Ex-soldier Birmingham-gangster bets his life on luck and illegalities, adroit wit and burning passion streaking his blood-stained fingertips as a dire quarrel commence between himself and the disturbed Dane who purloined his lover.
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NO HALE
SELDOM INES HAD BELIEVED her strong bond shared with Thomas could mean more, matching up to what she had dreamed of for all too long. However, when she found herself smeared across his chest in a messy situation, with sweat and hay clinging to their bodies, a glimpse of a vision briefly flashed by. A slight smile planted itself on her sore lips when envisioning the two living in a peaceful, cramped apartment just down Small Heath or even Hay Mills. A little girl in a dotted dress running around the house maybe.
For the shortest of moments, this made Ines forget the fact she soon had to let go of Thomas and deal with the fact she might never again see the love of her life. The warmth she felt from Thomas' arms wrapped around her fragile frame wore off, and she positioned herself so she could see his face. He went to kiss her.
"When will you be leaving?" Ines took a moment to pause the kiss and looked up into Thomas' eyes.
He ghosted his lips above Ines', "in three days." Quietly, Ines made a sound of surprise, not expecting it to be that soon. That would be this Sunday. Taking notice of Ines' sudden distant state, Thomas went to pick up her head by the chin. "Will you miss me?"
"Oh–I was thinking of Arthur." Cracking a joke in a dull situation was one thing Thomas knew Ines to do instead of break a tear. Though saddened, he offered a smile and pulled her closer to his naked body. Ines snaked her arm around his shoulder and brushed away some dirt. "I'll miss you more than ever. Hopefully, you all won't be gone for too long. Otherwise, who would Polly yell after, huh?"
Thomas felt quiet and leaned back against the unrefined wood. Just now he realized that even so if he was to overcome the tragedies war would send his way, he might not return with all his brothers; he might not return with any.
"Let's get you home, shall we?" he proposed and patted Ines lightly on the small of her back, urging her to stand.
Getting cleaned up and dressed in their garment, the two exited the horse stall with fingers entwined and bright eyes. Appearing much more joyful to the town than they should look in such an hour, both attempted to focus on everything apart from the war. The papers the newsboy sold for a shilling each did no good as they updated the street on the calamities permeating France. Seemed to Ines despite wanting to believe otherwise, Thomas might not return after all.
However, this was something she later would refuse to come to terms with, for even after the Shelby brothers had left behind Birmingham, Ines spent every night on her knees praying for their safe return.
Not many weeks passed before Polly took notice of Ines' change. Her refractoriness had always been a token of hers so when she showed turned down food and denied all coming close to speaking of the matter, Polly then knew the case was much worse than it appeared to be.
She knew it was Ines' way of coping, so she let her be and thought no more of the stubbornness showed. Withal Polly had no way of accepting the young girls unhealthy, melancholic stance or actual 'wish' so to speak, so when she discovered and even before Ines' own mother, she allowed herself to make sure Ines was eating healthy and not overworking herself as she earlier had as a distraction.
The period of morning sickness and enduring an aching back had become a part of Ines day after carrying for two months. With headaches and sore feet, when waking in the morning she was already looking forward to colliding with her bed again and felt she could barely make it through the typical workday in the boutique–days spent at the tannery especially hard.
Like any caring mother, Mila urged her daughter to be careful and not to tire herself from all the working hours. Though in spite of the poor circumstances, Mila fell ill months later and with Christmas coming close, the zenith of Lenz Leather Ltd. peaked and Ines had no option but to help out her father keeping the business open. By the time Ines' mother had finally passed, Ines had gone into a deep pit of dole as she blamed herself for the dreadful death, and she went into a complicated state, apprehending her from contact with reality.
Unable to attend her mothers funeral as she found it hard to even step out of the bed in the morning, Ines' father's eyes opened for how severe Ines' condition was and he went to beg Polly to administer the boutique so he could dedicate his time to ensure his only daughter was not to suffer the same detestable fate as his wife recently had. If he lost the only thing left in this God-awful world he held dear, he would go out of his mind, he was sure. With the help of a crew of family members, Polly took over as manager of Lenz Leather Ltd. and carried the boutique through a bustling time with much grace and appreciation. The connection between the two families was hard to lay out; the only thing to say was that the bond Thomas and Ines had shared over the longest time had made both parties come when needed. The families were not the kind to dine collectively or celebrate holidays as one, but kind faces meant something in the Birmingham area and that was enough to unite.
Over the duration of a month, the dark pit of depression escalated and it even came to a time were Ines found herself refusing to eat, as she was having a difficult time keeping the food inside. As one could tell, this did no good for the baby she carried in her womb and, though, the fasting phase passed, Ines would not know the damage it had caused until labor.
Just as she thought her heart could not possibly break into more pieces, it completely shattered when she underwent the pain of giving birth only to find a stillborn baby. And to think Ines had just managed to get back on her feet and at least make an attempt to live a somewhat healthy life. Luck was not something that marked the Lenz Family, that was safe to say.
For too long the disasters hit the small family but they learned to cope, though it was no hale lifestyle. Ines' father, Hans, simply hid his grief so the courage he showed might rub off on Ines. He felt the slightest bit of happiness in his dull heart when seeing his daughter with her head high one day, though Ines knew for a fact her father cried himself to sleep every night. The reason behind this unsuspected hope was reading Germany had formally surrendered and an armistice was agreed upon to negotiate terms of peace. This meant if Thomas would ever, this was his time to come home and despite everything, Ines was as stubborn as ever and decided she would finally get to see her long lost lover.
