But We Could Get By

Chapter 34

Nellie opened her eyes, and smiled as she saw Sweeney there next to her. How wonderful it felt to wake up in his arms once again. Everything felt so nice, warm, and peaceful. She couldn't believe that this was really her life now. Maybe it wouldn't be long before every morning was as wonderful as this. She cuddled up closer to him, as close as she could. "Mrs. Lovett?" She heard him say. "Good morning, love." She said. "Did you sleep well?" "I did." Sweeney replied. "That's good." Nellie said. Sweeney nodded. "Thank you for being here for me, by the way. I don't think I tell you enough how much I appreciate you." "Oh, it's no problem at all." Nellie responded. "You know I'll always be here for you."
   "This feels so strange." Sweeney said. "What does?" Nellie asked. "Everything." Sweeney replied. "Letting myself be so openly emotional again, asking you if I could stay here..." "I think it's a good thing that you're allowing yourself to be that way again." Nellie said. "Trust me, it doesn't feel good to keep it all bottled up." "I suppose you're right." Sweeney responded. "Also, I'm always happy to let you stay here with me." Nellie said. "Maybe every day could be like this." "Well I, I mean..." Sweeney stammered. "I can't deny that I miss having someone to hold." "I'll always be here for you to hold." Nellie said. "Always?" Sweeney asked. Nellie gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Always." Sweeney smiled and held her tighter. "I suppose I'd be okay with that."
   "Oh, Mr. Todd." Nellie said softly, giving him another kiss on the cheek. "I wish I could just stay here with you all day." "That'd be nice." Sweeney replied. "But we've got work to do." He let go of her and got up. "I'll see you later, dear." He opened the door and walked out, and she followed close behind. "There you are!" She heard Johanna say. "Sorry, dear. We overslept a little." She responded. "Oh, it's alright." Johanna said. "I was just gonna let you know that Toby and I were gonna go and meet up with Anthony in town." "Alrighty!" Nellie replied. "You two be careful out there!" "We will be, don't worry!" Johanna said. "You ready, Toby?" She then called out. "I'm ready!" Toby replied, running in. "Alright you two, just be back before it gets dark!" Nellie said. "We will be!" Toby responded. The two kids then waved, and headed out the door. Nellie watched as they left, then looked around, noticing that Sweeney had gone upstairs. She sighed. "I suppose I should get the shop ready for later." She muttered to herself.

"So, I've heard things have been going well with Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett." Anthony said. "Yeah, things seem to be going really well with them!" Johanna responded. "I'm so happy for them! They seem so happy together, it's so nice!" "Only thing left to do is to actually get Mr. Todd to admit his feelings." Toby said. "Yeah, that one might take a little while." Johanna responded. "I can imagine. He seems quite stubborn." Anthony said. "He is." Toby replied. Anthony laughed a little. "I'm sure we'll get the truth out of him eventually." "Maybe." Johanna said. "I mean, we did sort of get him to admit to being jealous of Mr. Thompson." "Oh yeah, how did things go with that guy?" Anthony asked. "They actually went quite well!" Toby responded. "Yeah, not nearly as entitled as most men around here are!" Johanna said. "Thank goodness!" Anthony exclaimed. "I'd really hate for you all to potentially get hurt." "Wow, I never thought you were the type to say you hate anything!" Toby said. "I'm not the hateful type." Anthony replied. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't hate it if anything happened to any of you. You all mean a lot to me, you know."
   "Aww, that's so sweet!" Johanna exclaimed. "I mean it! If anything were to happen to any of you, I'd... Well, I don't know what I'd do, but I'd do something!" Anthony responded. Johanna laughed a little. "Even when you're trying to be angry, you're adorable." "We'd probably be the ones having to come to your defense." Toby said. "You're probably right." Anthony replied, laughing. Johanna leaned her head on him. "Don't worry, love. We'll protect you." "Yeah, they'll have to get through us first!" Toby exclaimed. "I may be short, but I can put up a fight!" "Trust me, I believe it." Anthony said with a smile. "I wouldn't underestimate either of you." "Good." Toby replied. "You better not." Johanna said through laughter, playfully nudging Anthony. "Oh, you." Anthony mumbled, nudging her back.
   "You are the most wonderful partner I could ask for." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "And Toby, you are such a wonderful friend." "Thanks!" Toby replied. "I try to be." Johanna smiled as she continued to walk with them. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world, having such a sweet partner, and the best younger brother she could've asked for. It also made her happy to see how well things were going for her parents. Maybe once her father finally got his revenge on the Judge, they could all be a normal family. "What are they gonna do with the Judge though?" She thought to herself. "How are they gonna keep themselves from getting caught?" She decided to not think too much about it for now, for she didn't want to interrupt her quality time with Anthony and Toby with thoughts of her father's revenge plan, something she had wanted to talk to someone about, but knew she could never share, not even with those closest to her.

Throughout the work day, Johanna couldn't help but notice that beggar woman, her mother Lucy, outside the window, as if she were waiting for a chance to come inside. She tried not to pay too much attention, for it hurt to see what had become of Lucy, but she noticed a nervous expression on her face. She looked as though she were afraid of something. She wondered what it could be? "Have a wonderful rest of your day!" She heard Nellie say to the last of the customers as they left, bringing Johanna back to reality. She smiled and waved goodbye as the people left. "Another successful day!" Nellie exclaimed. "Do you need help cleaning up?" Johanna asked. "Yes, thank you dear!" Nellie replied. "Johanna, you wipe down the counters, Toby can do the dishes, I'll be cleaning up the bakehouse."
   Johanna nodded and grabbed a rag. For a moment, she got completely lost in the task, humming to herself as she wiped the counters. She figured she must've picked that up from Nellie, as she always did the same thing. She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts as she heard the door open. She looked over, and her eyes widened. It was Lucy Barker standing before her. "Excuse me?" She said. Lucy said nothing. Instead she headed towards the stairs. "Where are you going?" Johanna asked, following her. She wondered if maybe Lucy had started to remember, and that was why she was here now? Lucy opened the door to Sweeney's shop, and walked in. Johanna decided to wait outside the door, and noticed that Toby had followed her. "What's going on?" He asked. "I don't know." She replied. Toby sighed. "Mr. Todd was doing so well." He said. "I hope seeing Mrs. Barker like that doesn't make him all sad again." "Mum told me a while ago that she was going to tell him what happened to her. He probably already knows." Johanna responded. "Although I suppose it would still be difficult for him regardless."
   Suddenly, she began to hear shouting. Toby jumped back, appearing to be startled. "What's going on?" He repeated, sounding a lot more frightened. "I don't know, but I'm gonna go see." Johanna said. She quickly opened the door and ran in. "Just leave!" She heard Sweeney shout. "Please, listen to me!" Lucy exclaimed. "Beware her, that woman below! She's the devil's wife, she is!" "Don't speak of my friend that way!" Sweeney responded. "Don't let her deceive you!" Lucy exclaimed, her voice cracking. "What's going on?" Johanna asked. Sweeney glanced over at her, and for a moment, everything was silent. Johanna stared at him, then glanced over at Lucy. Did Sweeney not recognize her? Did he not realize who it was he was shouting at? "Don't I know you, sir?" Lucy then asked, breaking the silence. Sweeney's eyes widened.
   "How do you know me?" Lucy didn't respond. "I said how do you know me?" Sweeney asked, raising his voice. "Dad, please don't shout!" Johanna exclaimed. "Do you not recognize her?" "What are you talking about?" Sweeney asked. Johanna's eyes widened as the realization suddenly hit her. "She didn't tell you, did she?" "Who didn't tell me?" Sweeney asked. "What are you talking about?" "Oh no." Johanna muttered. "We've got a lot of explaining to do." "A lot of explaining about what?" Sweeney asked. "And how would I recognize this woman? She's just a..." His voice trailed off as he stared across the room at Lucy. His expression of anger and confusion became one of shock. "Lucy?" He asked. "Oh my god, Lucy!" "Who?" Lucy replied. "Dad, she doesn't remember anything." Johanna said.
   "I thought she was dead." Sweeney muttered. "Mrs. Lovett told me she was dead!" "Please don't get angry at her, dad!" Johanna pleaded. "I'm upset she didn't tell you as well, but she was just trying to protect you!" "Protect me from my own wife?" Sweeney asked. "I'm sure she was going to tell you eventually, she just wasn't sure how!" Johanna replied. "What's going on?" Johanna turned around, and noticed that Lucy had left, and now Nellie was standing there. She glanced back at Sweeney. "Please, dad." She said softly. "Please don't get angry." "You lied to me!" Sweeney shouted. "What?" Nellie asked. "Oh no." Johanna thought to herself. She sighed sadly. "I hope this isn't my fault."