Falling Free

-Eight-

Things between Alfie and Niamh continued at a comfortable pace over the next few weeks, although inside both were pining for something more. Alfie, of course, still was trying to convince himself that his interest in Niamh was solely out of fascination for the fact that she was something new and tempting, but Niamh had no misgivings in admitting to herself that she was developing feelings for Alfie; feelings that were starting to run deep.

She had considered mentioning it to Ada during one of their multiple weekly phone calls, but for some reason she hadn't. Perhaps it was because she felt foolish admitting to having feelings for someone she had only known for a number of weeks, and perhaps it was because she was afraid Ada would tell Polly. Whatever the reason, her phone calls to her family remained to be about things like the weather and business and anecdotes of daily life. It was strange really because she missed them all like crazy. She missed Ada's snoring (well, perhaps only a little); she missed John's kids waking her up at the crack of dawn to settle an argument that couldn't be settled by their parents because they were in bed fucking; she missed her horses (God, how she missed them!); she missed Polly's Sunday dinners; she missed Arthur's hugs; and she even missed Tommy's irritating aloofness. But despite everything she missed about home, day by day Camden started to feel less like the other side of the world. Mostly that was to do with Alfie, who would call her from the bakery to check in and visit her at lunch when he could, but it was also the people she would talk to on her daily walks with Cyril. They might never accept her as one of them really but they accepted who she was to Alfie and treated her with respect and kindness because of it. She often wondered if they would do so had they the knowledge that her marriage to Alfie was essentially little more than a forced friendship? Perhaps they would and perhaps not; hopefully she never had to find out.

"I was about to warn you that Ollie's kids are a right noisy bunch but then I remembered that you've got about a million nephews and nieces so this'll be nothin' to you," Alfie commented as their car pulled up outside Ollie's modest house that reminded Niamh very much of her own home back in Small Heath.

It was Thursday night and the Solomons' had been invited to have dinner with Ollie and his family. Alfie knew that despite Niamh claiming she was more than happy with her life in Camden so far that she would be far happier if she could make a friend or two, and Ollie's wife was just the woman to help with that. Given that she was in good standing with the other young woman in the area, Alfie hoped she would help them to accept Niamh and bring her into their fold somewhat.

"Are they all boys?" Niamh asked.

"Yeah," Alfie nodded. "Ollie Jr is five, Abraham is almost three and the baby, Joshua, is only a couple of months old. Little devils they are but quite sweet in their own way I suppose."

Niamh could tell by the glint in Alfie's eyes that despite saying otherwise he quite clearly was very fond of the young children, and she found herself wondering not for the first time that week how any children she and Alfie might have would be received by their father. It was a fanciful idea of course but one that she entertained nonetheless, and usually while she was doing something mundane like dusting or ironing. Polly always said Niamh was a daydreamer and she wasn't wrong. Only daydreams didn't usually hurt. But her daydreams about Alfie sort of did when she had to face the reality that they would only ever be dreams and nothing more.

The door swung open before Alfie and Niamh had even made it more than halfway up the garden path and two little boys came running out excitedly screaming for Alfie.

"Hello boys," he smiled, patting the oldest one's hair and scooping the other one up in his arms, where the little boy then pulled at Alfie's beard playfully. "One day right, Abe, when you're a big boy I'm gonna tug on your beard 'til you cry and then you won't find it so fuckin' funny no more."