Luisa and Joan
Hello my fellow fanfic writers, I'm just a simple noob here. I hope I can make you proud with my future stories though and maybe even make some friends if I'm lucky enough. This is my first story (obviously). Basically Sweeney meets a woman who's just like Lucy only better, which upon finding all of this out makes for a jealous Nellie Lovett. I don't know exactly where I'm heading with this, but hopefully I can do it well. Oh and, reviews will get a thank you. Don't make me beg.
Sweeney Todd paced in his tonsorial parlor thinking of one of the most recent victories of his life, the murders of the late Beadle Bamford and Judge Turpin. Shortly after killing the judge and finding a young 'man' hiding in the chest that at one point contained the late Adolfo Pirelli, he had heard the feminine scream that could only belong to his landlady and partner in crime, Mrs. Nellie Lovett. He had turned to the young 'man' and had told 'him' to forget his face. Soon after the barber found himself in the baker's bake house, he seemed to have surprised the baker who was hurriedly throwing the body of one of his victims into the oven before he noticed it. For the baker knew that after hearing her he would rush down to check out the cause of the shrill scream, and she did not want him to catch sight of the person whose life he'd recently brought to an end, for it would surely lead to the end of hers as well. With the help of the baker he had heaved the bodies of the Judge and Beadle into the fiery oven. He now watched from his window as the baker bustled from table to table, taking orders and handing out pies and ale in every direction. He couldn't help but laugh at the bakers misfortune when a rambunctious child rain into her as he ran in the outside section of her shop, making the pie she was holding fly into the air only to land on her head, making the contents of the pie land in her hair. The restaurant came to a hush and a woman whom Sweeney could only assume to be the now embarrassed mother quickly grabbed her son, scolding him as she dragged him back to his seat. Mrs. Lovett let out a small giggle and quickly ran inside to fix her hair the best that she could, leaving Toby to take care of the customers that were left.
As he watched Mrs. Lovett make her way into the shop Sweeney couldn't help but notice two people. Waiting to be seated by the boy were a yellow haired woman and a yellow haired young girl who looked to be around 9. Seeing these two females he thought of only two people, his beautiful Lucy and his little Johanna. Suddenly he wanted to be downstairs, but it wasn't the lack of order due to the bakers disappearance that made he want to do so. Oh no, it was the two blonde girls, he wanted to talk to this woman who just by looking at her yellow hair reminded him of his lost love. He quietly made his way down the stairs and snuck over to the girls without being noticed by Toby or many other people for that matter. "Hello, I can sit you if you'd like." The woman and her daughter smiled at Sweeney and he led them over to a table.
The woman smiled at Sweeney as she sat down, allowing him to get a good look at her eyes, a beautiful shade of blue, just like his Lucy's. And her skin, perfect and healthy looking just as his Lucy's had always been, and her daughter looked just like he imagined his Johanna looked at such a young age. He smiled down at the woman as soon as she sat down. "So, do you enjoy working with your son and wife?"
Sweeney looked at her strangely and then shook his head slightly. "No, Mrs. Lovett and I simply work together. The boy's her adopted son, but neither of them are even remotely a part of my family." He said my in such a way to express the distaste of comparing 'those two' to his perfect wife and child.
The woman nodded "so you're the barber up there then?" Sweeney simply nodded "Mr. Sweeney Todd, it's nice to meet you…"
"Luisa, it's very nice to meet you Mr. Todd. And this is my nine year old daughter Joan." Sweeney looked away from the woman slowly, deep in his memories. ", are you alright sir?"
Sweeney snapped back to reality quickly. "Yes, I was just thinking of my family. My wife Lucy had an unfortunate experience and well, she took her life. And my daughter Johanna was taken from me before I got to see her grow up. I spent fifteen years in prison for a crime I didn't even commit, and came home to no family at all." Luisa frowned and her eyes showed a clear sense of sadness for him. "I don't know why I'm telling you this; I never talk to anyone like this anymore. You just remind me of her. She had yellow hair like you, blue eyes, even her skin looked the same. And I can only imagine that my daughter looked the same as yours at that age. I miss them so much."
Luisa put a hand on the barber's shoulder. He gave a slight twitch but didn't push her away immediately. "I understand what you're going through , me 'usband died of pneumonia when Jane was only 2 years old. It's been a bit hard fer both of us, 'er without a father to protect 'er and me without 'that someone' to love anymore."
Sweeney sighed and shook his head. "Many times I really don't think I could ever fall in love again. I've never met anyone as beautiful or perfect as my Lucy."
Luisa moved over to allow him some space to sit next to her. He sat down and she frowned at him slightly. "If you ask me Mr. Todd that seems rather selfish of you. You don't want yerself or some lucky new woman to be happy, just because she's not as good looking or as sweet as yer late wife? No one is perfect Sweeney Todd, and while you may not believe it, not even yer wife could've been perfect."
At first Sweeney glared at the woman, but as he watched her nod slowly he knew she was right. "Well she did have an awful snore; she made it hard to sleep at times. Plus she laughed at everything, and I mean everything. She even laughed at things that were meant to be very serious; her laugh even got on my nerves a bit. It wasn't really sweet sounding like I thought a woman's laugh ought to be, it always sounded fake and forced." He thought about his wife again, but this time he thought of her faults instead of her good points.
Luisa laughed lightly and Sweeney's lips twitched upwards slightly, Luisa truly had a woman's laugh. "Forgive me for being so quick, but I know for a fact that I do not snore. And I do agree that it can be a rather distracting problem. And as I can only guess, I seem to laugh the laugh of a true woman. So I was just curious, would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night?"
Sweeney froze suddenly, just staring at the woman who had subtly asked him on what clearly sounded like a date. He cleared his throat quietly and blinked his eyes in unbelief a few times. "Um, well… *Clearing throat.* I don't, know if that's… *Blinks eyes.*
Luisa giggled quietly and Sweeney raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "'S okay Mr. Todd, no reason to stop speaking complete sentences. I'm only asking for one, is there something wrong with that?
Sweeney smiled and shook his head. "No, not at all. In fact you seem like a very sweet, caring and quite amusing woman."
Luisa nodded and smiled in agreement. "Well, all of me friends used to say that I was the funny one in the group. And let me guess, you were the awkwardly shy one?"
Sweeney frowned and looked away from the woman. "I used to be when I had my wife and daughter with me, even before then. All of those years in prison though, they changed me. Now my loneliness is more of a preference than a shyness.
Luisa smiled and put a consoling hand on the barber's knee. As if that was the only thing that needed to happen in order for Sweeney Todd to break out of the stone faced remorseful look, he suddenly looked at her as if he was about to cry. "Don't be upset Mr. Todd, you'll get over this, believe me. There was a time when I never thought I'd love again either, after me 'usband died, happiness seemed nearly impossible. Then one day I just decided that I wasn' doing anyone any good by feeling sorry fer meself. Nothing was bringin' me love back and nothing ever could, so I just straightened up and started over. Maybe that's just what you need to do."
Sweeney smiled at the woman and nodded. She was right; he did need to accept the ending that Lucy had faced at some point. And if not now, then when? He decided to take Luisa up on the offer she had given him not too long ago and as they continued talking until Luisa and her daughter had to leave he continued to realize something. This woman was so much like his Lucy in more ways than just how she looked, Lucy's whole sweet and beautiful personality were in this woman. Plus, she didn't seem to have any of the flaws that Lucy had, which made what Luisa said earlier untrue. There was such thing as perfect and that was just what Luisa was, PERFECT.