Chapter 5 Times is hard

Thanks to my reviewers for all the chapters! me12243, xBadxRomancesx, .14, nikkiw73, Galenamccollum, and swelovett90!

Its cause of you guys that I'm updating this chapter earlier then I usually would =)

And as always, enjoy

The next few months were almost completely uneventful.

I would get up every morning and make pies. And every once in a while a poor soul would stumble into my shop, (on purpose or by accident, who knows?) and I would sit them down and practically shove a pie down their throats, just for the sake of getting rid of one. Most of the time they left without even paying, but that was okay with me. It was just nice to talk to someone other than myself for once.

With day after day of what seemed like nothing happening, about three months after Johanna left, I made my way to the market to get something other than food.

So instead of just buying groceries and leaving, I wondered to other parts of the market-the flower shop, the pretty clothes. And I just walked around.

The sun shining in the usually dark sky, the breeze making the temperature just right; it all seemed to amount to the perfect day.

Apparently it had been a long time since I had been out and around the town, because so many people didn't know I was expecting. I must have gotten tons of congratulations and pats on the stomach from people in the town. People that knew me, but usually never bothered to interact with me. Oh well. It made me feel loved for the brief moment.

After walking around the market quite a bit, I ventured to a different part of town.

When I got to my destination, it almost looked cheery with all the people walking around, children playing on the streets, and the sun shining off of the bright pavement. If only they knew what was going on inside those buildings walls.

I wasn't going to bother with knocking on the buildings door and asking if I could see Johanna. I can guarantee you that the Judge wouldn't let me near her. He won't let anyone near her. It just wasn't worth my energy. As I circled around the large building that poor little Johanna now called her home, I noticed something.

A poor beggar woman; sitting in a corner of the street, rocking back and forth and humming to herself.

Lucy.

I hadn't seen her around my pie shop anymore, she must have migrated over here, by Judge Turpin's manor.

Suddenly there was a booming voice from behind me. "It's a pity isn't it?"

I spun around. Judge Turpin was standing in the front door-way of his home. I scowled at him. "So much for takin' care of her, eh? Now that she's not your beautiful yellow haired Lucy anymore," I spat at him. He looked down at his feet for a moment and then brought his gaze back up.

"Mrs. Lovett. I didn't know you were with-child," He smirked.

Something twitched inside of me. The look on his face would of sent any other girl running in the opposite direction; it almost did to me too, but I stood my ground, and scowled back. "Don't change the subject you pig. So much for nursing her back to health, you did nothing of the sort. And look at your darling Lucy now. Certainly is a pity how you could let yourself let her go like that."

He slyly smiled at me, obviously just speaking with me because he had nothing better to do. "Oh, please. I tried, really I did. Why, I even took in her child when little Johanna had no other place to go," his voice disgusted me. "And besides," He motioned to Lucy who was now up and begging to a man for alms. "She's a natural," He gave a sickening chuckle as he wondered back into the house.

I shook my head and started my walk home. What a dreadful man. He really doesn't know what he's getting himself into. One of these days, someone is going to get him back for everything he's done.

Times is hard.

Times was hard and in the course of the next few months they were only getting worse.

I had sat down in the shop one day and was doing what I seemed to be doing more and more day after day; staring at the dark London sky with nothing to do but watch the shop gather dust. I sat back, leaning my head against the wall behind the booth where the two windows met and placed a hand on my round stomach. I felt the baby kick, and it made a smile spread across my face. "Doing just fine," My mid-wife says about the little thing inside of me. I don't think she quite gets what a wonderful feeling it is just to hear those three words. I closed my eyes and couldn't help but think about how lucky I was.

But less pleasant thoughts slowly crept into my head.

Alright, so I hadn't had more than a few paying customers in what has it been, three months? And no renters upstairs. So, really, no way for money to be coming in regular like. I had to face the facts; with my own little one on the way, I had to do something about this. I was beginning to find it hard to simply feed myself… I thought about it for a long time (which was good, because at the moment it seemed to be the only thing I had-time) and decided; I'll have to rent the space upstairs again.

I hadn't wanted to. I had wanted to keep it empty, still nice and clean for when Mr. Barker comes back. I must of argued with myself over it for hours. But unfortunately, it all came down to it; there's no telling when he will return, and times is hard.

So, I set a sign in my pie shop window that read, "Room over shop for rent." and prayed that someone would see the sign and come to ask about it.

The next day was bright, almost too bright. It seemed that this town only had two kinds of days, bright and dreary; Never a nice in-between. I had wanted to get out of the house, but didn't really have any place to go, so I simply got dressed and went out to sit on the front steps up to the old room.

After struggling to sit and get comfortable on the wooden stairs, and barley successfully doing so, I sat back and enjoyed the soft mumbling of the street goers.

It wasn't two minutes that I was sitting there enjoying myself when I saw a couple examining the sign hung in my shop window. I leaned a little closer to listen to what they were saying about it.

"Love," Said the women to the man. "Did you see that the room above this pie shop is up for rent again?"

He groaned agreeably and added. "But did you hear what happened to the previous owners?"

My brows pulled together. What had he heard about the Barkers?

"There was a barber and his wife that lived up there. And one day, the barber just disappeared." I found myself outraged. He did not simply disappear!

"And his wife? She went crazy a few weeks later. Completely mad."

She poisoned herself! She didn't just lose her mind, she tried to commit suicide. Where do these people get these facts? I wondered. I wasn't about to say anything though. That would not only pin me as nosy, but it would also require me standing up, which just wasn't much of an option for something so useless at this point in time.

"Well then," The woman spoke again. "I guess the place is haunted."

I rolled my eyes. What a bright conclusion.

"Better tell the Franks, they were thinking of renting this one." The man said before they both walked away, shaking their heads.

I shook my head too.

Smashing, now everyone will conclude that the place is haunted. I wonder how long a rumor like that can take to spread.

It only took a few weeks for my question to be answered. Fast enough.

After four straight weeks of no one even mentioning renting out the place, I took out the sign. And I decided I wouldn't go near the place either. I mean, people think it's haunted, and who's to say they're wrong?

And besides, I had more important matters to attend to. After all, I'm due any day now.

Well thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!