Nothing is, but what is not // John Shelby

XVII

And he did. He even put his best suit on, but it was only because of Polly's firm suggestion, not his own choice.

"Pol, stop that!" He growled quietly, while the woman decided to tighten the tie on his neck "I am not a bloody kid anymore" John murmured, but Polly only patted his cheek. It was almost caring, but he saw that wry smile on her face.

"You found yourself a sweet artist girl, and sweet artist girls do not like mad men. Not men like you" John's aunt spit, cigarette smoke left her lips, as she admired her work. In a long time she hadn't had an occasion to see any of the brothers dressed this well. She always complained about their behaviour, but now, as they came back from the war, she realised how much she missed all that.

"Do you remember when you first went out with Martha?" Polly asked after a moment of silence, which John used to fix his hair, even though in her opinion he just made it look messy. What was his point in asking her for help if he was not about to listen to her suggestions?

"Polly..." John sighed, not looking away from the mirror.

"I am happy you're moving on" Pol put her hand on his shoulder. She felt how his muscles tensed at the thought of his wife, who passed not that long ago "You are a nice boy, do not forget that."

It was pleasant to feel Beth's hand on his arm, as they walked down cold streets of London. John decided that going to the capital would be a nice night out for the girl. Palladium was a very pretty theatre. It had light columns and broad stairs, which they were just climbing. Beth looked at the posters hanging on the walls, as they stepped inside.

"Macbeth?" She looked at John, surprised. He smirked slightly.

"I had a feeling that you might like Shakespeare" he nudged her with his elbow. The man noticed that Beth was slowly taking her guard down, which was a nice difference from how she started acting after she discovered what he is actually doing for a living.

John led Beth upstairs, and then, to her amazement, he walked towards one of the small side doors, not the huge ones leading to the audience.

"You bought seats on a balcony?" She whispered, looking up at him, as if she couldn't believe it. Her fingers tightened on his arm.

"Next time I can buy all the seats, so you can choose whatever you want, sweetheart" John winked, closing the door behind him. He adjusted his jacket, fixed his hair, and when he looked up, he noticed that Beth was already sitting at the edge of her seat, her low heels tapping on the floor with excitement. She was leaning towards the rails to look down, even though the lights were still on, and people were still just a mindless crowd, trying to find their places.

Finally, the play started. With amusement, John was watching how Beth was moving her lips along with the actors. How she stood up at some point, and she stayed up, her elbows on the rails, her body perfectly still. Her breath soft and shallow. John also raised from his seat, and he stood next to her silently. He was not exactly interested in the play, but in Beth, who he was watching with an absent smile playing on his lips. Their shoulders touched, but she seemed not to notice it. The lack of reaction made him confident enough to put his hand on her lower back in a gentle gesture.

"You are just watching a murder" Beth whispered, not looking away from the stage "Do you really think it's a suitable moment?" She chuckled, rolling her eyes on him.

"I never understood art" John murmured. His hot breath tickled her ear. He didn't get any response, but he could swear that corner of Beth's lips twitched upwards.

"It was nice to finally watch a play, not only work on it" Beth smiled, as they left the building, entering a cold street, her shoes hitting the marble stairs with a nice sound "How did you like your first Shakespeare?"

"It was a play" John shrugged, which for he got elbowed quite hard.

"You just saw the best play of decades! No, centuries!" Beth frowned, her chin went up with pride, as she was about to defend everything they just saw with a determination of a mother "I cannot believe you're such an ignorant man" she sighed, rolling her eyes.

They slowly went towards a train station, where they stood in an upsetting, cold wind. Cold shivers going down their spines, as they were waiting for the train. Beth moved closer to John, absorbing the warmth of his shoulder.

"If you are wondering; now, as the lady is freezing, it's a good time to embrace her" she muttered, looking at John impatiently, her hands deep in her pockets.

"Well, of course" John's strong arm pulled the girl closer firmly. She closed her eyes, which for weeks looked forward to a moment to rest. The train stopped in front of them with a long, awfully painful sound.

It was not hard to find empty seats. It was late enough for everyone who worked in London, but lived outside of it to already be home. Beth and John sat next to each other. The girl was moving the tips of her fingers along some loose threads of John's coat. Her eyes tired, as if she was about to fall asleep any moment.

"You will visit me for a moment tonight" she said, her fingers stopping on the part of the sleeve where the fabric was damaged "I will fix this. You can't be seen like that on the streets." Beth smiled at him sweetly, and John rolled his eyes.