But We Could Get By

Chapter 31

As the days went by, Johanna noticed that her father seemed a bit different. He was staring off into space a lot, which she was used to, but rather than a blank expression, he almost seemed to be quite happy. She also noticed that he would stand at the balcony during work hours. He would often be standing there, seemingly just checking how things were going down below, though she knew he was most likely staring at Nellie. She hoped he wouldn't be getting the wrong idea as he watched Nellie's friendship with Charles grow. She had seen him look at them before, and he seemed to have a certain bitterness whenever he saw Charles. She had no idea how he couldn't tell that Nellie loved him? From what Johanna could see, her mother was the most obvious person in the world. Not to mention, there were so many moments they shared that she could name, some of which she had sort of orchestrated with the help of Toby. How was Sweeney so unaware that he had nothing to worry about?
   Aside from his brief moments of jealousy though, he seemed to be in a very good mood lately. It was nice to see, for he was usually neutral at best, and inconsolable at worst. This wasn't to say that he was never happy, for he always seemed to be in a decent mood whenever they spent time together. The difference was that now, he seemed to finally be focusing on the present. As much as Johanna loved hearing stories about Lucy, she could tell that it hurt her father to think about her, to think about all he had lost. She was glad that he finally seemed to be moving forward with his life, that he finally seemed to be happier, for it pained her to see him so sad, like he usually was. "Johanna!" She heard a voice say. She glanced over and saw Nellie standing by the counter. "Could you go tell Mr. T that we'll be opening soon? I would, but I've still got so many pies left to make." "I'll go let him know." She replied. She then glanced over at Toby, who had been sitting at the table. "Would you like to come with me?" "Sure." Toby said with a smile.
   She nodded, and the two began to walk upstairs. She had been allowing Toby to accompany her whenever she would go talk to her father, for she hoped that it would help the two learn to get along better. "Dad?" She said, knocking on the door. "Yes?" He replied. "May I come in?" She asked. "Of course." Sweeney responded. The door opened, and Johanna walked in, Toby following close behind. "Mum wanted me to tell you that we'll be opening soon." She said. "Also, I wanted to check in, see how you were doing." "I'm doing fine, thank you." Sweeney responded. "What made you want to check in?" "Just wanted to see how my father is doing." Johanna said. "I'm glad you're doing well! In fact, we've noticed you've been in quite a good mood recently! It's nice to see you so happy!" "Oh." Sweeney mumbled. "I suppose things have been going rather well lately." "That's great!" Johanna said excitedly. "Yeah, we're both happy for you!" Toby added. "Thanks, I guess." Sweeney said.
   He glanced over at Toby. "I didn't know you cared." "Well I, um..." Toby stammered. "I mean, you're my father too, aren't you?" He asked. "I mean, well..." His voiced trailed off. He seemed rather nervous, as if he worried about what Sweeney's reaction would be. Johanna recalled how he had told her about how he wanted her father's approval, to feel like he actually cared about him, but felt like he didn't like him. No wonder he was nervous, the poor boy had mentioned his desire for approval, knowing that rejection was possible. "He's just as much your child as I am." She finally said aloud. "Toby is such a wonderful, sweet kid, and the best sibling I could ask for." "That's so kind of you, thanks!" Toby said with a smile. "It's no problem!" Johanna replied.
   For a moment, nobody said anything. They were both wondering what Sweeney's response would be, what he would think about this whole thing? Did he have any response at all? Maybe he wasn't sure what to say. "Dad?" Johanna said. He didn't respond. She studied his face, and noticed that he had zoned out. He seemed to have a bright look in his eyes and a smile on his face. She couldn't help but laugh a little. "He's probably thinking about mum again." She said quietly. "Probably." Toby replied, giggling. "Dad?" Johanna repeated, louder this time. Sweeney blinked, then looked over at her. "What?" He asked. "Sorry Jo, I seemed to have gotten quite lost in my thoughts." "It's alright." Johanna replied. "What were you thinking about?" Toby asked. "Oh, it's nothing." Sweeney quickly stated. "Just, well..." He paused more a moment. "It's nothing!"
   "You sure about that?" Johanna asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" Sweeney responded. "Because we wanna help you out!" Johanna said. "Yeah, we wanna help!" Toby added. "Help with what?" Sweeney asked. "We want you to be happy!" Johanna said. "We want you and mum to be happy!" "What does this have to do with-?" Sweeney cut himself off. "You're not implying that I have feelings for her again, are you?" "You said it." Toby said. "For God's sake, you two, I don't have those kinds of feelings for Mrs. Lovett!" Sweeney exclaimed. "And how do you two know that's who I was thinking about in the first place?" "Well, you've got that look on your face that you have whenever you think about or look at her." Johanna said. "And the way you look at her in the first place..." Toby added. "Not to mention, Anthony said you mentioned that you really did want to kiss her that one time." Johanna said. "He told you that?" Sweeney asked. "Why are you three talking about me?" He sighed. "This is what I get for opening up."
   Toby laughed a little. "We don't mean to interfere with your life, Mr. Todd. We just noticed that you, well..." His voice trailed off. "That I what?" Sweeney asked. "Well, that you seem to be quite happy with mum." Toby responded. "Of course I am, she's my friend." Sweeney said. "We're not saying she isn't." Johanna replied. "We know you two are close. We've just noticed that you seem to stare at her a lot, and you're often in your own little world, and you told me yourself that you feel like you can hardly breathe whenever she smiles." "Not to mention you almost kissed her once, and you're constantly being all lovey-dovey with her. You two are so cheesy it's almost funny." Toby said through laughter.
   Sweeney sighed. "Look, we've been friends for a long time now, and we've been through a lot together. We're close friends, really close friends. We've just got a bond that no one but us understands." "I think you've got a wonderful friendship." Johanna said. "Doesn't explain why you don't want her to be with anyone else though." She added. "I remember you mentioning that." "It's not that, it's just, well, I've seen how cruel people can be, and I've seen what men are capable of." Sweeney responded. "There are far too many terrible people out there, and such people don't deserve someone as wonderful as Mrs. Lovett. She deserves the best, which is far more than most people out there can give her."
   Johanna raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's just that?" "Yeah, what about Mr. Thompson? He seems like a nice man." Toby said. Sweeney rolled his eyes. "Why are you bringing him into this?" "Just wondering what you'd think." Toby responded. Sweeney sighed. "If that's who she wants, then fine, but..." He paused for a moment. "How do we know he's truly nice? What if he's just as awful as that Mr. Johnson guy was, or... You know what, nevermind. I need to open the shop. I'll see you later." "See you later, dad." Johanna said. Toby waved, then headed out, and she followed closely behind. "I don't think we're gonna get him to admit anything anytime soon." He said. "Maybe not." Johanna replied. "But I'd say we're making progress."

"There he is again." Toby said, gesturing towards one of the tables. Johanna glanced over, and saw Charles Thompson sitting there. It seemed as though ever since he and Nellie first met, he had been visiting every day that they were open. The more he visited, the more Johanna got to know him. She and Toby agreed that he was a nice man, and he seemed to be a good friend to Nellie. She still worried that maybe he had feelings for her, but not because of her plans to set her parents up, for she knew that her mother would never love anyone else. Her worries came from a place of knowing how men can be when rejected, and also knowing how badly Nellie wanted a friend. She knew how heartbroken her mother would be if the man she thought was her friend was really only there because he wanted affection from her. That was a fear that Toby also shared, for both of them cared deeply about Nellie and didn't want to see her get hurt.
   "Hello, you two!" She heard Charles say, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Hello, Mr. Thompson!" She replied. "Mum should be out with the pies shortly. Would you like anything to drink?" "Just an ale, I suppose." Charles said. Johanna nodded, and walked toward the counter. As she looked around, she noticed her father at the balcony, like he had been for the past week or so now. She waved at him, though she wasn't sure if he saw. She looked away, remembering she had a job to do. She quickly filled up a glass, then brought it back to the table. "Here you go, sir!" She said with a smile. "Thank you, ma'am!" Charles replied. "Here's your pie, Mr. Thompson!" Nellie said as she walked towards the table. She set the plate down, and Charles smiled at her. "Thank you, Mrs. Lovett!" He said. "You're welcome, sir!" Nellie replied. "How have you been?" She then asked. "I've been well, I guess." Charles said. "Better now that I'm here though. How about you?" "I've been well too, thanks for asking!" Nellie responded, smiling. "It's no problem! Of course I'd check in on a friend!" Charles said.
   "Is this Mr. Thompson?" Johanna heard a voice say. She looked over, and saw her father standing there. Her eyes widened. "Dad?" She noticed that Nellie also seemed surprised, though her look of shock quickly turned into a smile. "Mr. Todd!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" "Business has been a bit slow today, so I thought I'd see how things were going down here." Sweeney said. "She's told you about me?" Charles asked. "A little, yes." Sweeney replied. Charles looked away, and was slightly red in the face, though he quickly turned to face Sweeney again. "You must be Mr. Todd." He said. "Mrs. Lovett's told me about you." "She has?" Sweeney asked. Charles nodded. "I'm so happy you two have met!" Nellie exclaimed. "Mr. Todd has been my friend for ages." "You've told me before." Charles replied. "Right." Nellie mumbled.
   Johanna glanced over at Toby, and gestured at him to follow her. She walked to the counter, and Toby followed. "What's Mr. Todd doing down here?" He asked. "He says business was a bit slow." Johanna responded. "I saw him at the balcony earlier as well." "I did too." Toby said. Johanna turned her gaze back to Charles's table. "And dad says he isn't jealous." "Well, this is gonna be awkward." Toby muttered. "Maybe not." Johanna said. "Maybe Mr. Thompson really is being a good friend to mum." "I don't know. Did you see how he turned red earlier, and the way he seems to look at her?" Toby asked. Johanna sighed. "You're right, this might just be a little awkward."