Only Time Will Tell - A Peaky Blinders Story

Chapter 8 - Polly's present

Everyone breaks into applause when Polly enters the betting shop. Cass notices her surprise and is filled with concern at the sight of the bags under her eyes. She knows her aunt has been struggling with something but hasn't yet got the courage to ask her what it is.

"Happy birthday, Pol!" Tommy says happily as he makes his way over to her. "When did you get back?" Polly asks, still in shock. "Well, I didn't want to miss your special day." Tommy replies with a smile. "No one ever remembers my birthday." She says, looking around the room. "Well, this year we decided to make a change, Pol. Everything's different." Cass says cheerfully, ignoring the pain she has been put through in the past few days.

"John, Finn, bring the car around." Tommy says to his younger brothers as he wraps his arm around Polly's shoulders. "Where are we going?" Polly asks, trying to hide her nerves. "We've got a little surprise for ya." Arthur says, leading his brother, sister, and aunt out of the shop.

~

The family soon arrive in Sutton, where Polly's surprise is waiting for her. They all clamber out of the car and make their way towards a large house in the middle of a row along the street. "Good morning!" Arthur greets the neighbours roughly as he makes his way up the path to the door. He then opens the door and lets his aunt and siblings in before following them.

"You said you were going to buy Ada a house." Polly says as she looks around in awe. "Yes I did, but I had a bit of money left over." Tommy replies. "This is ours?" Polly asks, snapping her head towards the group. "No, Pol. It's yours." Cass says excitedly. "You deserve it, Pol." Tommy adds, matching his sister's smile.

Polly's face instantly drops, and her eyes fill with tears. She stares at everyone, ignoring the happy looks they are sending her. She staggers in shock to the sofa. "What would I do with all these rooms?" She asks, no longer able to look at anyone. "Well, you could relax for a start. Come here at weekends, maybe. It has a lovely garden, just like you've always dreamt about. You could grow roses or have a vegetable patch." Tommy says, not sure how to act anymore. "You could get a piano. Have a get together with people, have a singsong?" Cass adds, trying to lighten their aunt's mood. "God help the neighbours." John jokes. "Fuck the neighbours." Arthur interjects before holding the key up to Polly's face.

"Welcome home, Pol." Arthur then says as Polly takes the keys off him, her face now showing slight sadness. Everyone watches in confusion as she sits down and stares at the table. "Why don't you, er, take the boys outside Cass?" Tommy says after clearing his throat. Cass nods and ushers her brothers out of the room.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Arthur grunts when they get to the car. "I don't know, Arth, but Tommy will sort it all out." Cass replies, making all of her brothers scoff in unison. "What?" She snaps. "Nothing." John replies, making his sister roll her eyes at the shutdown of the conversation. They all continue to wait in silence, which makes it even more awkward than it already was.

~

"So we're just going to rock up to this woman's house and ambush her?" Cass asks Tommy as they drive along the country roads. "When you put it like that it makes me want to turn around." Tommy replies, fiddling with the steering wheel. "We can't just turn up and be like 'oh hello, we want to take Michael/Henry to see his birth mother. Ok?'. There's no way she's going to agree." Cass argues, waving her hands around as she mocks her brother's plan. "Of course she's not if we say it like that. I'm going to tell her we're from the council and that Polly wants to get in touch. We're going to give Michael the choice, whether his new mother like it or not." Tommy explains, making his sister relax.

"Come on, we're here. It's just a few houses up." Tommy then says as he parks the car in the clearing beside the houses. "Wow, this place is almost as nice as Polly's new house." Cass says in awe as she follows her brother down the path. "I know." Tommy agrees, watching as two boys jump over the fence in front of them and run into the house they're aiming for.

"Mrs Johnson?" Tommy says as they reach the fence to their garden, prompting the plump lady to stop tending to her flower bed. "Yes, that's me. Who are you?" She says, standing to her full height and walking to hold the gate closed. She's clearly scared of Tommy, so Cass decides to step forward. "We're from the Bordesley parish Birmingham council." Cass says kindly, her smile seeming to ease the woman's tension. "No one wrote to me to say you were coming. What do you want?" Mrs Johnson then asks, prompting the siblings to share a quick glance.

"We would like to talk to you about your son, Henry. May we come in?" Tommy replies, instantly making the woman tense up again. Cass can't help but roll her eyes slightly at his bluntness. "I'd rather you didn't. Henry doesn't like to talk about this. None of us do." Mrs Johnson replies. "That's understandable, but we would like to know how much Henry knows about his real identity. What does he know?" Cass says, placing a hand on her brother's arm to stop him from talking.

"I only deal with Mr Ross from the agency, and he never makes home visits. Why are you two here in person when I usually have to send letters?" Mrs Johnson then asks, avoiding answering the question. "Well, the boy is approaching his 18th birthday." Tommy insinuates. "This isn't right. You're not from the council, are you? Something doesn't feel right about this. Who are you?" She then says, slightly rushed. She's clearly smarter than either of them realised.

"What does he know, Mrs Johnson?" Cass pushes, but still keep her tone quite kind so the woman doesn't freak out entirely. They both watch as her stance changes, now showing arrogance towards this whole situation. "He knows his mother couldn't cope. She drank too much, used opium, used to beat him." Mrs Johnson lists, her tone getting more and more bitter with each addition. "But none of that is true, is it?" Tommy says, matching her bitter tone. "Look, I think you two should come back when my husband is here." She then dismisses, attempting to intimidate them. "Does he know what his real name is?" Tommy then says, looking up towards the boy who is observing from the door. "His name is Johnson. Henry Johnson. Now, I would like you to go away and leave us alone." The slightly older woman says to them, her raised voice prompting the boy to come over.

Tommy shakes his head at her words, never taking his eyes off the boy. "The truth is, he was taken from his mother without her permission." He then says, loud enough for the boy to hear. "Henry! Go back inside." Mrs Johnson orders, only to be ignored. "Who are you?" Henry/Michael asks them both. Mrs Johnson continues to try and get him to go back inside but is still ignored.

"Your real name is Michael Gray." Cass starts, only to be cut off by her brother. "Your real mother wants to see you." He says, pulling a piece of paper from his coat pocket. "No!" Mrs Johnson exclaims as Tommy hands the paper over with Polly's address on it. She starts to hit Tommy in protest, but he takes no notice. "That paper has her address. She just wants to talk to you, that's all. It's your choice." Cass says calmly, noticing the worry on her cousin's face. "Go away!" Mrs Johnson then yells, almost hysterical, making Tommy and Cass start to walk back to the car.

"Well, that went better than expected. Let's just hope he makes the right choice." Cass says as she settles into her seat. "He will. He's intrigued, and no doubt he wants to know the truth. He'll make the journey." Tommy says strongly, clearly sure about what will happen. Cass, however, knows how much influence Mrs Johnson could have on him. After all, he's not yet 18. She might forbid him from ever going to see Polly, and where might that leave them?