Sunbeam

27) Arthur Senior Returns

"Oh, hell fucking no," Kezia states, coming home from work to find her father sat at the kitchen table with a sandwich in front of him.

Noticing her from across the room, Finn rushes round the table to stand beside his oldest sister.

"Isn't that sweet," Arthur Senior chuckles, "it's been a while, Kezia."

"Which one of you is responsible for this?" Kezia asks, ignoring her father, looking between Arthur and John.

"I'm a grown man-"

"Shut the fuck up," Kezia says, cutting her father off.

"Kez, he's different," Arthur pleads with his sister.

"So, you brought him here, of course it was you," Kezia scoffs, "have you learnt nothing?"

"Now that's not fair," Arthur Senior replies.

"I was not speaking to you, keep your fucking mouth shut," Kezia states.

"He's our father, you can't speak to him like that," Arthur mumbles.

"I'll speak to him however I want to speak to him," Kezia says, "I'm guessing you made him the sandwich aswell?"

"Actually, it was a sandwich meant for Ada," Bea says, glaring at the eldest Shelby brother, "Pol and I were about to drop it round."

Their father hadn't yet taken a bite, so Kez reaches over the table and grabs the plate, passing it to Polly, "if it's meant for Ada, it goes to Ada, we're not giving this prick anything."

"I'm a guest of the head of the family," Arthur Senior argues, raising from his seat in an attempt to intimidate Kez who didn't move an inch, staying firmly where she was stood, "is that what he told you? That he's head of the family? No."

Arthur Senior breaks eye contact with his eldest daughter to look at his eldest son, who painfully admits, "Tommy, he sometimes helps me with business, Dad."

"You're not welcome here, so why don't you do us all a favour and leave," Kez states, "you're good at that, in fact leaving is the one decent thing you did for this family."

The door opens and Kez doesn't need to turn around to know that it's Tommy who's just entered the room, she saw the way her fathers shoulders tensed up, stepping back from Kez, "how are you, son?"

"Get out," Tommy states.

"Come on, son," Arthur Senior says, "I'm a changed man."

"The only thing that's changed about you is the amount of grey hairs on that head of yours, get out," Tommy responds.

"Tommy," Arthur inputs, "he's different-"

"Shut up," Tommy interrupts harshly.

"It's alright, son," Arthur Senior says, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair, "I never stay where I'm not welcome."

He then begins to slowly walk out the house, and his attempt to ruffle up Finns hair was instantly stopped by Kez, "don't touch him," she states, roughly pushing her father into the wall, he winces minutely before shrugging, "quite something you've become."

Everyone's eyes follow him out the room, and there was a moment of silence before Arthur speaks up, "he's our dad."

"We're not about to continue this argument a decade after we last had it," Kezia warns.

"He's a selfish bastard," Tommy states.

Arthur scoffs, "you calling someone a selfish bastard, that's a bit rich, eh, Tommy? I mean, thanks to you, we're already down a bloody sister."

"You want to see him, Arthur? You fucking go with him then," Tommy replies.

Arthur is indecisive as he looks around at the people in the room, Kez sighs, "come on, Arthur, surely you've learnt your lesson. Don't trust the sly cunt."

The eldest brother inhales deeply before standing from his chair and storming out of the house, slamming the door as he goes.

"Not this again," John groans, mocking his older siblings, "oh I like him, I hate him, I want to gauge his eyes out and make him eat them."

"I'm guessing that last one was you," Bea says, glancing at Kez, who was still staring at the door her father had just walked out of, "I'm going to kill him," she says, taking a couple of steps towards the door but being blocked by Tommy, "we've got coppers breathing down our necks, Kez. I'm not happy about this situation either, but you can't just hunt him down and kill him."

"Fine," Kez huffs, "I can be patient."

"Not what I meant but glad to know what state of mind you're in," Tommy says.

"A rational one," Kez states.

"I'm going to go with no," Tommy remarks.

"Arthur better not bring him to games night this evening," Finn huffs.

"He won't," Kez assures.

"About that-" Tommy starts, wincing as Kez stands on his foot.

"What?" Finn asks.

"Don't you dare," Kezia whispers to her older brother.

"What were you going to say?" Finn asks.

"Go on, Tom, Finns asking if you're going to bail out the one night a week he actually gets to spend time with you," Kezia says.

"About that- I thought perhaps we could do monopoly tonight, instead of charades, make it an elongated evening," Tommy suggests.

"Great idea," Finn smiles.