Veni Scripsi Vici
VERSION: 2001 Concert
TIME: Sometime after God, That's Good!
CHARACTERS: Mrs. Lovett and Toby.
NOTES: Buon giorno! Good day! I blow you a kiss! (smooch) This is, in all probability, the angstiest thing I've ever written, with La Vie Boheme coming in second. I hope this isn't too angsty. This piece is based on the 2001 concert. Patti LuPone played Mrs. Lovett and Toby was played by (Squee!) Neil Patrick Harris. (Yes, I know Neil is gay. I can Squee over him if I so choose.) Toby is supposed to be about fifteen in the show, for those of you who've only seen the movie. Reviewers get roses if they want them! (How roses pertain to Sweeney Todd, I don't know. Deal with it.) Please review! Enjoy!
Letting Go
Tobias plops down onto the sofa with an exhausted sigh. "Coo, Mum, 'ow'd you manage without me?" he calls into the other room. "Even with two of us, I was fit to drop an hour ago."
"I don't know, Dearie." Mrs. Lovett enters the room and sinks down next to him, heaving a sigh of relief. "When me dear Albert was alive, 'e'd always 'elp. Until 'is leg gave out, poor thing." She glances up to the photograph on the wall of her and Albert on their wedding day. It saddens her, even now, after seventeen years of being alone. She smiles when she feels the boy lay his head on her shoulder.
"You must really miss 'im," he mumbles softly.
"What's that, Dearie?" She tears her eyes away from the photograph and looks down, staring at nothing.
"You must really miss 'im."
She sighs. "That I do, Love."
"I know 'ow you feel, losing someone what's close to you."
"Darlin'," she whispers, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. He leans against her, his head resting just below her collarbone.
"Me mum an' dad an' me little brother died from cholera when I was seven. I still miss 'em sometimes." His voice breaks a little.
She doesn't know what to say, so she just holds him close, stroking his soft blond hair.
After a few minutes of silence, he speaks, some of the strength returning to his voice. "You want to see 'em, Mum?"
"What?" She lets go of him as he stands up and leaves the room.
"Be back in a minute, Mum!" He comes back with a small framed photograph in his hand. "I keep this with me ev'rywhere I go. 'Ere," he says, sitting down close to her. He points to each of the people in the photograph. "That's me mum." An attractive woman sits in a chair in the middle, holding a baby. "Me dad and me brother, Carlisle." A man stands to the woman's right, holding a small boy in one arm. His other hand rests on the woman's shoulder. Toby gives an embarrassed little laugh. "That's me. I was five." The oldest of the three children, another boy, stands to the woman's left, holding on to the back of the chair. He seems fascinated by the camera.
Mrs. Lovett giggles and taps his nose. "And you're not a bit less charming now, Dear." He laughs quietly and blushes. " 'Oo's that?" She points to the baby in the woman's arms.
The smile leaves his lips. "That's me sister. Emily," he whispers. She can see tears in his eyes.
She puts an arm around him. He rests his head on her shoulder again. "Oh, Love. Is she gone, too?"
"No, mum, but I miss 'er all the same."
She takes his hand in hers, rubbing his palm with her thumb. "What do you mean, Love?"
He sniffs and wipes the tears away on his sleeve. "After Mum an' Dad an' Carlisle died, we was taken to an orphanage. It was an awful place. Emily was scared of everythin' there. We was there for 'bout five an' a half years. Then I found out that when they thought Emily was old enough to be all right by 'erself in the orphanage, they was going to take me to go work in a factory. I didn't want to go there, so I ran away." He starts to cry again. "I thought that I could go get a job an' earn some money, then come back for 'er when I was old enough to take care of 'er. I thought that when people was tryin' to adopt 'er, they'd believe 'er when she told 'em 'bout me comin' back someday!" He doesn't bother to wipe away the tears anymore. They trickle in a steady stream down his flushed face. "They prob'ly think I don't exist an' she's crazy! She prob'ly thinks I'm dead, or never comin' back for 'er…" He's crying very hard now. Through his tears, he whispers, "It was a stupid thing to do. I was so stupid!" He breaks down completely and buries his head in her shoulder, sobbing.
She holds him tightly, rocking him back and forth. "There, there, Love," she murmurs in his ear. Her eyes are filling with tears as well.
She lets him cry as long as he needs to. Just like Albert, she thinks. When she was in near hysterics over suffering the loss of her baby, Albert just held her close and let her cry… Her eyes drift toward the photograph on the wall. No. She stares downward again. This is for the boy. The weeping ceases after a while and he calms down, sniffing and trying to catch his breath. She wonders if he needs to sit up. Her hold on him loosens, but tightens just as quickly when he whimpers and tenses up. He relaxes again when her arms are around him, and speaks softly, "I ended up in the work'ouse a while after I left." He shivers. "Dreadful place. I was there for a long time, an' then I couldn't take it anymore. I was beggin' on the streets for a while an' then Pirelli found me. I thought 'e'd be a decent man. 'E wasn't." His voice breaks again. "You saw. 'E 'urt me an' almost never paid me an' made me lie an' cheat all those people… I'm glad you found me, Mum," he adds after a little pause.
She strokes his hair again. "I am, too, Love."
"I 'aven't seen 'er in more 'n two years. I don't know if she's still there or…" He sighs. "I don't know. Once, I asked Pirelli if 'e'd 'elp me find 'er…" His voice becomes quieter. "…an' 'e ignored me. Just plain ignored me, like 'e didn't care at all."
"You poor dear…" She rests her head on his. "I'll 'elp you find 'er, love."
He sits up, still staying close to her. "You will?" A wide smile lights up his face, which is still flushed from crying. "You will, Mum?" He grasps her hand.
"Of course I will, Love." She smiles and pats his cheek. It is still wet.
"Oh, thank you, Mum! Thank you!" He throws himself into her arms, laughing and embracing her. Before long, his mirth is interrupted by a yawn. He leans against her, his eyes closed, his head on her chest. He yawns again, then mumbles, "We'll go an' find 'er an' then we'll go live by the sea, just like you've always wanted, won't we?"
She pats his forehead lovingly. "Of course, Dear." She cradles him close once again, rocking him gently until he falls asleep, a contented smile on his now-peaceful face.
She sits there, the boy sleeping soundly in her arms, and thinks. Yes. Once this whole business with the judge is over, we'll go and find Emily and we can all live together – me, Toby and his little sister, Mr. T, and Johanna – somewhere by the sea, where it's nice and beautiful and serene… Her eyes stray to the photograph on the wall and then to the one enclosed in the boy's hand. It's been seventeen years, she thinks. It's time to let go.