But We Could Get By

Chapter 16

"Johanna!" She heard a voice exclaim. Before she could respond, she saw Toby burst into her room. "Johanna!" He repeated. "What is it?" She asked. Toby stood there silently for a moment, catching his breath. After a moment though, he finally spoke. "I was helping mum out in the shop, like I usually do, and I saw a man walk upstairs. I didn't think anything of it at first, and I just carried on as usual. But after a while, I saw another man walk upstairs, and I realized I never saw the first man leave." He said. "I figured maybe he left while I wasn't looking, so I decided to watch this time. Some time passes, and I'm still watching, but I don't see anybody exit the shop. In fact, all I saw was Mr. Todd walk out once to look down at the pie shop, then he walked back into his shop."
   "So, you saw a man enter dad's shop, and never saw him leave? Is that what you're saying?" Johanna asked. Toby nodded. "That is strange." She muttered. "Are you sure he didn't leave? Do you think maybe you weren't paying close enough attention?" "I never took my eyes off of that balcony." Toby responded. "And I looked at the back door too! I saw no sign of either of those men!" "So what are you saying?" Johanna asked. "Do you think something strange is going on?" "I don't know. I mean, yes, definitely, but I don't wanna accuse anyone of anything." Toby said.
   "That's not the first strange thing I've noticed though. I mean, mum's got a purse that looks just like the one Pirelli had. Of course, that could be a coincidence, and I would never want to accuse her of anything, but still. And Mr. Todd acts so strange sometimes!" He explained. "No offense." He quickly added. "None taken." Johanna replied. "He has these moments where he's just... I don't know how to describe it. Pure rage, I guess. Mum says he'd never hurt us, but sometimes I fear that he'll take his anger out on us." Toby said.
   "Dad does act strange sometimes. I know his anger can be frightening, especially knowing the kind of people you've been around before, but he'd never hurt us." Johanna reassured. "And you've gotta remember that he's been through a lot. He's angry at the people who sent him away, and he's sad because of the years he's lost. And, of course, what happened to mum. My other one, Lucy Barker. I can only imagine how devastated he is, knowing how much she's suffered, and what it did to her mind." "What happened to her?" Toby asked. "When I was little, she attempted suicide. She drank arsenic, but rather than killing her, it made her incredibly ill. She was supposed to be sent to a hospital, but she wound up in the asylum instead. For a while, we hadn't heard about what happened to her, but then one day, we saw her in the streets. We tried to get her to live with us again, but she lost a lot of her memories. She didn't remember who I was, or even who she was. She did learn my name, but that was it. We tried to help her, but she'd scream, cry, and run away. There wasn't much we could do. She needed a doctor, which neither of us are." Johanna explained.
   "That's terrible!" Toby replied. "I'm so sorry." He added. "Wait a minute, is Mrs. Barker that beggar woman who wanders around near here?" He then asked. "Unless there are others I don't know of, yes." Johanna responded. "Blonde hair, rambles on and on about witchcraft." Toby said. "Yeah, that's her!" Johanna replied. "Mum always tells me to kick her out." Toby said. "I suppose having some random beggar scream at you is no fun, and probably bad for business, but it still seems rather odd, considering they were supposedly friends."
   Johanna's eyes widened. "She's been visiting? How often?" She asked. "Pretty much every day." Toby replied. "Oh my god." Johanna muttered. "I wonder if maybe she's starting to remember again?" "Maybe. You might wanna tell that to mum. She probably isn't aware of that. All she sees is a beggar woman bursting in and causing trouble." Toby said. Johanna was still in disbelief over her mother visiting every day. What if she was getting her memories back, and was coming back in hopes of seeing her again? She smiled at the thought, but her face quickly fell. "It's probably just wishful thinking." She thought to herself. She didn't think it was impossible though. Maybe, after all these years, her mother was finally remembering. She then thought about what Toby had said, about Nellie constantly kicking her out of the shop. "I suppose having some random beggar scream at you is no fun, and probably bad for business, but it still seems rather odd, considering they were supposedly friends." He had said. Johanna also found it quite odd. "I get she has a business to run, but why would she do this to her friend?" She thought.
   Nellie had her business years ago as well, yet years ago, she never kicked Lucy out of the shop. "And why didn't she tell me mum was visiting the shop?" "I'm gonna go talk to mum. I'll be right back." She said. "I think she's busy. She's got a lot of customers." Toby responded. "I believe she's closing soon." Johanna said. Toby nodded. "Don't be hard on her though. I don't think she meant any harm." He said. "I never said she did." Johanna replied.
   Toby had been incredibly protective of Nellie. Johanna thought it was sweet, but sometimes, he'd get protective at the most random moments. "Doesn't he know I'd never do anything to make her sad?" She thought to herself. She also didn't understand why he had this fear of Sweeney causing any harm. Maybe all Toby saw was his cold exterior, but underneath that, he was a kindhearted man. She knew he'd never do anything to hurt Nellie. "He wouldn't do anything like that. He's a good man." She thought. "And he cares about mum. Why would he hurt someone he cares about?"