"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo." -William Shakespeare
Peaky Blinders | Oc x Oc
*I do not own peaky blinders or any of the characters, they all belong to Steven Knight, I only own my ocs*
Highest Ranking: #60 i...
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Small Heath, Birmingham
1921
I never expected one of my first outings in 1921 to be for a funeral; let's be frank, Tommy didn't even plan to let me come; it took both Aunt Polly and Ada to convince him to let me attend. And, it's not like they even tried to keep his reluctance to let me go out to themselves (well, to give some credit to Ada and Aunt Polly, they did not want to tell me). No, Tommy felt the need to tell me the only reason I was allowed out was that the rest of the family was putting their foot down.
The bright red banners around the grave didn't seem to fit in with the black attire of the crowd; thus, it made them stand out even more, 'Communist Party of Birmingham, Bordesley,' and another 'Communist party of Kentish Town.' I could see Ada's grim face looking at the freshly dug grave of her husband, with his son resting on her hip, none the wiser of the significance of this occasion. The rest of the family shared a somber look; some of the children and babies, with their blissful naivety, knew that this was not the time to fuss. In the corner of my eye, I see Finn leaning to look at the coffin being lowered into the grave. Somehow, he is the only one who doesn't seem to realize this is neither the time nor the place. Before I could attempt to scold him, Tommy reached out and pulled his back into place. When we hear the thumb of the coffin reaching the bottom of the grave, the priest sends a nod to Tommy, who then proceeds to step up, earning glares from the group of Communists attending.
"I promised my friend Freddy Thorn that I would say a few words over his grave if he should pass before me."
Arthur lets out a loud, "Amen," which I couldn't help but roll my eyes at.
Unbothered, Tommy continues his speech, "I made the promise when we were in France. Fighting for the King." Somehow the glares from the Communists gain intensity. "But the war didn't take Freddy. Pestilence took him. But Freddy passed on his spirit and soul to a new generation before he was cruelly taken", gesturing to Karl. Tommy wrapped up his speech shortly after, and we all walked away just as the grave was starting to be filled.
Everyone started to gather around the cars; I went off to the side, alone, and leaned up against the side of the vehicle, and looked up at the sky. Dark and cloudy, with a storm brewing, was all that I saw; the bleakness of the clouds was reflective of all of our current state of mind, at least everyone but Tommy's. I knew that the storm brewing was all him; I silently pondered what mess he would bring to our family this time. I saw Ada walk off with Tommy; I knew nothing good would come out of the conversation. Suddenly Aunt Polly came to me with Karl in her arms.
"Watch him; I had just caught him pinching flowers off a grave." I opened my arms to take Karl from her and balanced him on my hip; he laid his head against my shoulder as I ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to give him some comfort. Then, looking at Polly, I nodded and turned my focus back to Karl, not before seeing Aunt Polly walking in Ada's and Tommy's direction.
