A/N; I'm Baaaack! So sorry for the long wait! I'd like to say it won't happen again but, well, my coursework hates me. I've actually been writing this in a mini notebook after all my tests for the last… eight or nine weeks, so… without further ado, Chapter 12!
The entire day, Ben had sat in his room wondering where he had missed the signs of Lucy's irrationality.
Why couldn't she trust me? he thought constantly. She should 'ave, I told her the truth! She had no right. The questions were ceaselessly going off in his mind. A good, fair person shouldn't 'ave, shouldn't 'ave jumped to conclusions. Maybe u made a mistake. Maybe Lucy wasn't quite the person I thought she was when I married 'er. He lied back on his bed and covered his face with his hands. Ben let out a groan of frustration. What's 'appened to my life? He loved lucy, he knows he did. No, do. I still love her. I must.
Even after she attacked your friend? sounded the nagging voice in the back of his head. Ben couldn't answer himself. He had no answer. He remembered his first impression when he walked into the pie shop that morning. It looked like a disaster. Ben feared for a moment that his best friend had been the victim of a vicious robbery. He didn't know whether to feel relief or guilt when it turned out that it was his own wife that attacked her.
It was early afternoon when he got home and now the sun was slowly disappearing behind the skyline. He heard Johanna cry earlier that day, but only once. A mircle, be thought. Johanna usually cried out several times a day.
As he heard the clock chime eight, he got himself prepared for bed. After the usual routine, he headed downstairs. Mrs. Lovett sat on her couch with Johanna, bouncing her gently on her knee. The baby giggled with joy as the landlady ticked her and Nellie couldn't help but laugh along with her.
Ben cleared his throat to announce his presence but regretted it only seconds later when Mrs. Lovett's laughter stopped to see where the noise had come from.
"Mr. B, " she started, " anythin' I can hel ya with?"
"Oh, well its late, Johanna really should be headingoff to bed now." He could see disappointment flicker in her eyes.
"Alright'! 'Ear that johanna? Time ta go beddy-bye!" she cooed.
"Em. Just let me take 'er crib up first."
Mrs. Lovett gave a little nod and quiet okay. Ben moved to pik up the crib, and once it was in his hands, he headed for the stairwell. Nellie followed behind him silently with the cherub in her arms. Less than a minute later, the infant's bed was settled with the child nestled inside.
"Goodnigh' darling,'" the red-headed woman murmured before stooping to place a kiss on the girl's forehead. "Be'ave for ya father." She straightened up, looked to Ben and said "G'night Benjamin." before turning around and leaving to the door. Ben's heart had nearly melted at the sight of her being so motherly to his daughter, but his stomach coiled upon remembering what happened to his daughter's biological mother.
After the door closed behind her, Ben let out a long exaggerated sigh and fell back on his bed, grateful he had already changed into his bed clothes. Johanna's slight shallow breathing told him she was well on her way to sleep. He took her lead and followed her to dreamland.
Ben woke up the next morning and got himself ready for the day. When he returned from his washing, a quick rinse of the face, he saw Johanna stirring slightly.
She must be hungry, he thought. So he looked around his room for a bottle. Never having fed her before, he had no idea where it was. Ten minutes and a wide awake Johanna later, Ben found the bottle. His only problem now was where to find the milk. It wasn't until he saw empty milk bottles that he realized he had to pick them p from the milkman and leave his empty bottles outside.
He made a quick bolt don the outside stairs just in time to see the very man he was looking for pass the shop.
"Scuse me!" Ben shouted, trying to catch up to him, but the man didn't turn. "Scuse me! I need milk!" the man turned around now, and sighed.
"You need to leave your empty bottles out, lad." He replied dryly.
"I know, but I didn't 'ave time to. Please, just this once?"
The man thought for a moment and eyed Ben.
"Oh, alright, but only this once. And don't tell no one I did or I'll have loads more people asking me for a 'just this once'." He begrudgingly took the two empty bottles from Ben's hands and swapped them for two full ones.
"Thank ya sir, it won't happen again, I promise." The man muttered an 'mhm' under his breath as he turned away.
Ben dashed back up the stairs to his room. He took a bottle and filled it but soon realized something was a little off. The bottle was too cold. Was it usually cold?
Johanna was very awake now. She began to whimper. Ben pickedup his daughter tocomfort her, but when he tired to give her the milk, she refused to drink it.
"Are you not hungry?" he asked the small girl in his arms. Her whimpers began to grow steadily into soft rying.
"What do you want me to do?" his words became frantic as the cries did just the same. "Do you want your doll?" he scuttled across the room, trying not to jostle her too much to grab the rag doll she loved. After waving it in front of her trying to catch her attention he finally have up. At this point, Johanna's cry was fierce. Still, Ben didn't know what to do. It wasn't until about a minute later that he noticed an odd odor coming from her.
"You need to be changed!" he exclaimed, his voice only just audible over the whines of the girl. "oh no." he realized, that even his moment of triumph of figuring out what was wrong, he had no idea how to change a diaper. So he did what came as a natural instinct.
"Nellie!" he ran from the room with the child held tightly to him. "Nellie!"
He nearly crashed into his landlady at the bottom of the stairs."Wot on earth is the matter?"
"I- em, I need help." He had to practically shout. " I don't know how to change her."
"Ben, love, I aint never had a child meself, I know less than you do."
"Can we at least jus' try to figure it out? Please?" Nellie had to admit, Ben looked pretty desperate. She gave a sympathetic glance to Johanna.
"Oh alright, but don't blame me if the lit'tle one gets a rash' she led him back upstairs to the room he shared with just one other person now.
In the corner of the room, there was a shelf that contained freshly laundered diapers. She instructed Ben to lay the weeping child on the bed while she grabbed the cloth and the dry wipes.
"Ya don't know anythin' at all?"
"Nope."
"Didn' cha ever watch Lucy?"
"No, she always took care of her when I was working."
Nellie sighed. "Okay well, em, hold up her legs."
Fifteen minutes and a sloppy diaper later, Ben and Nellie found themselves laughing harder than the could ever rember. Ben was holding Johanna up by the armpits as the diaper cloth hung crookedly on her bottom.
"Tha-that cannot be right!" Mrs. Lovett said through gasps. Her hair had puffs of powder in them.
"Well, at least she looks better than the both of us!" he chuckled. Johanna giggled and opinted at her father's hair. "what? Laughin' at your father now?"
"I think she's laughing 'cause you look like a skunk!" Nellie explained. Ben raised a brow. "You 'ave a strip o' white in your hair!' she laughed. "Ya look like a skunk!"
Ben turned to take a glance in the mirror that hung on the wall behind him, "oh well, don't we make a good pair? It looks like you lost a battle with one of your flour bags!"
Nellie stuck her tongue out at him. "Least I don't look like a smelly animal."
"You know you wish you did."
"'Course not, I prefer to look presentable when I work, but if ya wanna look like that while you work, be my guest! It'll give everyone a laugh." Ben face grew somber.
"I'm not opening shop today. I've got some stuff to do." He put Johanna back into her crib where she sat herself up.
"Wot are ya doin' today then?"
"I," Ben rubbed his neck, "I think I need to go talk ta Lucy, ya know get some things straightened out."
"Oh." Nellie said, her face passive. "Well I'll leave ya to get ready then. Sunds like ya've got an important day ahead of ya. Ehm, will you need me to watch Johanna once you've gone?"
""Er, yes that be lovely, thank you."
"No problem." Nellie turned to leave and was almost out the door when he called her back.
"Wait, Nell?" She turned. "I was thinking maybe I could come talk to you later, after you finish working. And after I get back."
"O course. So, I'll see you later."
"Yes later." He gave her a small smile, a smile which she returned as he left the room.
Ben sighed. "I'm going to see your mummy today, Johanna. Let's hope this goes well."
Yay! Chapter 12 is done! Hope you enjoyed it! Let's see, that took me about 3 months to get up (so sorry by the way) so hopefully the next one won't be as long of a wait! This was originally supposed to be half of chapter 12 but it got so long, I thought it could stand alone.
School just seems to loathe me. Except Spanish, I'm doing pretty well in that class. xD Sadly it's not even my favorite subject. I love Biology...all sciences really. xD
What was/is your favorite class in school?
Until Next time!