Sweeney stared queasily out the window of the carriage, wishing that he could smash the glass and safely free his stomach of the burden he carried. He sucked in a deep breath of refreshing cool air and felt better- until the train turned sharply again. He groaned miserably and Mrs. Lovett patted his arm. "There, there, love, only an hour or so 'til we get to the sea, an' you'll feel much better."
He could not imagine why he had agreed to it. Mrs. Lovett had pleaded with him to leave his barber shop for a few weeks so that he could relax and get some fresh air. He had consented, mostly because she had threatened to use force. But something about the thought of the sea was appealing, something about the way the waves were in perpetual motion, always coming in and out, the most reliable things on earth. Unfortunately, the train ride was proving rather unreliable, as the train kept screeching and squealing and jerking around bends, and leaving Sweeney feeling battered, bruised, and very, very sick.
Toby, on the other hand, was enjoying the trip immensely. Sweeney envied the lad- he actually jumped up and down and cheered when the train flung him around in his seat. "Come on, Mr. Todd!" he kept exclaiming. "It's brilliant fun! Just stand up an' jump!"
Whenever he said this, Sweeney replied by acting as if he was about to vomit all over Toby, who fell for it every time. Mrs. Lovett just laughed merrily and cheered Toby on, telling him that eventually Mr. T would oblige.
"Come on, Mr. Todd! It's brilliant fun! Just get up!"
Sweeney rolled his eyes. He knew that he would eventually have to join the boy in his antics, so it might as well be now. Slowly he pulled himself out of the seat and stuck his arms out for balance before walking carefully over to Toby. The boy grinned and said, "That's the spirit, Mr. Todd! Isn't it fun?"
Sweeney had to admit that it was rather fun. True, many things were very preferable, but this would have to do until they made it to Brighton, their final destination. He jumped towards Toby just as the train swung around another curve. Laughing, he watched as Toby fell into Mrs. Lovett's lap causing her to laugh along with Sweeney, who laughed so hard he lost his balance and fell into the seat. The other passengers just stared at the mad family and tittered when Toby fell onto the floor.
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Mrs. Lovett sniffed the salty air and sighed happily. "Well, 'ere we are, loves!" she said happily to Sweeney and Toby. "We're at the sea!"
Toby cheered, but Sweeney just scowled. He knew he was going to end up toting all of Mrs. Lovett's luggage. It wasn't fair that she had packed three bags while he and Toby shared one. "Women" he hissed under his breath.
"Wot was that, love?"
"Nothing, Mrs. Lovett, just breathing the fresh air."
Toby snorted quietly. Mrs. Lovett raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, we'd best be gettin' on over to the little 'ouse I've rented. Mr. T, would you mind gettin' the bags?"
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Toby raced across the sand, whooping with joy. Mrs. Lovett followed close behind him, with Sweeney by her side. The barber was rubbing his arms and muttering sullenly about something that sounded oddly like "slave labor". Mrs. Lovett laughed and swatted his arm, making him wince. "Come on, love, you'll feel much better when you get in the water. Jus' try it, please?"
He groaned and dragged his feet through the sand until they reached the edge of the water. Mrs. Lovett hopped right into the water, laughing when she splashed Toby. "'Urry up, Mr. T, we're waitin'!"
Sweeney groaned and poked a toe into the cold water. "There."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, yanking on it until he fell in. Spluttering, he said angrily, "What was that for?"
Toby splashed over and dunked Sweeney, who responded by tackling Toby and dunking him three times in a row until he begged for mercy. Mrs. Lovett laughed at the pair. "You two sillies ain't got no more sense'n a drunken pelican!"
Smirking, Sweeney sneaked up behind her and dunked her. She came up squealing and blinking hard to rid her eyes of the burning water. "Well, if you're goin' to act like that, I won' play along!"
Furiously she stomped out of the water, her arms crossed over her chest. "Oh, no, please stay, mum," cried Toby. "It ain't no fun without you, ain't that right, Mr. Todd?"
The barber quickly erased the smile from his face. "Er, yes, of course, right you are, Toby."
Mrs. Lovett rolled her eyes as she daintily reentered the ocean. "Well, now that we're nice and settled 'ere in the water, why don' we jus' sit 'ere nice and quiet-like an'-"
Any further speech was lost when Sweeney dunked her again.
A/N: So that's by the sea: part 1. Hope you liked it! Please vote in the poll on my profile; it's very important for later chapters. Very, very important.