The Shelby woman

Cyril

Alfie walks into the bakery expecting the noise to be so loud that he can't hear his own thoughts. To his surprise, there is no noise, no noise at all. In fact, there's literally no one actually at the bakery to make any noise. The only noise is coming from his heavy breathing and walking cane.

"The fuck?" He grunts out loud. Pulling out his old pocket watch and sees that it's 7am. The time he usually gets in. The bakery should be engulfed in the sounds of yelling and the scent of burnt yeast. He looks around confused at first, then gets angry. It's a working day, a Monday to be exact. "There's fuckin' work to be done and no ones bloody here to do it. Useless cunts." Alfie walks around the barrels, thinking about how much money he could be losing. Hunching up the stairs to his office, he still continues to bad mouth his workers as he opens the door to his office. "Fucking Olie's gonna get the worst of it, thinks he can do what he bloody wants he does."

"You talkin to yourself now Alf?"

Dropping his cane in fright, he growls. "Fucking hell woman, you don't do that to a poor old man like me. Nearly scared me half to death ya did, yeah." He walks over to the woman sitting at his desk and plops himself onto the seat opposite her. "You should be at home, sleeping." At nearly 8 months pregnant; Charlotte is as big as a house, something he said to her once. Something he won't say to her again, especially since he had to sleep on the sofa at the foot of their bed.

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte puts a hand on her swollen stomach. "I'm pregnant, not disabled Alf." She understands his worry; his cousins wife died a month ago due to complications with her pregnancy. She delivered the baby, but she did not survive the birth of her son, they had to cut him out of her. Leaving her 3 other children motherless.  Something Charlotte knows all too well about. The loss of her mother.

"Not that I don't love ya, but why're you here. Where're all me workers at. Felt like you 'ad something to do with this." Charlotte, his precious wife... always out scheming. A wild thing Lottie is.

"You don't have any idea what today is do you Alf?" Of course he doesn't, he's too busy thinking about work and worrying over the papers.

"No, go on then what day is it."

"It's your birthday Alf."

"Ahhh fuck... really? Already?" He was dreading this day, the day he enters his thirties.

Putting her hand in her lap, she looks up and laughs at the expression on Alfies face. "There's no need to be so sour about it darling. It's only 30, not the end of the world."

"It might not be meaningful to you right now love, but as of today I am basically a decade older than you." Ahh, that what he's so worried about, the age gap.
"Good lord Alfie, my parents had a much larger age gap than us. Besides, we're only 5 years apart. Nothing to have a heart attack over." Looking Alfie in the eye, she continues.
"Look in the box in front of you. I got you something." It's a simple wooden box with a lock, about the size of the many books in their private library at home.

"You got me a gift? Is it those panties that the French women prance around in? It'd be lovely to see you in them." Alfie sure knows how to please a woman, that's for sure.

"It's not panties Alf, just look."

He opens the present painfully slow, just to tease Charlotte. Inside the box is a golden pocket watch, engraved with his initials.

"Open the watch Alf." Charlotte can't help but laugh at the confused look on his face.

"Wha', its empty love, it's just a watch."

"You can add a photo of the baby once it's born."

"Not that I don't appreciate it love, but how're 6 photos gonna fit in the watch?" The watch is about the size of a small apple. How photos of their future children will fit inside is beyond him.

"I'll get you a new one every year. A new one to go with each child, happy?"

"Pleased." Alfie grins.

"I also got you this." Lottie stands up, a brown puppy with a fat head in her hands.

"What's this?" Alfie asks. Already having Abe there's no need for another dog... especially with a babe on the way.

Holding out the puppy to Alfie. "I got you a pup, I have Abe and now you can have him."

_________

Alfie sits in front of the fire in the sitting room, glass of alcohol in hand. The puppy snuggled at his feet intertwined in a blanket. The room in in complete silence, leaving Alfie to his thoughts.

__

Charlotte knocks on the door quietly, hearing no reply she opens the door.

Waddling over to Alfie slumped in the chair, the pup asleep in his lap. Giggling, Charlotte picks up the discarded glass on the floor and puts it on the nearest table.

This sound awakens Alfie who wakes up with a groan. Looking down at the warmth in his lap he lets out a groan. "Fucking 'hell, I think he likes me Lots."

Humming, Charlotte walks over to Alfie and slowly gets onto her knees. Something that is hard to do due to her added weight. Placing her hand on the pups head, she looks up at Alfie.

"Have you got a name for him?"

Bringing his hand to rest under his head. "Cyril." He grunts out.

Charlotte raises an eyebrow and ringing a hand over the pups head. "Cyril? That's a good name, masculine."

"He's gonna be the most feared dog in London love."

"How fitting. Come on let's go to bed."

Will be getting into season 1 pretty soon guys