Ice
"The Thames is frozen."
Mr. Todd was only vaguely aware of the baker's voice and preferred to keep an eye on the people walking in the now snowy white Fleet Street.
"Toby and I are going to ice skate."
Sweeney hardly heard what his landlady was saying, focusing instead on the man heading for the stairs to his tonsorial parlor.
"I'd really like you to join us."
He hadn't reacted, only noticing that the auburn haired woman was gone when the man he had been watching didn't come to his tonsorial parlor after all.
Sweeney shook his head, wondering when Mrs. Lovett had spoken to him and whether she had done so after all, becoming slowly aware again of his actual surroundings.
To his bewilderment, there was a pair of ice skates on his barber chair, as if it was only normal to place such items at that particular location.
Even from his position near the window, he could see that the ice skates were brand new and for a moment he wondered why on earth Mrs. Lovett had bothered to buy them for him – both of them knew that he wasn't going to use them anyway.
After staring at the bizarre sight for a moment, he removed the pair of ice skates from the chair and placed them in a corner of his room where customers wouldn't be able to see them. It was not that he had had any customer that day yet or that it was likely that he would get any due to the wintry weather, but one could always hope that there were at least some men who hadn't given up their usual routine in favor of enjoying the snow and ice that made it impossible for them to do their actual work.
After an hour had passed, his tonsorial parlor was still as empty and clean as it had been all day, and instead of looking at the people in the street, he found himself casting glances at the partly hidden ice skates more and more frequently.
Sweeney didn't know why Mrs. Lovett had thought that he would join her, but as time passed the idea didn't seemed so strange anymore. Going out to skate on the ice, even though Mrs. Lovett and Toby would be there too - just like a whole lot of other people – suddenly seemed in fact rather appealing.
Admitting to himself at last that no one was going to come to his barber shop anyway, the barber took his coat and, as in an afterthought, grabbed the ice skates when he headed outside.
Half an hour later, Sweeney arrived at the riverside. There were a lot of people, just like he had feared, enjoying a rare late afternoon of relaxation. Mrs. Lovett however was easy to be found among the crowd. He could recognize the flash of auburn hair anywhere and her cheerful voice could be heard even from his relatively distant position.
In spite of himself, the barber couldn't suppress the feeling of amusement that rose within him as he saw the baker attempting to teach the young boy to remain standing on the ice with the skates beneath his feet for longer than a few seconds.
He was overwhelmbed by the desire to stand there with his own wife and child instead of those individuals, who were now the closest thing to a family that he had, but he fought to ignore the feeling. Wishful thinking didn't change anything, except for making things worse. It was a lesson that he had learned the hard way during the past years.
As he watched the people entertaining themselves on the ice, he was somewhat reminded of a similar moment that had taken place long ago. The memory was too vague to be recognizable, but it filled him with peacefulness nonetheless.
Trying to recall the pleasant memory, the barber became more and more aware of the ice skates that he was still holding.
After suppressing the urge for several minutes, Sweeney shook his head and sighed, surrendering at last.
It was just ridiculous, but even he knew that there would be no harm in it. Promising himself that he would go on the ice for just a few minutes and that he would stay away from the other people and especially Mrs. Lovett as much as he could, he moved onto the ice and bound the skates beneath his feet.
The first slides on the frozen water were much more difficult than he had thought, but Mr. Todd was a very determined man. He forced himself to move forward, even as he struggled not to fall.
He was gradually getting the hang of it again. It was actually rather enjoyable to move over the ice, the wind blowing in his hair and plenty of fresh air around him to breathe in. It was completely unlike anything he had known for a long time and it was a relief to experience the current solitary and quietness. There was also the strange pleasantness of the innocent activity, of the way his body moved even as his mind wandered. He was very grateful now that Mrs. Lovett had given him the ice skates and he reminded himself to thank her once both of them were home again.
It became easier to move on the ice as time passed and his body re-learned the movements it hadn't needed for more than fifteen years. The cruel world that lay beyond the frozen water faded to the background.
As he moved further away from the other people, a strange and no longer familiar feeling of joy overwhelmed him. For a reason that wasn't clear to him, it suddenly seemed like a very good thing to close his eyes and spread his arms, as if he could reclaim some of the freedom he had lost that way.
It almost felt like he was flying and after a moment, the memory that he had somewhat recalled earlier returned with full clarity.
Mr. Todd had forgotten how much he liked to ice skate in the old days, but Mrs. Lovett hadn't. In fact, it didn't seem so strange now at all that she had asked him to join her here; there had been a time that they used to skate together but only now that he had returned to this place he could recall it.
Long lost feelings of security and friendship returned and even though it was the baker who had caused those feelings in the past instead of his actual family, he eagerly embraced the memory, trying to remember as much of those past moments as he possibly could.
The memory was so real that he thought for a moment that the fingers that brushed against his own in a comforting way were part of the past as well. Only when a warm hand tried to find its way into his own, he realized that this was actually happening.
His eyes snapped open and when he looked around, he saw that Mrs. Lovett was ice skating next to him and that she was indeed the one who was holding his hand. Her eyes were filled with hope and affection and somehow this reminded him of the past, but this was not what bothered him.
Sweeney was horrified because of the completely inappropriate gesture of his landlady and wanted to pull his hand out of the baker's grasp. Before he did so however, it dawned on him that this was probably the only way to thank her properly for her friendship and support. She deserved to receive his gratitude because of all what she had done for him during the years.
Mrs. Lovett wanted to continue the friendship that once had been between them and although this had seemed totally irrelevant for months, he realized now that accepting her into his life was for both of them the only right thing to do.
The two of them were almost standing still, too caught up in the unexpected development to think of ice skating. But as he she carefully began to gain speed again, he followed her, capturing her hand firmly in his own.