Tommy Shelby ~ Between the Walls and the Whiskey

Untitled Part 8

Cecilia lay relaxed in her bed, her eyes fixed on a dark spot in the ceiling. She could hear nothing, save for the sound of her own breath as she drifted in and out of sleep.

As she remembered how the morning went, an overwhelming joy knotted her stomach and flooded her heart. She closed her eyes smiling and laughing a little, her hand pressed to her lips, shyly repressing the happy sound she wanted to make as she played it out again in her mind.

For days Tommy had been able to tell that she was keeping something from him, and as a man more accustomed to keeping secrets, not being kept from them, it was driving him mad.

He would ask her quick little questions about her family or work, any sort of different thing to try and catch her off guard in an attempt to trick the secret out of her. Until finally this morning, feeling a little sick, and very annoyed, she tossed the towel she'd used to dry her face at the basin across the room at him and started yelling.

Lying here now she couldn't for the life of her remember what she'd said until she'd said the only thing that mattered.

"Tommy I'm pregnant."

The words had come out before she could stop them, she gasped as they left her mouth, terrified of his reaction.

He must have stood there looking at Cecilia for a full five minutes before he came to her.

His eyes lowered to her belly, the muscles in his jaw working as he let the news wash over him. He said nothing, but his face told all.

"Are you angry?' She finally asked.

He shook his head no and slowly reached out to lay his hand on her stomach. There was only a slight curve there. No real indication of the life that was forming deep inside.

"Are you sure?" He asked quietly.

She nodded chewing her bottom lip. "Yeah Tommy, I'm pretty sure. I think I'm a few months gone already. So much was happening, I didn't realize, well I did but I just couldn't believe it."

He looked into her eyes and quieted her with a kiss on the forehead before walking over to his chair.

Thomas sat heavy as a stone , his arms and legs lifeless, head back, eyes up at the ceiling until after an eternity of silence, he sat up and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the little smoking table beside his chair.

He inhaled deeply, drawing the white paper of the cigarette back in three breaths, leaving a long grey stem of ash that he quickly rubbed out in the tray.

"Are you mad, please tell me, I can't bear the silence." She said practically pleading with him. Her bare feet padding across the floor, carrying her towards him, but she stopped when he didn't respond

"Tommy please." She whispered.

He blew the last of the smoke from his lungs in a smooth stream and looked up at her, his eyes softened and kind.

"If it's a boy, we name him... Arthur, and a girl .. well you can decide." He said and smiled.

She stood blinking through the cloud of smoke not sure what that meant, until she realized he was looking at her the same way he always had. Like a man in love.

He'd held her in the chair on his lap for a long time then.

Even now, laying here alone, she could still feel his arms around her. How could she ever have been so afraid to tell him.

Giggling like a girl she rolled on her side, her hand relaxed over her small belly, so full of life. And her eyes shut with images of soft skin, and toothless grins filling her mind. The sound of a baby laughing, the need to cradle it as it cries. These things would all be hers soon, and theirs together.

*

The smell of the lunch she carried was enough to make Cecilia want to turn and run out the door of Tommy's office and vomit, but as it was, she held it down and carried the basket past the secretary and knocked on the door of Shelby Brothers, Ltd.

"Come in," He said, and she did, with her head spinning from the nausea.

Happy to share a little time with him though, she endured the temporary discomfort, smiling at the image of her man sitting at his desk, looking regal in his new suit. But stopped mid step as she realized he was not alone.

Another man sat in one of the dark leather chairs, his back to the door, still as stone.

"I'm sorry, I can come back later, I'll just leave your lunch at the desk." She said slowly shutting the door her head down, eyes up, curiosity killing her.

"No, come in. We were just finishing. "Tommy said and smiled at the unknown man.

She felt a little uneasy but nodded and shut the door behind her.