The Barkers had invited them over for tea. On Friday, Albert said. Nellie Lovett tried to conceal her excitement. After having been his landlady for two years, she would finally get to know Benjamin Barker better. She rarely saw him more than once a month, when he visited them briefly to pay the monthly rent. But that was more than enough for Mrs. Lovett.
Albert had announced to her that he had found a couple to whom he would rent out the room they had over their shop. But it wasn't until the first day they moved in that she saw him.
She had had such a quiet life with her husband, her good Albert. Did she love him? No, not really. Their marriage was simply the result of successful matchmaking. She was twenty-four when she married him, and he was fourty-six. He felt like more of a father to her than a husband.
He was a kind, peaceable man, and he was able to provide her with an adequate quality of life. They weren't wealthy, but they weren't poor either. Their meat pie shop was doing quite well. Albert had taught her all the secrets to processing the meat, and she was a good student. She would help him prepare the minced beef or pork and then she would knead the dough and turn it into pies with admirable skill.
Her life wasn't particularly fascinating. Oh, how she had wished for a child! That would have made her monotonous existence a tad brighter. At twenty-six, she got pregnant. Her joy was beyond words. She spent her days knitting woolen baby clothes and dreaming of her little boy or girl. But her happiness didn't last. One day, as she was going up the stairs from the oven, carrying a pile of meat pies, she slipped. Her head hit the wall and she rolled down the stairs, landing forcefully on the floor. A while later, Albert found her, unconscious, lying in a pool of blood.
Nellie Lovett lost her baby and, along with it, her will for life. For about a year, she would spend her days doing nothing but mourning. She gave up on everything; the house, the shop, even her husband. Albert was patient and understanding and he never pushed her. He would go along with all of her whims and he would try to make her smile, for he so loved that smile of hers. Because he loved her, with a kind, noble love, just like his nature.
It was on one of those dark days that Benjamin Barker invaded her gloomy world and turned it upside down. He and his wife were moving into the apartment over the shop - she had known that for a while. But she was never interested in learning more - that was all Albert's business and she didn't feel like meddling with it.
However, that morning, she happened to glance at the window. And then she saw him. A tall, muscular young man carrying a heavy armchair. His raven hair, neatly combed, created a stark contrast against his light colored skin. His eyes were pitch black, like the deepest abyss. She traced his structured jawline with her gaze and observed his beautiful cheekbones.
At that moment, he noticed her face behind the window. He smiled at her momentarily - or so she thought - before he returned to his work. And Mrs. Lovett felt her heart beating faster. She was alive again.
It didn't take her long to regain herself. She turned back into the storm that she had once been. Albert was happy to see her sudden change, and he was naïve enough to not question it. She now lived for the brief moments that she would get to be in the same room with him. She dreamed of him day and night. She went to bed next to her husband and fantasized she would wake up next to Benjamin. For months now, she couldn't take him off her mind. She breathed only for him, and he was the only thing that added some meaning to her otherwise miserable life.
But, of course, there was Lucy. Perhaps she didn't care to admit it, but Mrs. Lovett knew that Benjamin loved his wife truly and deeply. "Lucy and I…" he would say, and his eyes, those beautiful black eyes, would light up at the uttering of her name. Oh, if only Nellie Lovett could be a bit like Lucy Barker! But no, she didn't have her tall, slim figure. She didn't have her lustrous gold locks. She didn't have her emerald eyes. Mrs. Lovett knew very well that she would never be Lucy - and it hurt.
It wasn't very long ago that Benjamin had come downstairs to ask her for help.
"Good day, Mrs. Lovett" he said reluctantly.
She thought it was rather unsuitable that he would call her that. Perhaps he could call her Nellie. She was younger than him after all, a couple of years at least - she at twenty-seven and he in his early thirties. But she let the thought go and smiled politely, trying to conceal the acceleration of her heartbeat.
"How can I help you, Mr. Barker?"
"I was wondering if you could do me a favour" he said. He explained to her that he had a couple of towels that needed to be washed, and his wife couldn't do it because she wasn't feeling well. He would do it himself, he said, but he was expecting some customers any moment now, and he needed them right away. Could she do the washing for him instead?
Benjamin Barker was a barber - and a very talented one. He had many regular customers who preferred him for his swift, skillful, smooth shaves. Mrs. Lovett didn't give it a second thought.
"Bring your towels, Mr. Barker. I'll wash them for you" she offered as she looked at him with admiration.
He smiled widely and shook her hand.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lovett! I'll make sure to return the favour!" he promised.
His touch was warm and pleasant and she smiled back at him. He went up the stairs quickly and he soon returned with three white towels. He gently lay them in her arms and granted her another precious smile.
Apparently, he didn't forget his promise, because a few days later he invited Mr. and Mrs. Lovett to his apartment for tea. Somehow, she expected it. She chose the best one of her few formal dresses - a beautiful one, dark green, with black ribbons decorating it and an elegant black lace embroidered across the bodice.
The day had come. Nellie Lovett put on her dress and admired herself in the mirror. She then removed the pins from her head and let her hair fall to its full length. It was a mane, really - rusty red and very curly. She thought about what she should do with it. Oh, why couldn't she have soft, straight, blond hair like Lucy? She combed it thoroughly and then grabbed a black ribbon, similar to the ones sewed on her dress. She brought her ginger mane up and held it together on top of her head. Masterfully, she wrapped the ribbon around it and tied it into a bow. It gave her a bit of a royal touch, she thought. Too bad that she didn't have any jewellery to go with it.
As she was going up the stairs, she barely noticed the presence of her husband, who was limping right beside her. As they pushed the door of the barber shop, the little bell on top rang, informing Mr. Barker that his visitors had arrived.
He greeted them warmly and led them to the table. A steaming pot of tea was waiting for them, along with four sets of cups, plates and teaspoons. A platter with biscuits and a small bowl with sugar cubes were placed next to the pot. Nellie Lovett smiled at the thought of sitting by him, sipping hot tea and talking.
It was then that his wife appeared. And Mrs. Lovett could now clearly see the reason why Lucy Barker hadn't been feeling well those few days ago. Judging from the distinct bump under her pastel pink dress, she was about four or five months pregnant. A wave of rage drowned Mrs. Lovett as she remembered her own unborn baby, lost so unfairly only about a year prior. She ground her teeth as she coldly shook Lucy's hand.
Moments later, they were all sitting around the table. Albert was making eager attempts to light up the conversation. When the topic of Lucy's pregnancy came up, Nellie Lovett decided to change it.
"Let me serve you" she offered. She took the heavy pot in her hands and held it carefully.
But they kept talking, about when Lucy was due, about knitting baby clothes, about children… And he was so happy, his eyes never leaving his wife, his pretty little thing… He looked at her like she was the most precious treasure in the world. Mrs. Lovett bit her lip until it bled. She was watching him with adoration, but also with desperation - for she knew he would never look at her that way.
Suddenly, she saw him grimacing. A scream woke her from her daydreaming. It took her a moment to realize what was happening; she had absent-mindedly been pouring tea in his cup for much longer than necessary. The steaming hot liquid overflowed and then quickly made its way to Benjamin Barker's lap. Unexpectedly burnt, he jumped up and let out a muffled scream.
She left the teapot on the table and looked at him with horror in her eyes.
"Mr. Barker, I'm so sorry sir" she managed to utter.
He forced himself to smile.
"It's alright" he said. "Don't worry about it."
But Nellie Lovett wasn't listening. She hid her face in her hands and then ran out of the door and back to her house. Tears were streaming down her face. Oh God, why couldn't she do anything right?
Benjamin smiled awkwardly as Lucy was trying to clean him up from the spilled tea. Albert promised to go downstairs to calm his wife and bring her back.
When he arrived, he found her locked in the bathroom. She had made that a habit after her miscarriage, locking herself in there, pretending to hide away from the world.
"Open the door, my girl" he whispered as he tapped on it.
He heard her sobbing quietly. It was getting harder and harder for him to understand her; he couldn't tell when she was happy, when she was sad or why her mood shifted so unpredictably.
He heard the key in the lock and realized she had unlocked the door. He swung it open and found her lying curled up in the empty bathtub.
"Oh Nellie" he whispered as he approached her. He slipped his arms underneath her and lifted her in the air, despite the chronic pain stinging in his leg. He kissed her softly on the forehead, in a tender, fatherly way and carried her to the bedroom.
"Tis alright, darling, it don't matter. Mr. Barker ain't mad. Don't worry" he tried to comfort her.
She turned to the side, away from him.
"Alright then. I'll go upstairs and tell 'em we'll go for tea some other time" he proclaimed.
She nodded.
"Nellie… Is it her? Lucy Barker?" he whispered.
"What?"
He lay his hand on her stomach and fondled it gently.
"Lucy is with child. Is that why you're like this?"
She didn't reply.
"We'll try again love, alright?"
She buried her face in the pillow.
"I'll go upstairs now" he said as he planted another kiss on her head and he left the room quietly.
"Oh Albert" she whispered after he closed the door behind him, "You're too good to me."