Chapter 11
Mrs. Lovett was woken a few hours later by the sound of voices that were coming from somewhere outside the room that she was currently in. This time it was immediately clear to her that she wasn't dreaming and that the events of that day hadn't only happened in her mind.
It was difficult for her however to determine where she was at that moment, and what was going on. It was obvious that she wasn't in the parlor any longer, but she didn't have a clue where she was instead.
But there was no denying that Sweeney Todd was still very close to her. He shifted against her, tightening his grasp around her waist as he mumbled something with a sleepy voice. She was surprised to find that she had woken more quickly than the barber himself. But judging from the way he was holding her, he wasn't very interested in waking at that moment.
The baker heard the voices outside the room again. She recognized Victoria's now, but she couldn't hear what the barber's ward was saying.
"But I can't sleep when Mum isn't there," Teddy replied to whatever the girl had said to him. It was then very clear to Mrs. Lovett what was going on.
"Just because she isn't in the room that Mrs. Clint prepared for her doesn't mean that…"
The baker knew that Teddy couldn't be stopped as he was as determined as he was now, no matter what Victoria tried to say. Mrs. Lovett braced herself and a moment later, the door of the room that she was in was opened with force.
The light of the candle that Victoria was holding made an end to the absolute darkness. The baker could see now that she was in a large room, that was mostly empty except for the bed that she was currently in together with Mr. Todd.
Before she had the chance to fully consider this or to find out how she had ended up here, Teddy walked into the bedroom, leaving Victoria at the threshold.
"There you are."
His words were spoken with confidence, but Mrs. Lovett knew the boy and could easily tell that he had been worried about her and had missed her quite a lot. When she saw him again, she realized that she too had missed him, but she had been too focused on Sweeney to really think about him before.
Sensing that something was going on at last, Mr. Todd lifted up his head to look over the baker's body to the boy who was talking.
Only then Teddy became aware that his aunt wasn't as alone in the large bad as he had originally thought. When he spotted the barber's body behind hers, the boy took a step back, staring at Sweeney as if he had seen a ghost. He obviously didn't understand why she was in the same bed as Mr. Todd and it was clear from the look on Victoria's face, who was watching the scene enfold from just outside the room, that she was shocked as well.
Seeing the reaction of the two children, Mrs. Lovett became quite nervous. She wasn't fond of doing things that shocked her nephew, if only because she couldn't stand the look of disappointment and badly hidden discomfort that always was clear in his eyes when she did such things. Although she didn't intend to hide from the boy that she and Mr. Todd were more than fond of each other, she hadn't exactly intended for him to see her in the same bed as the barber only hours after the boy had found them kissing with very much enthusiasm in a previously abandoned alley.
Wondering how bad things were exactly, she moved a hand to her body, finding out that she was at least still wearing her own clothing. She couldn't remember what had happened, but she could feel that Mr. Todd hadn't touched her any more than he had done that day already. Teddy however had different ideas about it, looking at the barber with a gaze that was accusing indeed.
"Don't worry boy," Sweeney said, "I've been looking after our aunt, that's all."
Teddy wasn't entirely convinced, but he visibly relaxed as he concluded that nothing unpleasant had happened to her when he had been away. Mrs. Lovett was relieved that the barber had thought of something proper to say long before she had, even though he still appeared to be rather sleepy.
"I can't sleep when you're not there," Teddy said, as if remembering again why he had gone looking for her in the first place.
"I told him that he couldn't just go here, but…"
"It's all right," Sweeney said, calming the girl who seemed to feel responsible for the entire situation.
Feeling the barber's curious eyes on her, the baker felt forced to explain some things regarding Teddy's upbringing to him.
"The house we had in Newcastle was very small. There was only one bedroom and Teddy has been sleeping in my bed."
She felt that it was for the moment better not to tell that she had enjoyed the boy's presence just as much as Teddy himself. Having been alone for a long time, Mrs. Lovett wished to be reminded as often as possible of the fact that she had a child now, even though he wasn't her own. She also was more than happy with the extra warmth that he provided, especially during cold winters like the one that was currently going on.
"Please let me stay with you," Teddy said, looking at her in that way of which he knew that she couldn't resist it.
Mrs. Lovett was torn. She didn't want to say no to her nephew, but at the same time she rather didn't want him to be there now that she appeared to be together with Mr. Todd in a large and very comfortable bed. The way his grasp around her tightened, almost as if he saw the boy as competition, told her that the barber wasn't keen on the idea of allowing Teddy to get next to her in the bed.
But as she thought about it, the choice turned out to be easier than she had thought. Teddy might not be her son but she did consider him as such. It was her responsibility to look after him, especially in this situation, because she had dragged him into it herself. She had been with Mr. Todd the entire time that she had been there, who was obviously very much at ease in the environment that was both for her but for especially for Teddy unlike anything they had ever known. The boy however had spent all this time with a girl who he didn't know and although the baker had trusted Mrs. Clint to keep an eye on him, she too wasn't someone who Teddy was familiar with. It had probably been relatively easy for him so far because he was a child and adapted to new situations quickly, but he was still just that – a child.
"You can stay here," she said, making an end to the moment of indecision.
Teddy happily made his way to the bed and moved beneath the covers, casting a triumphant look at the barber, as if Mr. Todd was an evil man who he had to protect his aunt against but who was defeated now.
"I'm all right now," the boy said to Victoria, who was still standing just behind the threshold.
The girl nodded and turned around, then left without saying a word. She took the candle with her and as soon as the only source of light had disappeared down the stairs, it was completely dark in the bedroom once more.
The boy cuddled against the baker and held on to her with two small hands. Her nephew on one side and the barber on the other, both very much aware of each other's presence even when they were both holding her, was just a bit too much for Mrs. Lovett, but she didn't want either of them to go.
"It's strange here," Teddy said, "but I like it."
Mrs. Lovett smiled a little, happy to hear that her nephew seemed to be enjoying himself in the large house and with the people he hadn't met until earlier that day. She felt rather envious as well however; she wished that she still possessed the boy's ability to get used to new situations so easily without worrying about anything. The baker herself had enjoyed the events of that day more than probably anything else that had ever happened in her life, but even now she found herself wondering how long it would last, fearing that the barber would come to his senses and kick her out of his house after all.
To her relief, Teddy fell asleep very soon. She wanted to find out how she had ended up in the large bed and she figured that the conversation was going to be one that the young boy shouldn't hear.
Only when the boy, who usually was hopelessly aware of the things going around them, was oblivious to the situation, the baker could freely breath again – only to come to the conclusion that doing so was rather difficult.
After a moment of trying to find out what was wrong with her, she realized that she was still wearing her dress and corset. Especially the latter made it usually more than difficult enough for her to breath, but now that her head was resting on a big and fluffy pillow in which half of her head disappeared and she was pressed between the boy and the man that were lying on both sides of her, inhaling was even more difficult.
"What's wrong?" the barber asked, noticing that something wasn't like it should be.
"I can hardly breath," she answered, panic arising within her when she found out that she couldn't get enough air even when she breathed in deeply.
Mr. Todd reacted quickly. He let go off her and managed to break her out of Teddy's embrace without waking him, then pulling her in an upright position.
The baker's head was spinning with the quick changes, but when she breathed in again, she found it a lot easier to inhale enough air.
"It's better now," she said, more feeling than seeing Sweeney's worried gaze. "It's just that bloody corset..."
When she said this, she was reminded again of the strange fact that she was lying in bed with her clothes still on – not to mention that Sweeney had been very close to her when she had woken.
"What happened?"
"You fell asleep earlier tonight. Because I didn't want to wake you, I decided just to take you to bed. I intended to bring you to the room that Mrs. Clint had prepared for you – but when I was there, I knew that I didn't want to let you go out of my sight and that I needed to stay with you even when you slept anyway. I had promised you that, after all – and I didn't want to go away from you. My bed is a lot bigger and more comfortable than the one in the spare bedroom, so I took you to mine."
Mrs. Lovett was vaguely amused by the ease which with he said those words, their meaning and implication being of a kind that she had never managed to make up, let alone to let them sound so convincing.
"I hope you don't mind."
The tone of his voice suggested that he was actually afraid that she would be upset that he had taken her to his bedroom without her permission , which almost caused the baker to burst out in a fit of laughter.
She hid her amusement however, not wanting to wake Teddy with the sound of her laughter and, more importantly, to prevent Mr. Todd from feeling even guiltier than he apparently already did.
"I don't mind at all," she just said, hoping that it wasn't too obvious that she was, if anything, more than excited to find herself in the barber's bed.
It was not as if they could actually do anything now that Teddy was there as well, but Mrs. Lovett knew that she had to get out of her corset either way to prevent herself from fainting or anything like that – now that would ruin the situation.
"Did you happen to take my nightgown from Fleet Street as well?" she asked, recalling that she hadn't seen her old nightgown among her clothing in the room upstairs. It was the only one she had had; she had meant to replace it, but had never had the chance.
"I did."
Only a few seconds later, he handed her a piece of clothing. After a quick inspection, she was sure that it was indeed her old nightgown.
"That was a good idea to take it with you out of that room when you brought me here," she said, thinking that he had taken it with him earlier that evening.
"Well, actually..."
There was a sigh coming from a spot in the darkness that was quite close to her.
"I've kept it with me here since I found it."
There was a heavy silence when it dawned on her what he was talking about. Apparently, he had kept that single nightgown that she had owned with him all this time – here, in this bed.
"It's not that I..." he began, awkwardly considering words to defend himself.
"Don't be silly," she said, not wanting him to feel bad for what he had done, especially not because she was secretly very pleased to hear that he had done this.
"Sweeney," she said, the two syllables feeling rather strange when she pronounced them. "I feel honored that you did this. If I would've had a shirt or something like that of yours, I would've done the same thing. I probably would've put my pillow in it so I could be as close to your shirt – to you – when I slept, even if you weren't there at all."
The sound that she heard in the darkness was somewhere between a sigh and a gasp. There was a rush of air and the sound of a squeaking bed, indicating that he had stood up abruptly, and she could feel that he headed for her. The baker didn't want to do anything however before she had freed herself of her corset, which was making it difficult for her to breath even now.
"Let me get changed," she said, standing up from the edge of the bed as well, but carefully taking a few steps away from the barber, her hands stretching in front of her to make sure that she didn't bump into anything in the dark and unfamiliar room.
Only when she was sure that there was a decent amount of space between them, she reached for the strings on the back of her dress. No matter how much she wouldn't mind doing this in the broad daylight right in front of him, she felt that it wasn't the right time now. Even if Teddy hadn't been sleeping just a few meters away, she felt too overwhelmed by what had happened so far already and her mind was foggy with sleep and tiredness even now.
When she reached for the strings however that needed to be undone in order for her to pull out the dress, she didn't find them at their usual spot. Raising a bewildered eyebrow, she tried again, reaching further down between her back this time. Now she did feel the strings, but to her confusion the pattern in which they were tied was different than usual and the knots were just out of her reach.
She needed a moment to remember that Mr. Todd was the one who had tied those laces at the end of the afternoon, when he had helped her get her dress back on when they had been about to have dinner. There was no way that she was capable of undoing the knots without his help.
"Sweeney," she whispered.
"Yes?"
"I need your help."
There was the soft sounds of his bare feet on the floorboards as he approached her.
"I can't reach for the ties of my dress," she said, feeling her head beginning to burn because of what she was suggesting. "You tied them this afternoon; do you think you can undo that?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll try."
Something poked against her side; Sweeney was looking for her but could see just as little as she did, the sound of her voice helping him only to some extent.
"I'm here," she said anyway, just in case his hands would hit her at a more unfortunate place next.
"Found you," he replied a moment later, when his fingers moved against her back, with less force than before.
His hands brushed their way upwards, looking for the ends of the strings now that his eyes couldn't do so due to the lack of light. Although his touches were purely practical, Mrs. Lovett couldn't help but close her eyes and savor the feeling of his fingers against her back, appreciating the lightest and most accidental of touches just like she had always done.
He had found the strings after a few moments and began to undo them without much trouble. Before long, the restricting fabric of her dress began to loosen and when the strings were fully undone, the heavy material slid down, pooling around her feet. She stepped out of it, relieved to be freed of at least one layer of the thick fabric.
To her surprise, Mr. Todd followed her, taking a small step for every one that she took herself. The corset had been tied by no one but herself that day and she knew she was able to take it off without much trouble. The barber's hands however reached for the laces that kept together the last fabric that covered her as well and before she knew it, he was undoing those too. The nightgown that she was still holding fell out of her numb hands when she realized what he was doing.
Mrs. Lovett stood very still, not knowing whether she should say or do anything. She had fantasized for many years how it would be to be undressed by the barber; she would've given a lot to make such a dream come true. But now that it was happening after all, she didn't know whether this was such a good thing. Only moments ago she had decided that it was for the best just to spend this night asleep only to continue to get to know the barber and his attentions the next day, but now that he was taking off her corset, she wasn't so certain about this conclusion any longer.
The decision was made however as soon as his fingers brushed accidentally against her skin. The touch was one that she simply couldn't resist, but it was one of such a kind that it was clear to the baker that he hadn't done it on purpose. He was only doing this to help her, nothing more than that. He had probably gotten caught up in the process, something she didn't blame him for. She knew with absolute certainty that she herself would be very distracted indeed as she would be taking off the barber's clothing like this.
So she let him undo one piece of string after the next, feeling how he used his fingertips instead of his eyes to find out where the strings actually were. After a moment the corset too slid off her body and as soon as it fell on the floor, the baker found herself wrapping her arms around herself, intuitively covering her now fully exposed upper body even though it was completely dark and he thus couldn't see her anyway. She vaguely realized that she was holding her breath, awaiting Mr. Todd's reaction with both nervousness and anticipation.
After a long moment, there was the slightest pressure on her hips as he placed his hands there. The baker shivered in spite of herself as she felt his touch on her bare skin, his hands much warmer than she had expected them to be. His breath was hot as well as it reached her cheek and in spite of the relative chilliness of the bedroom, the baker began to sweat.
But instead of sliding those hands down her body like she had thought he would, he only guided her to turn around, so she was standing in his direction and her back was not facing him any longer.
Even though she was rid of the corset, breathing was more difficult than ever before now that she was waiting for whatever it was that Mr. Todd was going to do. She still felt that it would be better if they would wait for a moment that she could at least see him and wouldn't have to be quiet because of the boy sleeping so close to them, but at the same time she knew herself well enough to realize that she didn't have the strength and willpower to stop him now, whatever he was going to do.
There was no sign however of the violent passion she had almost come to expect. Instead, he slowly pulled her closer to him, giving her the opportunity to stop him. His hands were gentle and only the slight tremble in them betrayed the nature of the situation.
He guided her closer to himself until she was standing right in front of him, their bodies touching. His movements were still controlled when he carefully wrapped his arms around her until he was fully embracing her and rested his head on her shoulder.
Realizing that his plans hadn't been as wild as she had thought and that he longed at that moment just as much for innocent physical comfort as she did herself, she relaxed and returned his embrace fully. There was a groan of appreciation when her breasts were pressed against his chest, but he gave no other sign of his apparent attraction to her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, making herself more comfortable against him, as her eyes fluttered close once more. With the darkness that surrounded them and the way he touched her so gently that it almost made it seem as if he wasn't there at all, made it slightly difficult for her to believe that this too was actually happening and that she wasn't lost in another dream.
His hands came to rest on the small of her now fully uncovered back and she shivered lightly when his hands came in contact with her bare skin once more. When she didn't show any sign of objection, he began to move his fingers slowly, caressing her lower back with tenderness.
The baker sighed, fully relaxing when the pleasant sensations that were caused by the gentle touches spread through her entire body. She had never known or even imagined that a touch like this could be so seductive without making her irrational with lust. It was what she had been looking for without realizing it herself.
Probably sensing how much she liked to be touched like this, the barber moved his hands upwards, expanding the area that he was tempting with his fingers. Before long, his strokes covered the entire surface of her back, but his hands never moved below the edge of her bloomers. He probably knew how thin the ice was that they were currently treading on, that one too bold touch would make an end to the last remains of her self control.
But both of them were completely content with the current moment. Mrs. Lovett kept wondering how it could be that the simple and relatively innocent caresses felt so incredibly good, but she would think about it later – for now, she simply enjoyed the way the barber was stroking her back as much as she could, completely surrendering to the feelings of delight that he caused.
The way Mr. Todd hadn't allowed himself even the smallest bit of relative luxury when he had returned to London after his banishment had made absolutely clear to the baker that he was a very disciplined man. She knew he could control himself when he wanted to, when he was convinced of the truth of something, and that was why she was now relieved that he didn't want to take things further even now that they somewhat had the change. No matter how much she was looking forward to sleep with him at last, sharing more with him than just a few nights was what she longed for most.
"Nellie," he said at length. "We haven't seen each other for ten years. But even if we had... I have to admit that I hardly know who you truly are. I want to get to know you and I... I hope that you are willing to give me that chance."
Mrs. Lovett was speechless. She had expected a lot of things, but not this. Only now that he had said those words to her, she realized that there were even better things he could offer her than a declaration of love.
There was a moment of silence and she could basically feel his despair to hear her answer, but she found it difficult to talk, because there was nothing that she could say that could truly contain how happy she was to hear him say this, how grateful she was to find out that he wanted to get to know her to such an extent.
So she kissed him instead, reaching for him in the darkness and actually finding his mouth with her own without much trouble. Neither of them dominated the kiss this time, both of them giving and taking simultaneously, nipping and licking and sucking in a pace that was neither slow nor fast, until she no longer knew where Sweeney Todd ended and she herself begun.
She understood now what his intentions had been when he had began to caress her the way he had. He was getting to know her, both emotionally and physically. Judging from the way he had been doing so, he was taking his time, as if they had plenty of this in front of them. Mrs. Lovett found the prospect a promising one indeed.
The kiss left her almost whimpering, the feeling of his complete surrender to her and her love overpowering her more than anything he had ever done to her. The memories of the darkest hours they had spent together in Fleet Street were forced to the background of her consciousness, where they would stay from now on, as he kissed them away and replaced them with promises of a future with nothing but light.
Her knees were weakening as their kiss continued to consume her, but before she was actually aware of this he had lifted her up already, making sure she didn't have to pay attention to her legs any longer and could focus completely on their kiss. She felt free now that the corset and dress were gone and there was nothing that prevented her from wrapping her legs safely around the barber's waist.
"Tell me," he breathed when the kiss came to an end at last, "tell me what you like."
He began to stroke her back again, touching different spots and applying different levels of pressure with his skilled hands.
"I'm afraid that that is quite difficult at the moment," the baker managed to say, even after breathing in deeply several times having difficulty doing so, trying to calm down the frantic beat of her heart, which had fastened just as much because of the realization of to which extent the barber shared her feelings and because of the actual pleasure that kissing him had given her.
The way he was touching her now however didn't make this any easier and even if she would've been able to talk properly, she wouldn't have been able to decide what kind of caress she liked most – all of them made her tremble with delight.
"I didn't necessarily mean talking," he said, but just the way he too struggled to form coherent words made it impossible for her to analyze how he made her feel, let alone put this into words.
She was breathing heavily, clinging now to the barber instead of simply holding on to him. Never before she had felt as wonderful as she did in the current moment and the thought that he was only caressing her back and didn't actively touch any other part of her body made this even more ironic. Even though a part of her had enjoyed the violent way he had kissed her earlier that day and she had gotten a very brief but good taste of what it could feel like if he touched her intimately without being consumed by anger, she vaguely realized that this felt even better. And although she wondered, for as far as she was still capable of this, how it would feel like if he concentrated with this intense focus and tenderness on the rest of her body, she was perfectly happy that his hands never went below her back.
Just when she thought that it couldn't possibly get any better, his fingertips ran down her spine in a way that actually made her moan with satisfaction. She hid her face in the material of his shirt, wanting to mute the sound so she didn't wake Teddy. The barber had heard her however.
"That's what I meant," Sweeney said, clearly pleased to have found a way to touch her that she liked particularly.
He repeated the motion, again, and again, until the baker was nothing but a shivering mass, tears welling in her eyes simply because his touch was impossibly perfect, even when it was this innocent. She wanted to touch him as well, to try to make him feel at least a bit of what she was experiencing, but she was too lost in a whole new world of physical and mental delight to do so.
"Look at that," he said after an unmeasurable amount of time had passed.
She opened her eyes, having no idea what he was referring to – until she saw that the entire bedroom was illuminated by moonlight. There turned out to be an enormous window right above the bed. It was part of the roof, not unlike the big window that had been part of his barber shop. This one was even bigger however and looked out over the park that the baker had seen earlier.
She hadn't noticed it before because the moon and stars that she could see now had been veiled with thick clouds, their blackness making it seem as if there was no glass at all. But now could she both look around the room without the light of a candle, just like she could see the barber and herself in the reflection of the glass.
This image showed them with equally dark hair and both with skin just as pale as the moonlight. Seeing herself with only her bloomers and stockings on while being embraced by the barber made the situation even more overwhelming, as if it had become actually tangible now that she could see the both of them. For a long time she could only stare, not fully able to believe that what she was seeing in the window's reflection was actually reality.
"We should go to sleep," he said quietly, putting her down on the ground.
No matter how much the baker had enjoyed his unusual but very pleasant touches, she knew that he was right. The moment was clearly ended now that the darkness was gone, as if their union was too much after all in real life. Or at least, for the time being.
He bend down to retrieve the nightdress that she had dropped earlier; it was easy to spot now that the starlight made its way into the bedroom.
"Here," he said, shielding his eyes when he gave her the item of clothing and turning his back to her as soon as he had done so, giving her the privacy that both of them needed in order not to lose their self control after all.
Although she hadn't worn it for years and Mr. Todd had apparently owned it for the majority of this time, the fabric easily slid to its usual place as if it hadn't been separated from her for a decade after all.
As soon as she was covered again, she headed back to the bed, seeing him do the same thing as soon as he heard her footsteps. Not entirely sure what to do next, she watched him pull back the blankets and get in bed himself. She only slid between them as well when he gave her an encouraging nod. He moved to her immediately, taking her in his arms before she was even lying still.
She hadn't considered what she would do as soon as she was in bed again with Mr. Todd, but she came to a decision soon enough. Aware now that the barber knew better than to launch himself at her when Teddy was sleeping in the same bed, she lay down in such a way that she could face him, his pale features illuminated beautifully by the light of the moon that was still not bothered by clouds. Her back was towards Teddy and although she was aware that her nephew was there, she didn't feel awkward because of his presence any longer.
She made herself comfortable in his arms, but knew that she would only be able to relax after a while, when she would be convinced once more that this was truly happening. He gazed at her with a look that made clear that he didn't understand what she was doing when she was looking at him like that.
"Just let me," she whispered, admiring the pale skin that she had noticed earlier. The reflection had made his skin looked whiter than it actually was; in reality, it looked a lot better, especially in comparison with the sickly grayish color that his skin had had when they were still in Fleet Street. The baker vaguely realized that her skin was still looking just like that – and perhaps even worse – but she refused to waste any more time on the subject at that moment.
She leaned on her arms as she closed the distance between them, lips brushing against his throat while her hand reached for his side, gently caressing him through the fabric of his nightshirt.
He let out a quiet sigh of delight as she did so and she was very pleased indeed to find out that she too could bewitch him like this. After some shifting and trying, he ended up lying on his side, she right next to him. This way, she had full access to his neck and shoulder, lips brushing lightly against those parts of his skin when her arm went around his waist, her hand resting against his stomach. It was just as lean and firm as she had always thought, but there was a part of him that she was more interested in at that moment. She twisted her arm until it was lying over Sweeney Todd's rapidly beating heart.
She almost felt how the barber was gradually feeling asleep, both the rhythm of his heartbeat and breath decreasing. She was amazed that this was happening; as far as she had known him, Mr. Todd had hardly slept at all, especially not when she was even only remotely close to him. But now he had no trouble falling asleep – if anything, she had only helped him in achieving it.
Hoping that he could still feel it, but most of all eager to continue just because she had the chance now, she remained kissing him softly, lips moving against his neck with the lightest of touches.
"You two are disgusting," she heard a sleepy voice almost right next to her head say.
The baker almost jumped with shock, having been convinced that the boy was sleeping. But apparently, he had heard at least some of the most recent interaction between the barber and himself.
"And you don't even know him!"
Mrs. Lovett was for a moment too horrified to be aware of the teasing undertone of his voice. Only then she realized that the boy was simply making fun of her in his own little way, probably still because of the fact that she had ended up in a few rather intimate and public situations with Mr. Todd, even though she had raised Teddy with more solid moral values - or had tried to, at least.
But even though he was teasing her, the baker felt that the sooner she convinced the boy of her true feelings for Mr. Todd, the better it would be.
"I do know him," she said quietly, very much aware of the barber's arms that were wrapped tightly around her once more. "Do you remember when I told you today that I lived in Fleet Street? Near that alley where we met him and Victoria – where you were building the snowman? I used to live there, with him. He was my tenant."
"Do you love him?" he asked, in a way only a six year old could.
It took her a moment to catch up with the rather abrupt jump of the young boy's mind, but his question wasn't difficult to answer.
"I do," she said, knowing that those two words were truer than anything else in her life, even after what he had done to hear ten years ago.
"All right," Teddy said, as if that was all that he wanted to hear – and maybe, it was. "Good night Mum."
He cuddled against her and within minutes, the rhythm of his breath was as quiet and slow as the one of the barber lying on the other side of her. The baker smiled a little, hoping that there would come a day that the boy didn't change subjects faster than she could keep up with – and that there would come a moment that he would understand that Mr. Todd was so much more than a man who she had happened to meet only that day.
Having had a long and exhausting day herself, the baker was being overtaken by sleep as well.
For a moment she thought that Mr. Todd shifted next to her, moving his mouth to her ear.
"I heard that," he whispered.
But before she could figure out whether he had actually moved and spoken, whether it could be possible that he had been awake all this time and had only pretended to be asleep, sleep claimed her at last. Thus she had no idea whether the words he said next were actually spoken by him, or that they only existed in her mind.
"I love you too."
