One Love, One Lifetime

Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime.

Say the word and I will follow you...

All I Ask of You, The Phantom of the Opera

In only two weeks, the chaos surrounding the temporarily successful flower shop on Skid Row had begun to die down. Life on Skid Row seemed to be gradually returning to its old rhythm that would only be interrupted by the occasional reporter or tourist who came to photograph the remains of the Audrey II. The articles telling of the 'tragic misfortune' that had fallen upon the flower shop that had brought Skid Row its temporary fame, which before could be seen in nearly every newspaper across the nation, were now few and far between, dotting only the occasional paper in local areas.

For most, Skid Row's return to its familiar pattern was an unwelcome disappointment, but across the street from the pile of charred rubble that was once Mushnik and Son's Skid Row Florists, Audrey Fulquard looked out the window of her tiny apartment and felt nothing but relief. Just those past two weeks alone had held more terror for Audrey than any other. Though her mind was, due to past experiences, usually able to suppress painful memories well, Audrey still found herself thinking about the- the thing far too often. The events that had taken place in the flower shop haunted not only her dreams, but seemed to follow her everywhere she went. In her head, she could hear the low, demanding voice of the monster, still felt the unforgiving vines snaking around her torso, threatening to snap her in two.

Come join your dentist friend and Mushnik.

She shuddered and let the curtains fall from her hands, covering the undesirable view. Turning her back on the window, Audrey started when she caught sight of Seymour standing in the doorway, watching her with a stricken expression on his face. Seymour knew exactly what she had been thinking about, recognized the look in her eyes, and knew the very thing that had caused her to look so fearful. And it was all his fault. Seeing Audrey so shaken up, Seymour would have, in that moment, done anything to change what had happened, or at the very least, make Audrey forget everything, so that he'd never have to see that look in her eyes again.

"Audrey, I-" The words were caught in his throat, not able to make their way past the lump that had formed there. He dropped his head in his hands, completely overcome with self-loathing.

Audrey, hurrying across the room, wrapped her arms around his waist and shook her head. "I don't blame you, Seymour," she told him gently, "not for a single second." And it was true. She didn't blame him for a thing. Audrey was grateful, if nothing else. Seymour had saved her in more ways than one. Not only had he saved her from the confines of that hideous monster that would have taken her life had it not been for him, Seymour had saved her from the painful, lonely existence that had become her life. Simply by taking her hands in his and saying "I love you," Seymour had opened every locked door and closed window, filling Audrey's life with a happiness and hope that she had never thought she would possess. If only Seymour could see the turn Audrey's life had taken since he had entered it, then maybe he would realize that Audrey had nothing to forgive, because she held nothing against him. She loved him unconditionally. She just had to make him see that.

"But-" Seymour began. Audrey firmly held two fingers to his lips.

Leaning back to look into his eyes, she said, "Seymour, if it hadn't been for everything that's happened- no matta' how bad it all was- we'd still be workin' in that flowa' shop for no pay; I'd still be with Orin-" she winced slightly when she said the name- "terrified of him every second; and, Seymour," she said, more gently, tears coming to her eyes, "I never woulda gotten you. I wouldn't change a thing, as long as it means I get to keep you." She brought her lips to his cheek, lingering there for a few seconds.

Seymour slid his eyes shut and allowed Audrey to comfort him. She always knew exactly what to say. Seymour knew the recent events would lie heavily on his heart for, well, probably forever. He had done things he would never be proud of, but he also knew that had no way of changing what had happened. The only thing that slightly eased the burden was the thought that perhaps he could atone for his mistakes, since he could not erase them altogether. Seymour planned on making his chance at a new life worthwhile, full of good choices and happiness. He realized he could now give Audrey the life she'd always wanted, right down to the tract house in the suburbs, and that was exactly what he planned to do.

With these thoughts on his mind, Seymour brought his eyes to Audrey's and smiled. Audrey, letting her arms wrap loosely around his neck, slowly brought her lips forward to meet his for the softest, briefest of kisses. Pulling away, Audrey looked up at Seymour through her lashes, a serene smile on her face. Seymour's pulse quickened; she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He was pulling her in for another kiss when there was a sharp rap on the door. Seymour sighed heavily, frustrated that the visitor had chosen to knock at such an inopportune moment.

Audrey giggled and gave Seymour a light peck. "I'll go see who it is," she told him. Disentangling herself from Seymour's embrace, she quickly slipped her heels onto her feet and made her way to the front door. Looking through the peep hole, Audrey saw a man standing on her doorstep. He looked oddly familiar, but Audrey couldn't put a name to his face. He was standing confidently, an eager expression on his freshly shaven face. He adjusted his fedora and arranged his features into a winning smile. Audrey's first thought was that he was a salesman, but when her eyes flickered to the pen in his jacket pocket and the notepad in his hand, she let out a quiet groan. Seymour popped his head around the entryway, looking curious. Audrey quickly waved him away. "Go into the bedroom or somethin', Seymour," she told him quietly. "It's another one."

Seymour rolled his eyes. "I thought they'd be done with that by now," he grumbled, fully irritated that his time with Audrey had been interrupted by another reporter. They had come around here after the incident, asking all kind of questions, but it had died down for the last few days, and Seymour had thought that everyone had finally lost interest. Apparently, he had been wrong. He skulked into Audrey's bedroom, firmly shutting the door behind him. Looked like the only thing left to do was wait it out…

After making sure Seymour was out of sight, Audrey opened her door to the reporter. "Afternoon, Miss- Fulquard, isn't it? Audrey Fulquard?" When Audrey nodded he gave her that winning smile and began talking in the smooth, sly voice that all reporters seemed to possess. "Name's Shelton- Matthew Shelton." Oh! Audrey's face lit up with recognition. Shelton- that was the man who had taken Seymour's picture for the paper nearly two months ago, when people were first hearing about the plant. "I'm with the Skid Row Herald Examiner and wanted to ask you a few questions concerning the plant- the Audrey II- and about the recent incident at the shop. You did work there, is that correct?"

Audrey put on her poker face. She could handle these questions; they were easy. Maybe if she answered them quickly, he'd leave her alone. "Yes," she said politely, "for about four years."

Shelton pulled out his pen and quickly began taking notes, nodding as he did so. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. Now then, people have been wondering- since the destruction of the shop, Seymour Krelborn is nowhere to be found. Have you heard anything from him- anything at all? His whereabouts or anything of the sort?"

Audrey's mind momentarily spun in circles. This was the question she hated to answer. "No," she told him, putting a worried expression on her face, "I haven't seen him since the shop was destroyed. He seemed so heartbroken that night. I mean, he'd grown up in that shop. And seeing it all torn apart right in front of him… it hurt him, y'know?" Shelton's hand was moving at an alarming rate, writing down the information, his head bobbing furiously. "But I haven't seen him or talked to him since that night, about two weeks ago." Her voice broke at the end of the sentence. She internally cursed herself, praying that the reporter would simply pass it off as worry about Seymour's whereabouts. She crossed her fingers behind her back, silently hoping that the man wouldn't see through her façade.

Shelton stopped writing, sensing an underlying story in Audrey's voice. He had had suspicions about the entire situation, and her shaky voice had all but proved them to be true. "Are you saying, then, that the man you've known and worked with for four years has made no contact with you after such a tragic event?"

"That's right," Audrey squeaked. Her forehead was beginning to feel clammy.

Shelton shook his head, irritation briefly flickering across his face. Then the winning smile was back, but Audrey thought it looked much more menacing than before. "You see, Miss Fulquard, some things just don't seem to add up here. Something is going on. And I'm going to find out. Seymour Krelborn can't have just disappeared off the face of the earth. People are searching everywhere for this man and to no avail. If you know anything at all, Miss Fulquard, it'd be in your best interest to tell me."

Audrey shook her head rapidly. "I don't know anything," she told him, her green eyes wide and honest. "But please, if ya find out anything at all about him… Please let me know. I've just been so worried…" Audrey's eyes began to fill with tears from the stress of the situation, but she was thankful for them; they made her look that much more believable.

Shelton's eyes narrowed, searching Audrey's face. "I will, miss," he told her slowly as he placed his pen back in his jacket pocket. "But if you find out anything at all, I expect you to return the favor. You have a good day." He slyly tipped his hat before walking down the steps, turning back to scrutinize Audrey once more. Audrey promptly slammed the door, her tears spilling over. In truth, she knew she didn't have a legitimate reason to be crying, but all the stress and fear of the past two months came crashing down on her in that single instant, and she just couldn't stop it.

Hearing the door slam, Seymour rushed out of the room to where Audrey was standing with her head pressed against the door. She was crying, to Seymour's chagrin. He quickly gathered her in his arms. "What happened, Audrey?" he demanded. "What did that reporter say to you?" Anger coursed through him at the thought of anyone making Audrey cry. She looked absolutely helpless.

Hiccupping, Audrey buried her head in the curve of his shoulder. "He just- he thinks somethin's goin' on and he kept askin' me questions about where you were. And I said I didn't know, but I think he knows that I know. And-" she began sobbing again, not able to make the tears stop. She knew that she was worrying Seymour, but the tears kept coming and the sobs were tearing through her body, unable to be silenced.

"That's it. I'm- I'm gonna go after him," Seymour said, releasing Audrey. "I don't know what else he said to you Audrey, but I won't stand for it."

Her eyes widening, Audrey quickly grabbed for his arm, terrified at the thought of a scene. Seymour could easily get hurt. "No, Seymour! No, it's all right. Honest. It wasn't just the reporter. I just-" she took a deep breath, "I just got a little stressed out, and everything just kinda hit me all at once. I'll be okay," she told him, smiling weakly. "Besides, I'm not supposed to know where you are. Rememba?"

From a practical standpoint, Seymour knew that she was right. If he went after the reporter, it would only cause more trouble. His whereabouts would be discovered, and reporters would be camping out on Audrey's doorstep at all hours, trying to get more information. All hopes of spending a quiet life together would be completely ruined.

After the incident, Seymour and Audrey were careful to plan out their entire story in order to make it believable. An electrical failure caused the shop to catch fire, frying the Audrey II and destroying the building. Seymour, since he lived in the shop, had obviously witnessed the event, and Audrey, seeing the flames from her apartment window, had run over to help. Seymour, devastated by seeing the shop ruined, skipped town and hadn't had contact with anyone since. Rather far from the truth, but that's what Audrey had told all of the reporters that had come around asking questions. In reality, Seymour had been living with Audrey from the past two weeks. He had convinced Audrey that it would be best if he disappeared for awhile, until all the hype died down. The last thing he needed was a flock of reporters following him around. He wanted a simple, quiet life for himself and Audrey, and he didn't want his past following him where ever he went.

So he did his best to suppress his anger for the time being and settled for pulling Audrey back into his arms. Wiping the tears from her face, Seymour held her close to him. "I'm sorry, Audrey. This won't last much longer. I promise you that."

"I know, Seymour. I just don't see how…" She buried her face in his chest, sniffling only a little now.

Seymour softly kissed the top of her head. "Just leave it to me." He had promised Audrey that she wouldn't have to deal with any more reporters, that she would have a quiet life like she had always wanted. And he intended to make good on that promise.

That night when they had both gotten in bed, Audrey snuggled up close to Seymour, kissing his cheek. Her crying jag had really worn her out, and she was dead tired, even though it was hardly past ten. She could already feel herself slipping into sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. "Goodnight, Seymour."

"'Night, Audrey," he said, holding her close. "Hey, Audrey?" he asked, gently nudging her.

"Hmmmm?" she said, her eyes still closed.

"I was just thinkin' that maybe tomorrow we could just go for a drive, y'know, to get outta here for awhile. It'll do you some good," he told her, subconsciously holding his breath. She had to say yes…

Audrey opened her eyes and smiled. "I think that's a great idea," she told him, and Seymour smiled, relived. Audrey's mouth opened in a yawn and Seymour chuckled. "G'night, Seymour. I love you."

"I love you too, Audrey," Seymour said, pulling her closer to him. Not tired in the least, Seymour was content to hold her in his arms while his mind raced with possibilities about what tomorrow would hold.