Part XVI: The Love of a Mother

Another few days passed and the shop became more popular. It became hard to keep up with all the customers and my extra weight was beginning to take its toll on me and it also was beginning to show. I had stopped wearing corsets, in fear that it would hurt the baby, and Mr. Todd had actually started coming down for his meals to prevent me falling down the stairs. Everything was going smoothly at first, but soon it became harder to hide the small bump.

"Emily, have you been eating too much?" She asked looking at the small stomach I'd grown.

"Oh, I guess I have," I said with a smile, "I've just become so hungry all of a sudden."

She gave me a stern look.

"Alright, but don't you go getting big on me. You're the only reason those young sailors come around here for. Especially since all of London thinks that Percy packed up and ran away with some cheap whore." She said as she started to dry the dishes in the sink.

I nodded and Mr. Todd opened the door and walked into the shop.

"'Ello love," Mrs. Lovett said putting a bit of beef stew, that I had made last night and was now on the stove, in a bowl and putting it in front of him, "You came down early tonight."

He shrugged and looked up at me.

"Good to see you up and running well, Miss Welsh." He said to me as his dark eyes looked me up and down, lingering on my stomach for only a bit.

I gave him a small smile and turned to get Toby and myself some of the stew as well. I handed Toby his bowl and he ate it up like he hadn't eaten in days.

"Slow down, love. You'll hurt you stomach eating that fast." I told him sitting down slowly and with some difficulty.

He smiled at me as Mr. Todd scooted out my chair a bit for me to make it easier for me. Mrs. Lovett soon joined us at the table in between Mr. Todd and I.

"You two seem awful close now-a-days." She said with a tint of jealousy in her voice.

"Emily has been helping me in the shop more. She feels as though her being sick so much has affected her ability to help serve your pies, so she's been helping me more in the barbershop to be more helpful." Mr. Todd lied, taking another bite of the stew.

She gave a slight nod, believing the story and continued eating.

After cleaning the table, washing the dishes, and working the shop, Mrs. Lovett and I relaxed in the parlor together. She was sleeping in her lounge couch and I was sitting on the other couch across from her writing down ideas for the baby's name. So far it looked like this:

Girl Names

Boy Names

Allison

1. Eric

Diana

Rachel

2. Nicholas

3. Jonathan

I looked over the names again and smiled to myself. Then, the door opened and Toby ran into the room, waking Mrs. Lovett. I shut my book quickly, as if to have been interrupted from something I'd had been reading.

"Where've you been love?" Mrs. Lovett asked sleepily, "We had quite the rush at dinner, me poor bones are about to bust." She added laying her head back on the couch.

"Sorry Ma'am. I was runnin' an errand for Mr. T and on the way back I passed the old work house and I kept thinkin' that if it weren't for you I'd be there right now. It seems like the good lord sent you for me." He replied.

"Oh love; I feel quite the same way." She said with a faint smile.

I looked back at Toby with a warm smile as he started to reply.

"Listen to me, please!" He begged, "You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. Say, if there was someone around, someone bad, only you didn't know it."

"What is this? What are you talking about?" Mrs. Lovett asked, sitting up slightly.

"Nothin's gonna harm you

Not while I'm around

Nothin's gonna harm you, no sir

Not while I'm around

Demons are prowlin' ev'ry where

Now-a-days

I'll send 'em howlin', I don't care

I got ways.

No one's gonna hurt you

No one's gonna dare.

Others can desert you, not to worry

Whistle! I'll be there.

Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while

But in time

Nothing can harm you

Not while I'm around.

Not to worry, not to worry

I may not be smart, but I ain't dumb

I can do it, put me too it

Show me something I can overcome

Not to worry Ma'am." Toby sang.

Mrs. Lovett got up on her feet and walked over to the desk in the corner.

"Now Toby, why don't I give you a nice, shiny, new pennyand you go get us some toffees." She said getting a penny out of her (Signor Pirelli's) purse and handed it to him.

Toby jumped out of his seat and ran over to Mrs. Lovett.

"That's Signor Pirelli's purse!" He yelled.

"No it's not," She lied, "It's something Mr. T gave me for my birthday."

He jumped up and grabbed her by the arm dragging her towards the door.

"That proves it! We got to go Ma'am, we have to find the beadle and tell the law."

"Now Toby, let's stop this foolishness." She said sitting him down next to her and stroking his head to comfort him.

"Nothing's gonna harm you,

Not while I'm around.

Nothing's gonna harm you, darling,

Not while I'm around." She sang as tears came to her eyes.

"Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while

But in time

Nothing can harm you

Not while I'm around." Toby sang to her as he rested his head on her shoulders.

"Darling why don't you come and help me with the pies downstairs in the bake house?" She said getting up and taking him downstairs.

When she left I had thought about how she treated me. She always loved me and she raised me to be a fairly decent young woman and she still watched out for me now that I was an adult. She really was a good mother. Then, she came back into the room crying.

"We'll have to kill him…. He knows." She said going up to the barbershop, attempting to dry her tears.

(Once again, I probably fucked this up royally, but I have not watched this movie in years so this is purely from memory. I remembered that I'd skipped a whole verse when I first wrote this so I had to fix it and all this stuff with graduation and college stuff I've been all over. I love you all. And it's almost over!)