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CHAPTER SEVEN: EVERY BEGINNING ENDS
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1914
IT TOOK TOMMY THREE months to ask Nel to marry him. Ninety days of meticulous planning right down to the most miniscule of details. He was dressed in the finest suit he owned, one that he got made just for the evening. His hair was slicked back in the way that Nel liked it, and he spent most of the money to his name getting his mother's ring resized and refurbished. By the time his wallet had emptied out, the diamond shone like the brightest of stars.
And yet, in Tommy's entirely unbias opinion, it still paled in comparison to Nel's eyes.
He didn't tell anyone, only his aunt. She helped him plan everything; his right-hand man, his mother at heart. A woman's touch, Polly had insisted the second she realised something was amiss and cornered Tommy into admitting the truth. It makes a world of difference, Thomas. Trust me.
He did. And so Polly took him to every jeweller in Birmingham and surrounds until they found the one. It was a plain band given to his mother by a man nowhere near good enough for her, made of soft silver tainted by years worth of suffering. But the diamond gleamed like it was brand new. It was the only light in a dimly lit room, the source of envy for every other woman who would see it on Nel's finger.
Well, if she said yes, that is. But Tommy was so sure she'd be over the moon. They spoke so often of the future, it was hard to imagine her having any other reaction.
At long last, the day came, but the past several month had been weighed down by the threat of war hanging over their heads. If it came down to it, Tommy and his oldest brother, Arthur, would have to fight. Maybe John as well, if Martha could stomach letting him go. Tommy and Nel's wedding would have to wait a while, but surely Nel wouldn't mind.
Nonetheless, to be on the safe side of things, Tommy avoided Nel like the plague for the better part of a week. He was convinced she would somehow know, as most women did, and he'd cave and the whole surprise would be ruined.
Tommy wanted Nel's day to be perfect.
And it was, at first.
Nel never saw it coming.
But doubt always found a way in.
They were walking along the canal with Nel's hand resting in the crook of Tommy's shoulder. It was a cloudy day (unfortunately; as much as he'd want to, Tommy couldn't command the weather) and the air was thick with smoke and fog, but the sun was warm through the thick grey sheen, and so Nel decided to wait a minute beneath the awning of the dock, letting the cool shadow pool over their heads for a second. All of a sudden, Tommy had gone quiet. Nel turned around curiously...
