𝐔𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋. ᵗʰᵒᵐᵃˢ ˢʰᵉˡᵇʸ

❥ ¹⁶the garrison again.. ꩜

ONE YEAR LATER:
November, 1921.

IT HAD BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE, Maggie left Small Heath. This particular blonde had changed a great deal since she last saw the rough cobblestone streets of Birmingham, while the other blonde escaped to New York — this one had escaped back to the small island of home. In Maggie's eyes, home had also changed since she was last there. Home was more violent with new the members of the police force that arrived during spring 1920 — such as the Black and Tans or the Auxiliaries. Home wasn't safe like a home should be.

Maggie's mind often dwelled on the idea of moving to London, but she couldn't bear the thought of leaving Mick — over the past year, she had grown rather fond of him, maybe a bit more than normal. Currently, there were two sides. The first side was the fondness one would feel towards their friend and the second side was the fondness one would feel towards a lover. And as for Maggie, she was directly in the middle of those two sides, bewildered and clueless about what to do.

Poor Maggie didn't know whether she should act on her feelings, and risk jeopardising her friendship with Mick or bottle it all up so he would be oblivious. Maggie sat on her couch, biting her nails as Faye rolled around on the rug — enjoying the soft texture of it. The thing was, Mick had always had a thing for her but in Maggie's eyes, that was the Mick she knew. The Mick that would try flirting with her, the Mick that was always sarcastic. . .  the Mick that was her best friend.

When Mick did try flirting, she would chuckle and friend zone him.

Her mind dwelled on whether or not she should tell Mick if he arrived today, she decided to leave it to the last minute — as always with her. She sat there, anxiously waiting for him. One thing about Maggie, she was incapable of making the first move. Maggie would only tell him if he noticed if something was bothering her, unaware that it was him.

As a distraction, she went out into the garden to water her flowers — finding peace in the silence of the flowers spread throughout the backyard. Faye sat in the conservatory, watching Maggie dance throughout the garden as she watered a set of peonies that swayed in the gentle breeze.

About a year ago, peonies had claimed the spot of her favourite flower — succeeding over daises which now reminded her of Tommy, something she most definitely did not want to be reminded of.

The sun glistened through her golden locks that were twisted into a half-up-half-down style. Her attention was taken from the flowers and to the sound of someone knocking at her front door.

She quickly dusted her hands off on her skirt and ran through the house, going through the conservatory, then the dining room, into the kitchen and lastly into the downstairs hallway. Maggie approached the door, unlocking it and opening it. The door swung open to reveal Mick, who was casting a sideways glance towards the gleaming sun that was set in a white sky.

"You don't seem to be enjoying the sun," Maggie chuckled when she saw his expression, "It's very. . . bright." Mick tried compromising. "That's the point of it, silly." Maggie rolled her eyes playfully before opening the door wider to let him in.

"Do you want tea?" She asked, looking up at him as she closed the door. "Tea? No, I'm grand." Mick declined as the two began walking through the house towards the conservatory.

"That's a nice dress." Mick commented as the two sat across from each other, Maggie looked down at the dress in response, examining the fabric. It was a long and flowy white dress that reached just below her knees with a square neckline and short puffed sleeves — it was plain and simple, yet pretty enough.

Maggie shrugged a reply, "I guess so." Faye leaped into her lap, curling up there with relaxation. "Oh, I nearly forgot — I collected your messages for you, you've got a letter." Mick said suddenly, taking out a letter from the pocket of his coat and handing it to her.