The past week had been a little weird, to say the least. There was no active hostility, but Johanna noticed that Sweeney and Nellie didn't seem to be talking at all, unless it was to tell the other that they would be opening their shop. Those bright smiles that she had seen on both of them previously were gone. Whenever she and Toby had talked to either of them, they would say that maybe they'd talk to each other soon, but they were starting to wonder when soon would be? "Do you think they're gonna talk things through?" Anthony asked. "I don't know." Johanna replied. "Mr. Todd said he would." Toby said. "That was a week ago." Johanna responded. "Him and his grudges." She said with a sigh. "This is all my fault!" "It's not your fault, Johanna!" Anthony reassured. "You didn't know she hadn't told him, and this is probably how he would've reacted anyway!" "Yeah, you had nothing to do with this!" Toby exclaimed.
Johanna sighed again. "Thanks, I guess." She said. "You know, I suppose I do still have a trick up my sleeve if they don't work things out themselves." "What is it?" Toby asked. Johanna gestured to some mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. "The holidays are quite close, I figured I'd decorate." "You're such a genius!" Anthony exclaimed, smiling. "Are you gonna try and get them under the mistletoe together?" Toby asked. Johanna nodded, and he laughed a little. "Oh, I can't wait to see their reactions! It'll be priceless!" "It certainly will be!" Anthony said. "Let's just hope it actually works." Johanna responded, giggling. "I think it will." Anthony said. "You are quite clever." "Oh, you!" Johanna replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Hello, you three!" She heard Nellie say as she walked in. "Hello, mum!" She said. "How are you feeling today?" Toby asked. "Yeah, is everything alright?" Anthony added. "I'll manage." Nellie replied. "Thank you for your concern." "Of course, it's no problem at all! We'll always be here for you, mum!" Toby exclaimed. "Thanks again, dearie! That's so sweet!" Nellie said. "Have you talked to dad at all?" Johanna asked. "Not yet." Nellie replied. Toby sighed. "What's taking him so long?" He asked. "He said he'd talk to you!" "Maybe he's just still processing things. I'd imagine he's got a lot on his mind." Nellie said. "Besides, I don't deserve his forgiveness anyway. I messed up." "That's not true, mum!" Toby exclaimed. "And who's to say he isn't going to forgive you? I did talk to him last week, and he told me more than I ever would've expected!" "I still can't believe that." Anthony said. "I told you he'd come around." Johanna added. She glanced over at Nellie. "I'll go talk to him." "Oh, you don't have to." Nellie replied. "It's alright, mum. I want you two to talk things through." Johanna said. "I'll be right back."
She then headed upstairs, and knocked on Sweeney's door. "Who is it?" She heard him say. "It's me." She replied. "May I come in?" "I guess." Sweeney said. Johanna opened the door and walked in. "How are you doing today?" "I don't know, to be honest." Sweeney replied. "Everything feels wrong. I should be angrier with her, I shouldn't forgive her this easily, but I miss her!" "I think you were angry enough." Johanna said. "Too angry, in fact. All that shouting..." "Even if I did let this slide, who's to say that she'll just welcome me back with open arms after what I did?" Sweeney asked. "I hurt her, and I continue to hurt her by not speaking to her! I know I have my reasons, but at the same time, I really don't want to hurt her!" "Trust me dad, she wants nothing more than for you two to fix things." Johanna responded. "And that's what I'd suggest you do if you don't want to hurt her anymore."
"But what about Lucy?" Sweeney asked. "I know you're upset, and I know you miss her. Trust me, I miss her too, and I've never really met her." Johanna said. "But dwelling on it isn't going to do you any good. You can continue to miss her, you can even continue to love her. That love will always be a part of you, she'll always be a part of you, but that doesn't mean you can't move forward, and love again." She continued. "And you can be upset, but know that you're not obligated to be angry and hold a grudge if you don't feel you can. What matters more to you, this grudge or mum?"
Sweeney sighed. "Mrs. Lovett." He mumbled. "Mrs. Lovett means more to me than I ever thought she would." He said. "This would be so much easier if I loved her less, but damn it, she somehow snuck her way into my heart, and it seems she's made a home there!" "You should talk to her!" Johanna suggested. "And you should tell her how you feel!" "I'll talk to her." Sweeney replied. "But I won't be doing that second one. At least not yet." "Oh come on, dad!" Johanna said with a sigh. "What's stopping you?" "A lot of things." Sweeney replied. "Everything's just so complicated. On top of that, I feel like now wouldn't be the right time." Johanna nodded. "Alright. Well, you tell her whenever you find the right time." She said. "And make sure you actually talk to her! Don't say you will, and then not!"
Nellie tried her hardest to push away all her thoughts of Sweeney, and what had happened a week ago, but she couldn't seem to get it off of her mind. She still thought about how angry he had been, the way he shouted at her, and how hurt he had sounded. As much pain as she was in from the whole thing, it hurt even worse to know that she had hurt him. She never wanted to hurt him, she never meant to do so. She wanted to be the one to heal his wounds, but instead it seemed as though she had created more. She felt terrible about everything. She felt like a terrible friend, a terrible partner, a terrible person in general. She didn't understand how Johanna and Toby were still so kind and understanding. She felt undeserving of them, but was grateful to have them around nonetheless.
Despite how things had been, she still found herself hoping for the best, hoping that things could be fixed. She knew it was probably not likely, for Sweeney was not the forgiving type, and Nellie knew that she really messed up, but she couldn't help but hope anyway. The kids had told her that he would probably talk to her soon, and that they'd then sort things out. After all, they had been talking to him for the past week. It seemed as though maybe Sweeney was constantly pushing the day back. She sighed sadly. "I suppose I deserve this."
"Look who's here!" She heard a voice say, pulling her out of her thoughts. She turned around, and saw Johanna walking downstairs along with Sweeney. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, all she could do was just stand there in disbelief. For the past week, Sweeney only ever came downstairs for food and water, and then immediately went back upstairs and shut himself away. She wasn't sure if he planned on actually talking things through with her, or even saying anything at all, but it was really nice to see him. "Mr. Todd." She mumbled. "Mrs. Lovett." He replied. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Todd!" She blurted. "I really messed up! I shouldn't have lied, I shouldn't have been so selfish, I should've been a better friend! I know you're not the forgiving type, and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but please, Mr. Todd, please give me a chance to make things right!"
She found herself on the verge of tears. She tried her best to keep them from spilling out, but she figured it wouldn't be too long before they escaped her eyes. "Mrs. Lovett, I..." He paused for a moment, and then, to Nellie's surprise, he pulled her close. "I should be apologizing to you." He said. "I shouldn't have yelled, I shouldn't have gotten so angry." Nellie wrapped her arms around him, holding him as tightly as she could. "I shouldn't have lied to you." "You're right about me not being the forgiving type. Usually I'm not, but I just can't bring myself to stay mad at you." Sweeney said. "And believe me, I tried."
"You're really-? You're not-? You don't-?" Nellie wasn't sure what exactly she was trying to say, for she was in too much shock. She couldn't believe that he was holding her once again, and that he really did want to fix things. "I'm still angry at everything, and I'm still dealing with so much, but I've realized that you mean far more to me than holding grudges." Sweeney said. "Really?" Nellie asked. "Yes, dear." He replied. "And when I realized how badly I hurt you, I... I don't know, everything just felt so awful. I don't want to hurt you." "Don't you worry, love. I'll be alright." Nellie reassured, smiling a true, genuine smile for the first time since the last week. "I promise you, I'll never hurt you again." Sweeney said softly.
The tears that Nellie had tried desperately to hold back finally came streaming down her face. "I was so scared that I had ruined things for good!" Sweeney reached out and gently brushed one of the tears away. "I'm still dealing with everything I've learned recently, and it feels so strange to decide to move forward this quickly afterwards, but honestly, I care too much about you to go too long without at least trying to fix things." "Oh Mr. Todd, I'm so glad we're able to fix things!" Nellie exclaimed. "I was so worried that you'd never wanna be my friend again! I thought you might hate me!" "I could never hate you, Mrs. Lovett." Sweeney said. "I care too much for you." Nellie gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I care about you too."
Suddenly, she heard Johanna start to laugh. "What is it?" She asked. "Look up!" Johanna replied. Nellie glanced up, and her eyes widened, noticing that she and Sweeney were underneath mistletoe. He seemed to notice too, for he appeared to be rather embarrassed. "I knew their reactions would be priceless!" Toby exclaimed, laughing. "Did you set this up?" Sweeney asked. "We were just decorating." Johanna replied. "Well, you two know the tradition." Anthony said. "I- Um..." Sweeney mumbled. "Don't embarrass Mr. Todd too much, you three." Nellie said, looking over at the kids. She then glanced back at Sweeney. "You don't have to, dear." To her surprise, he leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips. The kids laughed, but all she could do was stand there in shock. It was very brief, but she still couldn't believe he had actually done it. Her shocked expression quickly turned into a smile. "That was lovely." She said. "I, um... I should go prepare to open the shop." Sweeney responded, letting go of her. "I'll see you later, Mrs. Lovett." "So we're okay now?" Nellie asked. Sweeney nodded, then rushed upstairs.
She had to fight the urge to run after him and pull him into a longer kiss. Maybe one of these days she could. Maybe someday she'd get to kiss him every day. Her hope that someday they'd be together forever had been restored after having feared for the worst after their argument. She didn't mind waiting for someday though. For now, she was just happy to have him back, and for things to be okay again.