"Mum?"
It was evening, and Toby was helping Mrs. Lovett clean up shop. He had just flipped the "open" sign to "closed" and was currently sweeping up flour around the counter.
Mrs. Lovett was scrubbing tabletops. "Yes, dearie?" She bubbled.
It had been a wonderful day for business, and Mrs. Lovett was incredibly happy. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glittered.
Toby thought, while she was in a good mood, it was as good a time as any to ask her. "Mum…what is "love"?"
Mrs. Lovett's face fell—she looked rather taken aback. "Why're you askin' something like that?" She inquired.
Toby shrugged. "A lady asked me about it in the shop today," he said. Mrs. Lovett looked at him with raised eyebrows. "She said "isn't love grand?" and I couldn't answer her 'cause I didn't know what the answer was. So…what is love?"
Mrs. Lovett went back to scrubbing. "She was probably just askin' a rhetorical question," Mrs. Lovett murmured.
"What's that?" Toby asked.
Mrs. Lovett straightened up. "Well, it's a question you ask when you don't want an answer."
Toby couldn't comprehend why someone would ask a question if they didn't want an answer. It was unfathomable. "But….mum, even if she didn't want an answer, I do. What is love?"
Mrs. Lovett's already pink cheeks grew pinker. "Toby, I can't answer that."
"Why? Have you never been in love before?"
Mrs. Lovett swallowed.
"I have," she said.