celia would head over to johns house to make dinner for the children and of course john if he was even home. although he normally was not.
when celia got to johns she let herself in and was greeted by the children. the hugged her and hung onto her dress as she tried to navigate the house. they younger ones had been relaxing in the living room, messing around on chalkboards while jane read by the fire.
"is your 'da home?" she asked offhandedly as she began pulling ingredients out of the cupboard. "nooo," katie said.
"alright, well who wants to help me cook dinner?" celia offered up. the children cheered and all volunteered their help. celia sat three year old katie on top of the kitchen table, the two boys peter and patrick flanking her sides while sitting in chairs and jane stayed standing to help celia. the younger ones were helping break up seasonings and vegetables. they were having soup, it didn't have to look pretty.
standing together, laughing and guiding each other is where john found them all when he came in. he quietly hung his coat and hat up when he walked in and stood near the entrance of the kitchen silently. he watched celia work with the children with her back turned for a moment until katie saw him and called out.
john slowly joined the group and stood behind little katie who was still sat on the table. he ruffled his boys hair and wrapped his arms around the little one. he shot jane a wink to which she returned with a toothy smile. celia smiled at him, "hello john," she grinned. he moved around the toothpick in his mouth and smiled a genuine smile.
