My Neighbor's Wife

Chapter 8

Both the barber and the baker are lounging in Mrs. Lovett's parlor. They just close their shop and are now relaxing. Ben is on the floor in a cross sitting position; his back resting on the love seat where Nellie is laying. He is busy reading a book while Mrs. Lovett is practically dozing off- tired from a very busy day.

Halfway through the book that he is reading, He closes it and looks over Mrs. Lovett. She is already sleeping; her mouth is hanging open, snoring softly, her hands protectively around her belly. He just stares at her sleeping form, marveling about how peaceful and beautiful she looks.

He brushes a stray of her curly hair away from her face; his hand lingering on her face. Her skin is so smooth and soft- very irresistible. His hand travels down from her face to her neck- which is exposed to him, due to her low cut dress. He grazes his hand to the contours of her neck, to her collarbone, and he stops as he is dangerously close to the top of her breasts. He ceases what he is doing and just continues on again with reading the book.

After a few minutes, he hears Mrs. Lovett muttering something that he cannot understand, and crying. She's having a nightmare. He looks at her- her face shows agony, her head moving from side to side, and she is thrashing.

She is now screaming, screaming... his name. He calls her name, trying to wake her up. But she only hits him on the chest and pushes him- while screaming 'No!' he says her name louder but she's just getting more violent. He shakes her; still, she wouldn't wake up. He is getting scared by how Mrs. Lovett is acting- he needs to wake her up. He goes to the kitchen; he grabs a glass and fills it with water. Going back to the parlor, he stands beside her, holding the glass of water. Hesitating at first- but he has no choice- he pours the water all over her face.

She wakes up, sitting abruptly- gasping for air. She does not notice that she is soaking wet- her nightmare is still fresh on her mind. She looks around and sees Ben kneeling at her side with a worried expression on his face. She hugs him fiercely, as if her life depends on it. She cries on his shoulder- she needs comfort, she's scared and he's the only one around. He returns the hug, tracing small circles on her back.

"Shh... it's alright. I'm here." He whispers comforting words to her, trying to calm her down.

After a while, Mrs. Lovett seems to recover from her nightmare. Her hold on him loosens and her crying stops. She's now sniffing and wiping the tears off her face. She pats Ben on the back and pulls back from the embrace, to look at him; she places her hands on his shoulders.

She stares at him, contemplating if he's really in front of her or not. She cocks her head to the side and slowly brings up her hand to touch his face. She closes her eyes as she caresses his visage. The whole time she's doing this, Ben is just looking at her perplexingly. He does not have any idea what she's doing or what's happening inside her mind, he just lets her do whatever she's doing.

She opens her eyes and smiles at him, a sad smile. She sits at the edge of the sofa and asks him, grabbing hold of his hands. "You're not going to leave us, are you? You'll be there for my baby and I, yes?"

He has a questioning look on his face, confused as to why she is asking these questions to him. He places his hand on her shoulder, the other holding her hand. "I have no plans of leaving you and my child, Nell. Always remember that."

The first time he learns about Mrs. Lovett's pregnancy, the first thing that crosses his mind is: how am I going to raise this child? He knows that with a baby on the way, things will be complicated- it's going to be hard. Mrs. Lovett does not need to worry. He knows his responsibilities and his obligations as a father, and he is going to fulfill it- he will manage... they will manage.

"Promise me that you won't." she says in all seriousness. Half of her does not believe that he won't leave them. She has doubts about him. She fears that if Lucy becomes pregnant, Ben would focus more on his wife and their child, and will eventually forget about her... them.