Hey you guys! Happy New Year! :D
here's a new chapter for all of you :)))
He's pacing by the window of his barbershop, sickly worried. It is already eight in the evening and his wife has not yet to return home. Usually she'll be here by six, but now she's two hours late. What's also adding to his anxieties is that he knows that she is with the man that he distrusts the most- other than Mr. Harris.
He has been battling with himself for the last two hours if he should go to the judge's house and fetch Lucy. But, he does not know what is keeping him from staying. Maybe it is the feeling deep inside him that knows that she is really safe and that she is only doing this just to spite him. She has done this before, yes. She will turn up in their house late, and when he will ask her why she's late she will only shrug and head straight to the bedroom to sleep.
To be honest, it is quite infuriating. Yes, what she's doing hurts him, because she spends her time more with the judge now than him. But, what she cannot understand is how dangerous it is for her to be walking alone in the streets. It's not like the judge accompanies her home- that bastard! It is better when she gives him the silent treatment, than this.
Rubbing his temples, Ben finally decides to take a break from his pacing- seeing that it will only do nothing- and takes a seat on the barber chair. Exactly as he sits down, the bell from his shop jingles, signaling a person entering.
He looks up to the door, and relief instantly washes over him as he sees his wife. He stands up and approaches her. His arms are extended to his front, ready to give Lucy a welcome hug; but they go limp as she greets him with a pointed look.
He sighs, following his wife as she walks past him going to the small kitchen. Ben stays behind Lucy as she prepares herself some tea, not even speaking a word to him. His brow furrows when he comes closer to her; he can smell the strong scent of alcohol from her. She drinks now!? So, that's what she has been busy doing with the judge.
He wants to shout at her, to slap her, but he cannot. Not when he knows that he's the reason why she is acting like this. But does that not mean that he is happy with her for acting so irresponsibly. She must have hurt him by doing this, but there will also be consequences that are not good in her part.
He waits before she puts her tea down on the table before he grabs her arms roughly- unintentionally- and faces her to him. He is not aware that he is hurting her, for his anger is blocking out his sensibility.
"What work do you really do for the judge? Tell me!" he asks with malice in his voice- insinuating something.
Lucy is protesting, trying to break free from her husband. But her attempts are in vain, for Ben only tightens his grip on her, shaking her. "What are you talking about?"
Ben looks possessed. He has that burning rage lurking behind his eyes, and his voice is cold when he answers his wife- who is starting to cry now. "Don't play dumb. I can smell you, you reek of alcohol. Now tell me, what do you two have really been doing?"
"We are not doing anything! At least nothing that you and that whore had been doing!" with that, Lucy pushes Ben off her as hard as she can, managing to free herself from her husband. She runs to their bedroom, sobbing loudly and locks it- fearing for the first time, for her safety.
Ben only stands there as he watches his wife run away from him. Then, as the door loudly shuts, realization suddenly dawns on him and he sees the error of his doings. He stumbles on his feet as he replays in his mind what he just did to his wife. He grasps the small table beside him to support himself. He feels like his legs are turning soft and his stomach is churning. He is enveloped with guilt that seems to grow stronger with each passing time.
"What have I done?" he mutters to himself; his voice is filled with confusion and regret.
He stands still, feeling very stupid. He just made him and Lucy's relationship even worse. He doesn't know what possessed him to do that. It can be the anger that he feels for the judge- he takes it out on his wife for he can't really lash out on Turpin, can't he? Also, it seems that his wife is finding the company of other man much more preferable than him- and it hurts him. All the anger and frustration pent up inside him just bursts and he isn't able to control it.
Moments later he is shaken out of his trance when he finally hears- after all this time- his wife crying. He rushes immediately to their bedroom, but finds that the door is locked. He knocks-bangs- on it, calling after his wife. "Lucy! Please open this. I'm sorry, Lucy. Please forgive me."
He continues to bang on the door, hoping that his wife will soon accept his apology. But, she only asks for him to stay away from her- still crying. She is really upset- as for his observation and maybe, he should really leave her be. Well, he guesses he'll be sleeping in the barber chair tonight.
He sighs, turning away from their bedroom to head back to his shop- standing by the window. He gazes out, intending to stare at the night sky for it has the effect to clear his mind; instead, a light coming from his neighbor's shop catches his attention, and he knows that he just have to go down and check on her, and maybe talk a little.
He descends down the stairs. When he reaches the entrance of the bakeshop, he can hear soft music coming from the inside- a piano playing. He reaches for the knob and is not shocked to see that it is not locked. It seems to him that Nellie keeps her house open always for him. As he comes in, the music considerably gets louder and he notices that it is coming from the parlor, so he goes straight there.
The old piano which accumulated a lot of dusts- from years of not being used he thinks- is now being played by none other than Mrs. Lovett. She looks enchanting as she sits there, with her hands gracefully pressing on the keys of the piano. She is swaying side to side as she plays, following the tune of the music. He does not know why it does not surprise him to see her playing the piano. Maybe it is because in his mind, he always knows that she can. Why else would she keep that big instrument in her house, right?
Ben, trying not to create too much noise as not to disturb the baker, creeps to the sofa and takes a seat so he can listen to her play, comfortably, instead of just standing awkwardly by the doorway. After settling on the sofa, he closes his eyes and relaxes his mind. He finds out, at once, that not only the starry night can put his mind at ease, but the lovely sound coming from the music device can, too. In fact, just listening to the melody of the songs is a lot more calming.
It seems that Mrs. Lovett does not tire from playing, because after half an hour of Ben arriving in her shop, she is still performing to her only audience- unbeknown to her. But while the baker has full of energy, it is the contrary to Ben's state right now. His eyelids are drooping low, and his mouth is hanging open- he is feeling very sleepy. When he cannot fight it anymore, he lets sleep claim him. The last thing on his mind before he fully sleeps is how lucky he is that he's slumbering in a more comfortable bed than his barber chair.
The next morning, Ben wakes up with a feeling of someone shaking him. He opens his eyes to peek at the person who is obviously trying to wake him up, and sees Mrs. Lovett frowning down upon him; he closes his eyes again. He wonders what puts the baker in a bad mood at very early in the morning. He mumbles something to her- asking her to give him a couple of minutes of sleep, but it seems that she did not understand him for she just keeps on pestering him.
He sighs inwardly, knowing that he will have to get up now. He does not know why his best friend is in a hurry. He stretches over the sofa, deliberately slowing his movements just to annoy Mrs. Lovett- he always loves the way her lips pout when angry. Midway through his stretching, he sits bolt upright, realizing the he just slept in Nellie's parlour. This will not be a problem if Lucy is still on her little trip few weeks ago, but she isn't and as a matter of fact, she is already angry with him.
Remembering their episode last night, he slaps his forehead letting his hand stay there while he is shaking his head. He slowly looks up to his friend who is looking back at him questioningly, with her hands crossed to her chest.
"We had a fight last night." He begins to explain "She locked the door to our bedroom and refuses to open it. I saw lights coming from your house when I stood by the window, so I decided to go down- just to talk. But then I saw you playing the piano, and I didn't want to disturb you. I sat here-" he points to the loveseat that he is still sitting on, then continues on with what he is saying. "-and still you didn't notice me. So I've decided to just listen for a while, instead of bothering you with my problems. I didn't plan to sleep here, but then your music lulled me to sleep. I wasn't able to bring myself to go back upstairs- I was too tired."
Mrs. Lovett then approaches Ben, taking a seat beside him and putting her arms on his shoulders, turning him to face her; she is holding him at arm's length. "Ben, I'm sure that when Lucy wakes up- if she still isn't now- and finds out that you stayed here the whole night, she will not be amused."
It does not even occur to him that his wife will soon find out that he did not sleep in his shop if he isn't still in there. but then, Lucy always wakes up before him, and he is pretty sure that she is awake now and probably knows that he did not stay the night. He needs to find a good excuse or a cover up to explain his absence. He does not need anything that will give Lucy reasons to get even madder at him.
"Nellie, you may not support me on this, but I need your help to think of a good alibi to justify why I did not sleep at our house. Or else, Lucy will have my head off." Ben says in a pleading manner. He grabs Mrs. Lovett's hands on his shoulders and gives them a light squeeze.
The baker sighs exasperatedly, while she rolls her eyes. It seems that Benjamin has a knack for getting himself in trouble all the time. "Alright, I'll help you. But please, if you can, avoid getting in troubles with your wife!"
Ben bows his head, looking down sheepishly. "Yes. I'm sorry."
The baker just smiles at his shameful expression, tapping the side of his cheek lightly. She thinks for a moment of any of excuses that she can come up with. Luckily, her sharp mind immediately gives her an answer. She just has to clap for herself for being so witty. "Alright, I got a good idea."
Ben looks up to her friend, eager to hear what she is going to say. He knows that when it's one of Nellie's plans, it scarcely ever fails. "Tell me, please."
"It's quite simple, really. Just go to the market and buy her some flowers. Mind you, it must be her favorite. If she ever asked you why you're not in the house, just tell her that it's because you woke up early just to buy her some of her favorite flowers. It can be your peace offering, too, you know." A smirk forms on Mrs. Lovett's mouth as she finishes telling Ben of her great idea. Her eyebrows are wriggling up and down, teasing her friend. At the back of her mind, she can only hope that he will not forget to buy her, too. Just a piece of rose will do for her, as long as it comes from him.
Ben hugs the baker tightly, almost squeezing the life out of her. He gives her a peck on the cheek while thanking her profusely. Mrs. Lovett just smiles at him, too happy that she has just been kissed.
Moments later, Benjamin is out of the shop, heading towards the market.
He is right. Mrs. Lovett's plans always work. When he got home from the market, Lucy immediately greeted him with a glare when he went in their house. As predicted, she asked him about his absence, but when he finally explained himself and handed her the bouquet of flowers, her expression considerably softened. He might even be forgiven for what he had done last night.
Now, he is on his way down to the bakeshop. He is not able to tell the results of Nellie's plan to her a while ago, for he needed to open his shop. But it is the lunch break at the moment, and he is taking this opportunity to tell her and thank her, again.
Arriving at the bakeshop, it is already void of any customers. It seems that the baker is taking her break too. He is about to go to the parlour but something catches his attention. There, at the top of the counter lays a bouquet of red roses. This can only mean one thing to him, and that it is the flowers is from Mr. Harris- that bastard, he will never give up, he won't.
Finding Mrs. Lovett, he heads straight to the parlour, knowing that she'll be there. He's right of course, but he is not expecting that she will have some company. So he is quite shocked to see Mr. Harris sitting very close to the blushing baker. He wonders what is happening between the two before he sees them. He clears her throat, making his presence known. "Am I interrupting the two of you?"
Mrs. Lovett whips her head up upon hearing Ben's voice. She puts a good amount of space between her and Mr. Harris, seeing at how inappropriate the two of them might look. "No, no you're not." She smiles at the barber, and stands up excusing herself just to hide her embarrassment of being caught with David- though they're actually not doing anything. "I'll just get the three of some tea. It'll do us all some good, eh?"
When Mrs. Lovett is out of earshot, Ben approaches Mr. Harris, taking up the space where the baker is seated before; but of course, he puts plenty of spaces between them. "I've been meaning to talk to you. I wanted to say I am truly sorry for how I've been treating you. I just wanted to make sure you're serious about Nellie; I don't want her to get hurt. I hope you will forgive me. "
To say that Mr. Harris is shocked is an understatement. He just sits there, looking wide eyed at the barber, like he has grown another head; his mouth is opening and closing, wanting to say something but there's no words coming out. He cannot believe what he just heard. But the extended arm of Mr. Barker that is waiting for him to be shaken, tells him otherwise that what he heard is very much real. After beating him senseless and treating him rudely whenever they see each other, he just still cannot quite believe that the barber will apologize to him.
Shaking out of his trance, he shakes the barber's hands. Well, he just have to accept his apology, right? He may not want to get in bad terms with Mr. Barker if he wants to visit the baker in peace. "I forgive you, Mr. Barker."
"Well, in that case, I think we should start all over again." Ben holds out his hand again to Mr. Harris, smiling at him. "I'm Benjamin Barker. A pleasure to meet you."
David is grinning, already liking the company of the barber. he isn't so bad, after all. At least now Mr. Barker in on his side, he will not be having a hard time in dealing with him when it comes to Mrs. Lovett. he shakes Ben's hand. "David Harris, and the pleasure is mine."
Ben smiles at the man in front of him. As what they always say, keep your friends close, and your enemies… closer.
Hey so I hope you all liked this chapter :)
KathyLovettLestrange- hey. don't worry i got a plan for her. she's not showing yet so it's not yet a problem, it's still her early months,
xfoundmyselfinwonderlandx- you've just got to continue reading and find out ;)
Raney- hey, thank you so much for your support. readers like you are what pushes me to update this. XD
Reviews are LOVE :D