- CHAPTER EIGHT -
- IN WHICH SHE HAS THE DAY OFF
. . .
SADIE WAS THE cause of Rory's unexpected awakening the next morning. The dainty creature had chosen to bask in the only pool of sunlight in the attic, which just so happened to be right where the girl had chosen to sleep.
The sound of purring reverberated down Rory's right ear, the cat's head stretched out on her shoulder, the rest of her body on her chest. She let out a breath as her eyes flittered open, long white fur tickling her chin.
"Sadie.." She reached up, fingers wrapping around the cat's stomach and gently lifting her off her chest. "You know it's my day off? I hoped for a little more sleep, chérie."
Sadie continued to purr as Rory sat up, shoulders leant against the backboard of her bed. She was put down on her lap, and the Miller girl began running her hands over the cat's back. She reached to the side with her spare hand and picked up her most recent book from where it rested on her bedside table.
She read a few pages for around thirty minutes, the tranquil silence acting as a friend for her. She could distantly hear the sounds of cars, people and horses from the lanes around the Garrison, the road just about visible through her window.
Eventually she got out of bed, filling Sadie's bowls and grabbing an orange from her fruit bowl. And then she sat down on the couch, peeling away the skin of which the cat found to be rather entertaining.
When she'd finished eating her orange, Rory crossed back over into the bedroom half of the attic and quickly changed into a black skirt she'd cut to reach mid-thigh length and a blouse that was left untucked. Then she slipped on some boots and a jacket.
The Miller girl exited the attic, door closing behind her as she began down The Garrison steps and then walked through the centre of the pub towards the doors.
She wasn't sure where she was going yet, but she didn't want to spend the day inside. For the first time that week, the streets weren't covered in rain and there really was a golden filter sitting on top of Small Heath.
Rory wandered down the back lanes, taking notice of the children who ran around with their footballs and played other games. She could hear people working in the warehouses just the street over, the sounds of metal clanking against metal.
She walked out onto the main road, following the cobblestone pathway that followed the Shelby Parlour. It was strange to see just how similar Small Heath was to the street her and Amor lived on. Everyone seemed to know everyone, everyone seemed to know who to keep out of the way of.
"Mind, Ror." A voice broke through her nostalgic thoughts, the sound of water sloshing making her step dead in her tracks. That and the body she was about to walk into.
"Oh.." Rory smiled sheepishly as she looked down at the buckets in John's hands. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention..."
"I can see that." John chuckled, mirth filled tone making her smile blossom bigger.
"What're you doing with those?" Rory gestured to the buckets, following him as he began towards the garage just a few steps away from the house.
"The car could do with a wash," John explained as he placed one of the buckets on the floor, using his now free hand to open the garage door. "And to celebrate getting the license I thought I would take Lizzie and the kids for a drive."
"Makes sense." Rory seemed to be amused at the idea of John taking his kids for a drive. "That's really lovely, actually."
"Yeah, well.." John grinned knowingly, walking into the garage and placing the buckets down at the side. Rory followed him in and picked up the spare sponge in one of the buckets. "What're you doing?"
"Helping." The Miller girl rung the sponge out so that it wasn't completely dripping and then headed towards the car. All the while the Shelby just watched her with a bemused brow risen. "What? I've cleaned Billy's car enough times to know how to. Besides, you're going to be here for an awfully long time if you do it by yourself."
"Right... yeah." John picked up his sponge, copying her actions and beginning on the opposite side of the bonnet to her.
They worked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, the sounds of people working in the warehouse opposite them feeding into the noise. Every now and then someone would pass by the garage and one of them if not both of them would begin a short conversation with them.
Eventually they had run out of water, and the two had refilled their buckets but with soapy water this time.
Just as she was beginning to daydream, sponge moving in circular motions over the front window, John came up behind Rory and placed a cloud of bubbles on her head. At first she didn't notice, not even when he begun laughing hysterically. But after a few seconds of his laughter growing louder, she noticed the cloud on top of her head in the window reflection.
"You idiot." She mirrored his grin as she turned round to her bucket, collecting up a handle full of bubbles and then travelling around the car to place it on him.
As soon as her hands grew closer to his head, he reached round and collected more bubbles, the two of them ending up with bubbles in their hands as they ran around the car after each other.
They came to a stop as a set of footsteps grew closer, Rory being the first to grow to a stand still when she saw Tommy coming towards them, an unreadable expression on his features - though she thought he might not be the most impressed with what they were doing.
"Tommy." John emptied his hands of any liquid, wiping them on a cloth and then passing it to Rory to do the same. "I need a favour. I want to borrow the car. I want to take Lizzie to the country with the kids. We're going to celebrate getting the license."
"That's the problem, John." The younger brother, still in his own world wasn't quite listening to Tommy. "Rory, isn't it your day off?"
"Oh, yes." Rory nodded, and sensing he didn't want her around whilst he spoke to John, she softly walked out of the garage. She waited just against the wall around from the doors, hoping she could go back and help John once Tommy was done.
"I'll need the keys."
"Look, John, you're my brother." Tommy's voice was faint, but she could almost hear a tiny bit of sympathy in his tone. "There's something I have to tell you... yesterday, on the front seat of that car, I offered Lizzie some money. And John? She said yes."
Rory felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, she knew about Lizzie's past, but she also sounded like a wonderful woman who wouldn't do that to someone. "Now that's a fact. You do with it what you want. Take the keys. Take Lizzie to the country. Marry her, if you want. But you have to know, she said yes."
Everything went quiet for a minute. She could hear footsteps and then the sound of the car door opening, and Rory assumed John was going to follow through with taking her to the country. But then a car door slammed, the sound of something dropping to the floor and then the younger Shelby storming out of the garage and turning in the opposite direction without spotting the Miller.
Tommy walked out of the garage moments later.
"There was a much kinder way to tell him that, Tommy."
✧
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𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙮, John Shelby
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