Turning Back the Hands of Time
Only one small candle illuminated the room as the barber pressed upon the peddle of his chair, dropping his last “customer” to the bakehouse below him. Today had been rather rough. The crowds came in larger groups than they had during the previous days of the week. His neck ached and his arms fell limp as he sat down for a moment in his chair. He sighed deeply as the pain in his neck increased. London seemed to be the same every time night crept in. Only the low life would come out at night either drunk or in search of food. The barber’s dark eyes peered out the window of his shop to see the pleasant night being eaten away by dark clouds. Rain was normal in London, it came almost every week to torment those souls who enjoyed nothing more but fresh air and crisp sunlight to bask in. Sweeney Todd however, was not one of those people. He didn’t mind the rain, in fact it came as a pleasure to him for it helped him think. He would think of his beautiful wife and darling child he once had before that awful day where Judge Turpin had destroyed his life forever.
“That bastard,” he said to himself as he came across that memory, “what a pathetic excuse for a human being…”
He slowly got up from his chair and walked over to the window. Now not only the clouds but the quick flashes of light in the distance proved they were due to have a storm. He pondered in thought for a moment and realized that maybe a good swig or two of Gin would make him feel better…less irritable…if that was even possible. He headed towards the door with tiny drops of rain greeting him as he went outside. Sweeney moved with a quick pace down the steps as the rain began to fall more heavily. He soon reached the door to the pie shop which thank god was unlocked because he had forgotten the key Mrs. Lovett had given him in his shop.
“Stupid women’s gonna get herself robbed one day,” Sweeney said as he stepped inside.
The pie shop was dark and very quiet. She must have went to bed Sweeney thought as he went to the cupboard looking for a glass and a nice bottle of Gin. Another flash of lightning hit and the wind began to whistle harshly through the streets.
“Mista T?” a woman whispered.
Sweeney jumped very slightly in surprise and turned to the source of the voice. Mrs. Lovett was standing by the entrance of her parlor. She looked tired. Her dark eyes were kindly looking into his but he could tell that she wasn’t all there from the busy day she had also encountered.
“Thought you would’ve nodded off by now love,” she began with a small yawn, “today was a good day for business but not for your poor bones.”
Sweeney grunted not paying much attention to her.
“Why don’t ya sit down for a minute and rest your bones? I’ll get ya some Gin.” Mrs Lovett went into the parlor and quickly returned with a bottle. “Had to hide this one from the boy or else we’d be out…poor lad’s gonna kill ‘imself if ‘e don’t watch ‘is drinkin’.”
Sweeney sat down at the booth in the shop. He groaned at the pain in his body, which hopefully would soon go away due to the Gin. Right as Mrs. Lovett placed the cup and the bottle on the table, Sweeney opened it pouring the clear liquid into the glass not bothering to take any measure as to how much he put in.
“ ‘ey, ‘ey, you better slow down there love, that’ll go strait to your ‘ead,” Mrs. Lovett said in a concerned matter. Sweeney looked annoyed as he looked at her while downing another shot.
“Mrs. Lovett, I believe I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” he said coldly.
“Well that aint true for when I first met ya now was it?” Mrs. Lovett shot back with her hands on her hips.
From looking at the small glass, Mr. Todd’s eyes slowly moved glaring at Mrs. Lovett.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” he asked in a low tone.
“Oh come now Mista T, surely you can’t be sayin’ you don’t remember that um..well..” Mrs. Lovett hesitated for a moment, “that little incident…not long after you went for that job offerin‘…”
Sweeney looked back down to the rim of his glass. He knew what Mrs. Lovett was talking about, which was quite embarrassing. Mrs. Lovett smirked as she walked over to get herself a glass and sat down at the table.
“Yea, I remember Ben Barker couldn’t ‘andle ‘is drinks too well.”
Yes it was true, Benjamin Barker did not handle drinks well. One was fine, or maybe two but after that forget it, he was out of it. It was awkward for Sweeney to think about…if only he could keep his mind in tact while under the influence of alcohol.
Nellie stood outside the small shop sweeping up after the afternoon rush. People were leaving after having a nice lunch, but most of them would be back in about 4 hours time anyway to have dinner.
“Nel!” a young man’s voice rang from coming down the street. Nellie looked up from sweeping only to see Ben running towards the shop.
“Aw now look who just missed lunch!” she yelled back to him, “Ben Barker I swear you need to get your timin’ strait.”
Ben finally reached her. He was out of breath but dreadfully happy. Nellie couldn’t help but laugh at the site of her dear friend’s face when he made it to her at last.
“Dear God man, if the law’s after ya, I wouldn’t be smiling so much,” she said jokingly.
“The law isn’t after me Nel,” Ben began panting for breath. “I got the job!”
Nellie threw the broom down on the ground in excitement.
“Did you really?!” she asked with a huge smile.
Ben nodded his head frantically, “Yea! I start first thing on Monday!”
Nellie jumped in excitement wrapping her arms around Ben with a huge hug.
“Dear that’s wonderful!” she said proudly. Nellie just couldn’t help the smile on her face. She pulled back from the hug and wagged her finger at Ben. “You come back at the dinner rush ya hear? I’ll give ya a shot o’ Gin to celebrate your new employment.”
“Alright mum!” Ben began in a sarcastic tone, “I’ll come at dinner!”
“You better! Now, you take that snooty behind of yours and go get prepared for later. I have to clean up ‘round ‘ere before you know who get’s back…”
“Oh I feel so wanted!” he replied jokingly.
“Well you aint wanted if I got things to take care of! If my father get’s back and sees this place like this, he’ll have my ‘ead!”
“Alright, I’ll be going now, maybe look around town for a set of blades since I’ll be needin’ a new pair for Monday…”
“You do that love.”
With that, Ben walked off down the street like he was the king of the world. Nellie laughed to herself as she turned to go inside.
“Cheeky little thing,” she said as she shut the door.
The afternoon dragged on. Nellie had finished cleaning the shop and managed to change into a nicer gown by the time her father returned.
“I suppose I’ll be ‘andling dinner too dad?” she asked as she made some finale touches to her hair.
“Yes girl,” he replied in his normal uninterested tone, “I had a hard day today, me old bones-”
“Aren’t what they used to be,” Nellie cut in finishing her father’s sentence.
Her father patted her lightly on the head. “That’s my girl, I’ll just be in me room. Ya need anything just give a hoot.”
The man smelled of smoke and beer. Yes he spent his days out buying beer and smoking with his friends. Sometimes he would come home flying higher than a hawk so Nellie would have to take over, or if it was too bad even get a doctor. He wasn’t the most pleasant man. As Nellie’s father left the room she mumbled
“Yea, I’ll give ya a hoot to tell ya to get off your lazy arse and help with the pies yourself! You good for notin’ lay-about!” She went out to the shop and quickly took half a dozen pies from the oven. As more pies heated, she started to roll dough for extras that would most likely be needed later on. Customer’s began to show up around 5 o’clock which was when the dinner rush started most everyday. Nellie thought of how funny it was that these people were able to keep such a precise schedule on when to come and leave. About an hour passed by and still no sign of Ben.
“He promised,” Nellie sighed, “he would never break a promise, not to me…”
Finally around 6:35 as she looked out the window while cleaning off a table she caught site of Ben. She was caught up in a gaze. He looked so lovely….er handsome….well either way he looked good. His hair was slightly slicked back and curled towards the bottom. His eyes gleamed in the reflection of the moonlight. Even his clothing was all nice and tucked properly. Ben passed through the crowd of people entering and leaving the shop, occasionally apologizing for bumping into someone. People surely were in a big rush when it came time to eat. When he reached the door he looked to see Nellie glaring at him from the table she was attending to.
“Sorry I’m so late,” he mouthed awkwardly. Nellie turned back and finished with a quick sweep of a cloth to the table and walked over to him. She hit him on the chest.
“Hey! What was that for? I said I was sorry didn’t I?” Ben said.
“You ever give me a fright like that again Mr. B and you’ll be sorry!”
Ben did sit down to have a pie. He enjoyed Nellie’s pies, especially when he had an empty stomach. However since he decided to stay until after the rush was over, all he could do was stand in a corner and watch in amazement at how many people came and left. He wanted to help clean up since he was generous but Nellie was too stubborn to let him help, he was a guest after all.
“Is it always this busy at this time? I mean, when I come by in the morning’s it’s practically empty!” Ben said after everything started to die down.
“Yea, afternoon’s are bloody awful! I swear some of these people just come ‘round to irritate me…”
Finally the last family had left and everything was quiet. Nellie went over to the sign on the door and flipped it to close. Ben was just standing in front of the counter, his eyes wondering around the shop like a child in a candy store.
“Oh! I almost forgot!” Nellie said running off to the parlor only to return a second later with a bottle.
Ben smiled. “You were just waiting for everyone to leave so I wouldn’t be tempting other people to drink more than they needed weren’t ya?”
“Oh damn,” Nellie began jokingly, “you caught me! Eh oh well.” Ben took it upon himself to grab glasses from the shelf and Nellie filled them.
“Cheers to your new job Mr. Barker,” she said smiling.
The two clanged glasses and each took a swig of the liquid. A few minutes had passed and they just stood there talking and carrying on without a care in the world.
“’ey that was not my fault alright?” Nellie had begun leaning against the counter. “Diane had it comin’ for ‘er! Little miss prissy!”
Ben laughed. “Yea but Nel, don’t you think threatening to murder the poor girl is a bit harsh?”
“That’s London for ya dear!” she smirked, “You either eat or get eaten! Besides I-” Nellie’s words were met by her gasping and tripping from lack of balance…most likely the gin. However she didn’t hit the floor. No, she was about to but a pair of hands caught her by the waist at the nick of time.
“You really should consider learning how to walk, you know before you go off and accidentally kill yourself.” Ben said smiling with his hands around her waist.
Her eyes lit up. Yes they have been close by hugging before but this was different. His smile made her heart skip a beat…or two.. maybe three.
“Cause I have no clue what I’d do if you accidentally killed yourself…” Ben whispered smiling dreamily.
Nellie grinned. “Well at least this time I had you here to catch me.”
Ben nodded. The Gin had taken control as he slowly pulled her close to him, locking his lips against hers. Nellie wrapped his arms around him with one thought on her mind, that thought on her mind was Ben.
Only one small candle illuminated the room as the barber pressed upon the peddle of his chair, dropping his last “customer” to the bakehouse below him. Today had been rather rough. The crowds came in larger groups than they had during the previous days of the week. His neck ached and his arms fell limp as he sat down for a moment in his chair. He sighed deeply as the pain in his neck increased. London seemed to be the same every time night crept in. Only the low life would come out at night either drunk or in search of food. The barber’s dark eyes peered out the window of his shop to see the pleasant night being eaten away by dark clouds. Rain was normal in London, it came almost every week to torment those souls who enjoyed nothing more but fresh air and crisp sunlight to bask in. Sweeney Todd however, was not one of those people. He didn’t mind the rain, in fact it came as a pleasure to him for it helped him think. He would think of his beautiful wife and darling child he once had before that awful day where Judge Turpin had destroyed his life forever.
“That bastard,” he said to himself as he came across that memory, “what a pathetic excuse for a human being…”
He slowly got up from his chair and walked over to the window. Now not only the clouds but the quick flashes of light in the distance proved they were due to have a storm. He pondered in thought for a moment and realized that maybe a good swig or two of Gin would make him feel better…less irritable…if that was even possible. He headed towards the door with tiny drops of rain greeting him as he went outside. Sweeney moved with a quick pace down the steps as the rain began to fall more heavily. He soon reached the door to the pie shop which thank god was unlocked because he had forgotten the key Mrs. Lovett had given him in his shop.
“Stupid women’s gonna get herself robbed one day,” Sweeney said as he stepped inside.
The pie shop was dark and very quiet. She must have went to bed Sweeney thought as he went to the cupboard looking for a glass and a nice bottle of Gin. Another flash of lightning hit and the wind began to whistle harshly through the streets.
“Mista T?” a woman whispered.
Sweeney jumped very slightly in surprise and turned to the source of the voice. Mrs. Lovett was standing by the entrance of her parlor. She looked tired. Her dark eyes were kindly looking into his but he could tell that she wasn’t all there from the busy day she had also encountered.
“Thought you would’ve nodded off by now love,” she began with a small yawn, “today was a good day for business but not for your poor bones.”
Sweeney grunted not paying much attention to her.
“Why don’t ya sit down for a minute and rest your bones? I’ll get ya some Gin.” Mrs Lovett went into the parlor and quickly returned with a bottle. “Had to hide this one from the boy or else we’d be out…poor lad’s gonna kill ‘imself if ‘e don’t watch ‘is drinkin’.”
Sweeney sat down at the booth in the shop. He groaned at the pain in his body, which hopefully would soon go away due to the Gin. Right as Mrs. Lovett placed the cup and the bottle on the table, Sweeney opened it pouring the clear liquid into the glass not bothering to take any measure as to how much he put in.
“ ‘ey, ‘ey, you better slow down there love, that’ll go strait to your ‘ead,” Mrs. Lovett said in a concerned matter. Sweeney looked annoyed as he looked at her while downing another shot.
“Mrs. Lovett, I believe I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” he said coldly.
“Well that aint true for when I first met ya now was it?” Mrs. Lovett shot back with her hands on her hips.
From looking at the small glass, Mr. Todd’s eyes slowly moved glaring at Mrs. Lovett.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” he asked in a low tone.
“Oh come now Mista T, surely you can’t be sayin’ you don’t remember that um..well..” Mrs. Lovett hesitated for a moment, “that little incident…not long after you went for that job offerin‘…”
Sweeney looked back down to the rim of his glass. He knew what Mrs. Lovett was talking about, which was quite embarrassing. Mrs. Lovett smirked as she walked over to get herself a glass and sat down at the table.
“Yea, I remember Ben Barker couldn’t ‘andle ‘is drinks too well.”
Yes it was true, Benjamin Barker did not handle drinks well. One was fine, or maybe two but after that forget it, he was out of it. It was awkward for Sweeney to think about…if only he could keep his mind in tact while under the influence of alcohol.
Nellie stood outside the small shop sweeping up after the afternoon rush. People were leaving after having a nice lunch, but most of them would be back in about 4 hours time anyway to have dinner.
“Nel!” a young man’s voice rang from coming down the street. Nellie looked up from sweeping only to see Ben running towards the shop.
“Aw now look who just missed lunch!” she yelled back to him, “Ben Barker I swear you need to get your timin’ strait.”
Ben finally reached her. He was out of breath but dreadfully happy. Nellie couldn’t help but laugh at the site of her dear friend’s face when he made it to her at last.
“Dear God man, if the law’s after ya, I wouldn’t be smiling so much,” she said jokingly.
“The law isn’t after me Nel,” Ben began panting for breath. “I got the job!”
Nellie threw the broom down on the ground in excitement.
“Did you really?!” she asked with a huge smile.
Ben nodded his head frantically, “Yea! I start first thing on Monday!”
Nellie jumped in excitement wrapping her arms around Ben with a huge hug.
“Dear that’s wonderful!” she said proudly. Nellie just couldn’t help the smile on her face. She pulled back from the hug and wagged her finger at Ben. “You come back at the dinner rush ya hear? I’ll give ya a shot o’ Gin to celebrate your new employment.”
“Alright mum!” Ben began in a sarcastic tone, “I’ll come at dinner!”
“You better! Now, you take that snooty behind of yours and go get prepared for later. I have to clean up ‘round ‘ere before you know who get’s back…”
“Oh I feel so wanted!” he replied jokingly.
“Well you aint wanted if I got things to take care of! If my father get’s back and sees this place like this, he’ll have my ‘ead!”
“Alright, I’ll be going now, maybe look around town for a set of blades since I’ll be needin’ a new pair for Monday…”
“You do that love.”
With that, Ben walked off down the street like he was the king of the world. Nellie laughed to herself as she turned to go inside.
“Cheeky little thing,” she said as she shut the door.
The afternoon dragged on. Nellie had finished cleaning the shop and managed to change into a nicer gown by the time her father returned.
“I suppose I’ll be ‘andling dinner too dad?” she asked as she made some finale touches to her hair.
“Yes girl,” he replied in his normal uninterested tone, “I had a hard day today, me old bones-”
“Aren’t what they used to be,” Nellie cut in finishing her father’s sentence.
Her father patted her lightly on the head. “That’s my girl, I’ll just be in me room. Ya need anything just give a hoot.”
The man smelled of smoke and beer. Yes he spent his days out buying beer and smoking with his friends. Sometimes he would come home flying higher than a hawk so Nellie would have to take over, or if it was too bad even get a doctor. He wasn’t the most pleasant man. As Nellie’s father left the room she mumbled
“Yea, I’ll give ya a hoot to tell ya to get off your lazy arse and help with the pies yourself! You good for notin’ lay-about!” She went out to the shop and quickly took half a dozen pies from the oven. As more pies heated, she started to roll dough for extras that would most likely be needed later on. Customer’s began to show up around 5 o’clock which was when the dinner rush started most everyday. Nellie thought of how funny it was that these people were able to keep such a precise schedule on when to come and leave. About an hour passed by and still no sign of Ben.
“He promised,” Nellie sighed, “he would never break a promise, not to me…”
Finally around 6:35 as she looked out the window while cleaning off a table she caught site of Ben. She was caught up in a gaze. He looked so lovely….er handsome….well either way he looked good. His hair was slightly slicked back and curled towards the bottom. His eyes gleamed in the reflection of the moonlight. Even his clothing was all nice and tucked properly. Ben passed through the crowd of people entering and leaving the shop, occasionally apologizing for bumping into someone. People surely were in a big rush when it came time to eat. When he reached the door he looked to see Nellie glaring at him from the table she was attending to.
“Sorry I’m so late,” he mouthed awkwardly. Nellie turned back and finished with a quick sweep of a cloth to the table and walked over to him. She hit him on the chest.
“Hey! What was that for? I said I was sorry didn’t I?” Ben said.
“You ever give me a fright like that again Mr. B and you’ll be sorry!”
Ben did sit down to have a pie. He enjoyed Nellie’s pies, especially when he had an empty stomach. However since he decided to stay until after the rush was over, all he could do was stand in a corner and watch in amazement at how many people came and left. He wanted to help clean up since he was generous but Nellie was too stubborn to let him help, he was a guest after all.
“Is it always this busy at this time? I mean, when I come by in the morning’s it’s practically empty!” Ben said after everything started to die down.
“Yea, afternoon’s are bloody awful! I swear some of these people just come ‘round to irritate me…”
Finally the last family had left and everything was quiet. Nellie went over to the sign on the door and flipped it to close. Ben was just standing in front of the counter, his eyes wondering around the shop like a child in a candy store.
“Oh! I almost forgot!” Nellie said running off to the parlor only to return a second later with a bottle.
Ben smiled. “You were just waiting for everyone to leave so I wouldn’t be tempting other people to drink more than they needed weren’t ya?”
“Oh damn,” Nellie began jokingly, “you caught me! Eh oh well.” Ben took it upon himself to grab glasses from the shelf and Nellie filled them.
“Cheers to your new job Mr. Barker,” she said smiling.
The two clanged glasses and each took a swig of the liquid. A few minutes had passed and they just stood there talking and carrying on without a care in the world.
“’ey that was not my fault alright?” Nellie had begun leaning against the counter. “Diane had it comin’ for ‘er! Little miss prissy!”
Ben laughed. “Yea but Nel, don’t you think threatening to murder the poor girl is a bit harsh?”
“That’s London for ya dear!” she smirked, “You either eat or get eaten! Besides I-” Nellie’s words were met by her gasping and tripping from lack of balance…most likely the gin. However she didn’t hit the floor. No, she was about to but a pair of hands caught her by the waist at the nick of time.
“You really should consider learning how to walk, you know before you go off and accidentally kill yourself.” Ben said smiling with his hands around her waist.
Her eyes lit up. Yes they have been close by hugging before but this was different. His smile made her heart skip a beat…or two.. maybe three.
“Cause I have no clue what I’d do if you accidentally killed yourself…” Ben whispered smiling dreamily.
Nellie grinned. “Well at least this time I had you here to catch me.”
Ben nodded. The Gin had taken control as he slowly pulled her close to him, locking his lips against hers. Nellie wrapped his arms around him with one thought on her mind, that thought on her mind was Ben.
