A/N: A rare no-songs chapter.
The next morning, Sweeney stood waiting in the street. He'd hired a coach and he'd just sent Mrs. Lovett and Toby to fetch their luggage. It wasn't long before the two of them reappeared.
Mrs. Lovett strode over to Sweeney and thrust a small satchel into his hands.
"Right, there you are, that's Toby's things," she said in a businesslike manner.
"Where's yours?" Sweeney asked. He noticed she wasn't carrying anything else and neither was the boy.
"I'm not leaving London."
Sweeney thought he was hearing things. Surely she hadn't REALLY just said she wasn't leaving London.
"Not leaving London...?" he asked faintly, letting Toby's satchel fall to the ground. "I thought going to the sea was your dream."
"No." She shook her head. "That was only a part of my dream, a part I can do without."
"But," Sweeney protested weakly.
"Well, can't stand around here all day. I've got a shop to run and all that."
And she turned around and went back inside without listening to what Sweeney had to say. She would rather miss him from far away than when they were standing right next to each other. The pain of it would be easier to bear if he wasn't within reach.