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Finding the bathhouseon Montague Street was not an easy task for Florence.
Though she felt settled into Birmingham, there were still many parts of the city that she had yet to discover. The bathhouse was one of those things. Because Florence and Grace had a bathroom in their flat, she never bothered to visit one. She remembered the days when William would go, he worked in manual labor somewhat far from the Olsen home before he went off to war. He used to talk to Florence about how strange the concept of a bathhouse was, and that she should avoid them if possible. William wasn't afraid to use them, but he was aware of the risk and didn't want Florence to wind up with any diseases... or worse.
When Florence approached the women's bathhouse on Montague Street, she took a deep breath. She felt her nerves growing by the minute. She had never met Ada Shelby, and given Thomas's fear of finding and delivering this invitation to her himself, she wasn't exactly excited to come face-to-face with her.
She walked into the bathhouse and was immediately greeted by an older woman, who gave her a verbal guide of where the showers and baths were located throughout the building. The bathhouse was large, so Florence was unsure of where to start. She quietly looked through the halls, keeping her eye out for the short brunette-haired woman. The idea of asking the women around her came to mind, but she knew that Ada probably wasn't giving out her real name to anybody.
Florence turned the corner into a room where women could change in and out of their clothing. She was greeted by the sight of a few naked women, while others were re-dressing or in the process of un-dressing. But in the corner of the room she spotted Ada, seated in a chair putting on her shoes. She was preparing to leave the bathhouse, meaning Florence had found her just in time.
Taking a deep breath and working up the courage to approach her, Florence began to walk towards the girl. She looked kind and harmless, but Florence knew that it was a deceit. She was a Shelby after all, she probably had just as much fight as her brother. Upon staring at her further, she noticed that Ada was pregnant. A large baby bump showed through her dress.
"Excuse me," Florence spoke out once she was standing right in front of Ada. She kept her voice low so that the other women couldn't hear. "Ada Shelby?"
Ada looked up at her, furrowing her brows. "Yes?" She was clearly startled by the woman knowing her name.
Florence quickly debated what to say next. "My name is Florence, I was sent to deliver something to you. It's from Thomas."
As Florence pulled the letter out of her coat pocket, the Shelby girl's eyes narrowed. Ada straightened her posture in the chair and didn't take the paper from Florence's hands.
"I recognize you from The Garrison." Ada spoke shortly. "You ought to stay away from Tommy. Doing his dirty work won't get you far."
Florence pursed her lips, lowering her hand holding the letter. "I suppose it's a bit late for that."
Ada scoffed, shaking her head. "He's got a way with women." She uttered sarcastically. "What is it, then?"
She gestured to the letter. Florence shrugged her shoulders as she attempted to hand it to Ada again.
"An invitation to a family gathering." Florence explained.
Ada inhaled a deep breath as she met eyes with Florence again. Then, she rose from the chair and grabbed her coat.
"You can tell my brother I don't want his invitation." Ada stated sharply. It made Florence want to know what exactly was going on in the Shelby family.
She brushed past Florence and began to leave the room. Florence followed, trying to think of something to say that would make Ada at least take the invitation. She didn't want to return to The Garrison with the invitation still in her pocket. It was her first job, and she did not want to mess it up.
"Ada." Florence raised her voice.
The girl stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to look at Florence again, the soft expression on her face starting to change. Florence felt her body slightly tense up, fearing the words that were about to come out of Ada's mouth. But she didn't come back with malice, her stature remained calm. She was giving Florence the opportunity to continue speaking.
"Thomas said there would be a truce..." Florence gulped. The confidence she tried her best to display had faded. "I don't know what that means, but I'm sure it means something to you."
Ada seemed to relax. She stepped towards the woman hesitantly and held out her hand. Florence placed the letter in her palm.
"I'll consider it." Ada said.
Florence felt the corners of her lips curl into a soft grin. Though Ada didn't say she would be attending the gathering, she had the letter now, and that was all that needed to be done on Florence's end.
The two women ended up walking out of the bathhouse together since neither of them had any reason to stay. They were quiet, but Florence felt more relaxed in Ada's presence.
"Congratulations," Florence spoke softly.
Ada gave her a puzzled look only for a short moment before she realized what Florence was referring to. "Oh, thank you."
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Florence asked. She knew that Ada most likely didn't know, but she wanted to continue the conversation.
Ada couldn't hide the smile forming on her lips. "I don't know... I'll find out any day now."
Florence returned the girl's smile. She always wanted to have children of her own, despite the fears she had. Pregnancy was a scary thing, but her determination and love for her future children overpowered that. Her mother always told Florence was going to make a wonderful mother, and she hoped it would be true. But having children wasn't Florence's only dream: She wanted a good man to have them with as well.
When they stepped out into the cool Birmingham air, she felt Ada grab her arm.
"Florence," She began.
The woman turned to fully face her, narrowing her eyebrows as she waited to hear what Ada had to say. "Yes?"
Ada's lips formed into a frown as she looked straight into Florence's eyes.
