Sunbeam

22) The Painting

"Did you manage to get the stains out of your shirt?" Theresa asks, fiddling with a wooden toy car that Kez had made to give to Ada.

Kezia who was now using a smoothing plane to shave off wood on the rocking horse she was building shakes her head, "no."

"So where are the bloody clothes?" Tess questions.

"Tess, have I used the furnace today?" Kezia responds.

"No?" Theresa replies.

"Then why do you think it's on?" Kez states.

"You're burning the clothes," Theresa says, "I knew you weren't stupid enough to leave bloodstained clothes lying around."

"Thank you for that kind notion of faith," Kezia replies.

"Is all of this for Ada?" Tess asks, looking around, there must be a dozen crafted toys sitting around the shop.

"Not all of them, not the labyrinth board, and Finn wanted a puzzle box," Kezia states.

"Who's the labyrinth board for?" Theresa inquires, putting the toy car down and reaching for the maze.

"Me, I get bored," Kezia replies.

"Thought you had painting for when you get bored, speaking of, am I ever going to get to see any of them?" Theresa asks hopefully.

"That's what I wanted to come here for the other day," Kez sighs, "thank fuck, that's been pissing me off."

"You wanted to come here to show me a painting?" Theresa smiles.

"You're my bestfriend, Tess," Kezia responds, rolling her eyes, to which Theresa shrugs, "your only friend."

"Oh shut up, and come here," Kez says, placing her tools down, heading to the back rooms, Tess eagerly following her, "it wouldn't hurt to have more friends."

"It would," Kezia replies, "besides, got enough on my plate being friends with you, you're quite demanding, you know that? 'Kez, I'm going to show up at your work uninvited and pester you all afternoon' 'Kez, I want to go to the picture house, I don't care what you're doing, you're coming with me.'  I don't need anyone else badgering me."

"You make me sound like such an inconvenience," Theresa laughs, as Kez unlocks the private door.

"Does this look familiar to you? I keep seeing it in my dreams, but I can't place my finger on it," Kez states, leading Tess to the easel.

"You've painted a field, Kez, don't get me wrong it's a beautiful field, but there's so many fields around Birmingham, I don't think I know this specific one," Tess replies, pointing at it, "what's that?"

"Dead deer," Kez says.

"That's disturbing," Theresa responds, "why are you dreaming of a dead deer? Why this field?"

"Why does the deer also have a twig?" Kez shrugs, "I don't know why, it's just what is in my head when I go to sleep."

Tess then leans a little closer, "that's an arrow, Kez, not a twig, looks like it's been hunted. Have you ever been hunting?"

"Oh shit," Kez says, "I used to go hunting with my dad before he left, when he was on good form, he'd take us out hunting, that's what this is, it's not a dream, it's a memory. They're the fields just past Solihull."

"So you're dreaming of your father?" Theresa asks.

"Don't put it like that," Kez responds, "I hated when my dad was on good form, it'd cause arguments between me, Tom and Arthur. Arthur'd believe he'd start being consistent, that he loved us. Tommy was waiting for dad to start drinking again, argue that dad didn't love us, it always kicked off."

"And you?" Theresa says.

"Oh, I'd argue that we should hunt him like we hunted the deer, Arthur hated that, Tommy was intrigued, he hated dad but he didn't want bad things to happen to him. I hated the man, can't remember a day where I didn't, I spent my childhood wishing he'd die, or leave, which he eventually did; it was the best day of my life," Kez admits, "he was always mad, mad at us kids, mad at mum, mad at Pol, even when he wasn't drunk, loud, and shouting, he was quietly mad, never pleasant to be around."

"Did he ever...? Did it ever turn violent?" Theresa asks.

"Tommy and Arthur had a few tussles, John was reserved, never wanted to get too close, used to pull sickies when dad was on good terms, and was out the house whenever dad was on bad terms," Kezia replies.

"I meant with your dad, Kez," Theresa sighs.

"Course it turned violent, never with Arthur though, Arthur adored our father, would never argue, would never disappoint. Tommy had a few punch ups with dad, but that was only because dad would've laid a hand on mum, Pol or I," Kezia says.

"What about Ada? And Finn?" Theresa queries.

"Ada was off-limits, dad knew if he went near her even Arthur would blow his head off," Kez replies, "and Finn, Finn wasn't even a year old when dad left."

"You didn't fight back? That's not like the Kez I know," Theresa hums.

"There'd have been no point, I was in my early teens, if I fought back it'd be to the death, probably my death," Kez says, "only reason he didn't kill Tom was because he couldn't, Tom was bigger than him. Dad ran away from those fights."

"What'd you think it means that you're dreaming about this?" Theresa questions, as Kez grabs the painting from the easel, bending it until it was snapping in two, "I don't know, but I don't fucking like it."

-

"Got to be up early tomorrow," Tommy states, sitting opposite Kez at the kitchen table.

"Why?" Kez asks, staring down at her glass of whiskey, before bringing it to her lips and drinking it in one.

"Johns wedding, I've confirmed it with Zilpha Lee," Tommy says, "warned John about Lizzie, told him what happened. He knows we're going to the Lee's patch tomorrow, but he doesn't know why."

"Shouldn't you give him some warning?" Kezia responds.

"And give him the opportunity to run? No, thank you," Tommy scoffs.

"He's reasonable, Tom, he'd understand. He wants a mother to his children, he wants a wife, he wants this business with Kimber and the war with the Lee's to be over, he'd agree so long as the woman wasn't old and decrepit," Kezia states, "you should tell him, at least before you arrive at the patch."

"Why's it me? You were in on this plan as much as I was," Tommy responds.

"I didn't plan to marry John off, that was never apart of my plan, we had a different way to fix it with Lee's in place, you altered that without consulting me, I didn't have any say in getting him wed to one of them," Kezia says, "that was all you. Hence why you should be the one to tell him."

"I'll tell him tomorrow morning, he's just gone home, found him drunk in my room," Tommy replies, topping them both up with a glass of whiskey, "there's another surprise tomorrow that I think you'll like."

"I don't like surprises," Kez states.

"You'll like this one, just trust me," Tommy says, sliding a glass across the table to her, "to Shelby Company Limited."

"To Shelby Limited," Kez mumbles, touching their glasses together before downing their drinks.