Pie Shop
Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd or any characters from it.
Notes: I edited this chapter a bit in April. Sorry it's been so long. New chapter coming very soon, I promise!
Part 1: The Barber
Chapter 1
On Fleet Street, there once stood a "Miss Tuffel's" pie shop, which was only open one day a week, but it would always fill up and sell out on that one day. It was not the most beautiful pie shop, but word was that Miss Tuffel made the best meat pies in London.
The small bell clanged lightly as the door opened, causing the young, red haired woman to look up from her counter. Her face and hands were covered in flour.
"A customer!" she exclaimed. She wiped her hands on her apron, which was also covered with flour, and she went to take the gentleman's coat and hat.
He looked around the pie shop as the girl hung his coat, which now had two white handprints on it, on the coat rack. He was not overly impressed. He stroked his chin and looked at the girl. "Are you Miss Tuffel?" he asked.
"That's me," she said, pulling out a chair. "Have a seat. I will go and get you a nice hot meat pie, fresh from the oven. Would you like some ale, sir?"
He sat down in the chair. "Oh, yes, please."
She nodded and went through a curtain back into what he assumed to be the kitchen. When she emerged, she held in one hand a plate with a small pie on it, from which steam was rising, and in the other hand a small mug of ale.
"My friend told me that you made perhaps the greatest meat pies in all the world," the man said, stabbing the pie with his fork and cutting a slice with his knife. "We shall now see, won't we?"
"So we shall," said the girl, leaning on the counter, watching him with slight annoyance.
He brought his fork up to his mouth, wrapped his lips around the pie and pulled it off, chewing and tasting. He swallowed and exclaimed, "This pie is heavenly! Marvelous!"
Miss Tuffel smiled. "That's awful kind of you, sir." Any annoyance she felt towards this man was lifted by his flattering remark.
The bell rang again and a young couple with a young boy walked in.
"If you'll excuse me, sir, the lunch rush is coming in." The man ignored her and continued to scarf down the pie.
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Several hours later, the young Miss Tuffel put the closed sign up in her window and retired into one of the chairs, laying her head back and closing her eyes, exhausted after the dinner rush. "Nellie!" a rough male voice shouted from upstairs.
"Coming, father!" she shouted back, hurrying up the stairs. She opened the door to her father's room and stepped inside.
"You closed for the day?" Mr. Tuffel asked from his bed.
"Yes, sir. Sold out, I did."
"Make a lot of money then?"
"One quid, sixteen-pence, sir."
"Is that all!?" he yelled, and started coughing.
He was an incredibly sick man and Nellie was trusted to make the money with her meat pies. Her mother had died of disease, and her father had seemed to lose all will to live. If she didn't know better, she would say he was dying of a broken heart.
"People around Fleet Street can't afford to pay much for a meat pie, dad! I had to lower me prices. I wasn't getting hardly any customers at all for weeks! Now that people can actually afford them they come rushin' in!"
"But we can't afford it, Nellie! I'm sick in bed and need medicine, and with the price of meat, that two quid will be barely enough to buy enough ingredients for pies for next week!"
"I suppose that I could up the price a penny or two…" Nellie said quietly.
"So do it!" her frail father snapped. "We need money."
"Yes, sir." Nellie left the room and walked downstairs, grabbing the broom resting on the wall and started sweeping up. She opened the door and started sweeping all the dirt dragged in by her customers out into the street.
She looked up, about to step back inside when something across the street caught her eye. A young man with dark hair was looking into the window of an empty building. He stepped back and turned around and waved for her to come to him.
'Me?' she thought. She was instantly overwhelmed. The man was beautiful. So tall, so handsome. How she would have loved to be held in his arms. She stepped out of the shop and started to make her way to him when someone bumped into her and she fell down face first, just barely catching herself and saving her face from a cruel fate.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said a gentle voice. Nellie looked up to see a woman with long, yellow hair reaching a hand out to help her up. She accepted the help and was soon on her feet again. Nellie could tell the woman was with child.
"Thank you," she said. She would have been madder had the handsome man not been waiting for her. She turned back and started to cross the street, and saw the yellow haired woman run past her to the man also. She put an arm around him and he put one around her. He pointed to the shop and exclaimed something happily.
But Nellie couldn't hear. Her hopes had just been dashed. Torn to pieces and stepped upon. She turned back and entered the shop once more, slamming the door shut behind her.
The bell clanged loudly.
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