Chapter5
English is not my first language, so be kind about my grammar and choice of word.
Rated M because depictions of murder and sexual activities.
Constructive criticism is welcome.
Enjoy :)
It was hard for both of them. Every time they were in a room together it was filled with tension. Not in a bad way, it was magnetic, attracting each other. But they tried their best not to feed into it. Mrs Lovett didn´t want to let her urges win over her morals, and Sweeney didn´t want to tempt her more than necessary. Or himself for that matter.
Sweeney had already had some costumers, and was regaining his name. But it was hard being a working man again. That´s why he that one late night walked down into the kitchen. He found a bottle of wine and poured some of it up in a mug. Behind him a light appeared, it was Mr Lovett with a candle.
"Oh, it´s you. I feared it was a break-in…" She said with pebbles of sweet running down her face. "Don´t you worry, I just needed something to wash away the thoughts in my head." He said and took a sip from the cup. Bad wine. But wine nonetheless. "Would you…" Mrs Lovett stood with her lips pouted looking for the right words. "Would you fancy some company?"
Sweeney nodded, took the bottle and sat down at one of the tables. Mrs Lovett came over with an extra cup, and he poured the red substance into it. Already after the first glass he felt more relaxed and talkative. "You know my entire story, so I only think it is fair for me to know yours." He said and looked down into the wine.
Mrs Lovett gave a crocked and polite smile. "What do you want to know?" She asked and took a big gulp of wine. "What happened to you husband?" Sweeney asked and leaned back in his chair. She seemed slightly bothered by the question, but she still agreed with him, he deserved to know her life as well as she knew his.
"Well, Albert got very sick. The doctor quickly deemed him incurable. So I tended to him for almost six months. One night, he woke up. He was so… Scared. I held his hands, tried to comfort him until he stopped breathing." Mrs Lovett said, so casual, not seeming traumatized by the death of her husband. But something else bothered her.
"He didn´t treat you well?" Sweeney asked. Mrs Lovett giggle nervously and exhaled hard. "No. Or yes, in the beginning all was good. But then we tried to conceive a child. We weren´t able to and he let his frustrations out on me. For almost a decade he… took advantage of me, hurt me physically and mentally…" She said and looked down into the table.
"The worst thing was, that when he died, I felt relief. I was finally free. It feels wrong to say out loud, but that´s my truth…" She said, looking pained from reliving those memories. Sweeney didn´t know how to respond to all of this, so he just took her hand on the table and slowly let his thumb run over the back of her hand.
Tears formed in her eyes and she smiled at him. "I´ve never told anyone this before…" She said and wiped a tear from her cheek. "It´s okay. I´m happy you confided in me." He said and stood up, walked over to her and kneeled down. She embraced him in a hug. They hadn´t been so close for a while, and for some reason, neither of them would let go.
Mrs Lovett could fell something in her body stirring, a longing she had never felt before. And then, Sweeney let her go, even though he was tempted to continue. He started to walk away, but was stopped by a soft: "Wait…" Not turning around he said calmly: "You tempt me woman. I´ll have to leave."
Her small hand took his and pulled him to turn around. He did. "Why is it always the forbidden, that has such an allure to it." Mrs Lovett said and leaned up for a kiss. "I will not take advantage of you being muddled by the wine Mrs Lovett." He said and stepped back, trying in all might to resist the small woman.
She tightened her grip on his hand to restrain him from leaving, and chuckled. "I only had two cups Mr T…" It was hard for him to deny them both the pleasure, but he couldn´t do it. It didn´t feel right. He kissed her on the forehead with a soft hand cupping her head. "Go to sleep love." He said, wiggling his hand out of her grip.
Then he walked back to his room. It felt like his soul was trying to escape his body, aching for Mrs. Lovett´s touch. But it was a moral victory for him. He had done the right thing for both of them. And though mad, he knew that Mrs Lovett would understand as soon as she sobered up.
Next morning everything was back to normal, well almost. There was something different about her eyes. The way she looked up and down his frame, hungry. It reminded him of the craving he had himself, the craving that would probably never go away. She clearly hadn´t changed her mind.
"Where is Toby?" Sweeney asked, confused and worried about the small boy. "Oh, he has been a hard little worker, so I let him sleep in for once." She said, and gave Sweeney a plate with his breakfast. They didn´t eat the pies no more, but had turned to pale bread with butter. He sat down and started to eat.
A short silence, and then he broke it. "Don´t you ever get tired of this?" He asked and looked straight at her. "Of what? She responded puzzled. "Working, doing the same every day?" She started rolling out the pie dough on the table and nodded. "Yes, often. Hopefully, one day I'll have enough money saved to get out of here." She said with a cheeky smile.
"And what will you do then?" He asked, as he took yet another bite of his food. "Well, I´ve always had a dream, owning a house by the sea." She said with a genuine smile. "Sounds nice." Sweeney answered as he let the though seep in. "You could come with me. You and I, and Toby of course. Like a nice little family."
It wasn´t a bad idea Sweeney thought, so he nodded in compliance. Then a thought struck him. "Could I bring… Johanna?" He asked. "Now, how on earth would you do that?" Mrs Lovett asked. "I have a plan for you and me. Riches. Happiness. Peace." He said. Mrs Lovett joined him at the table and waited for him to add on.
"I´ll kill as many of my costumers as possible. It would be honourable freeing the poor from their misery, and important to rid the world of the rich vermin. You´ll sell the pies, raise the price a tad. Then I´ll kill the judge. Free my Johanna. And then we´ll all leave together."
"What a bright plan Mr T. Eat up and get to work then." She said with a laugh and walked back to the pie dough. And so he did. He killed, she cooked, and even though they raised their prices, business was still at an all time high.