Wine Tasting
Wine; was supposed to clear your thoughts. In reality, it doesn't really clear them just moves them out of your brain for awhile.
Maybe it's more clensing than clearning...or purifying...or...well there were millions of ways to describe it other than...clearing.
Sweeney sighed as he swished the reddish purple liquid around in his glass, before bringing it to his lips.
The sticky sweet taste lingering on his tongue before turning extremely, extremely bitter.
There'd been a lot on his mind lately, including the judge and Johanna...and occasionally Lucy. Mrs. Lovett was also somewhere in there.
He wasn't sure what it was...but he needed it to go away...the feeling that is. That woman was spoiling his revenge. So to speak.
He smacked his lips together, trying to rid the unpleasent taste all together. But it wasn't as easy as it seemed.
A few months later...
The wine was bittersweet. With an absolutly dreaadful aftertaste that made you regret drinking it. Again, many thoughts were rading his mind lately.
Johanna was supposed to be kidnapped by Anthony. He didn't know he he'd pull through with itl yet.
If that sailor boy didn't succeed there would be many complications. And many more killings.
He raised the glass up again, drowning his thoughts with the taste...the aftertaste reminding him of his life.
A few weeks later...
Anthony has Johanna. The sailor's out looking for a coach. Johanna is with Mrs. Lovett in the parlor, it seems as if they have an invisible bonding.
Sweeney sits silently in one of the booths. Sipping wine. Again. This time the sickeningly sweet taste fillis his mouth.
He swallows it. The aftertaste reminding him much of blood, as does the color of the thick substance in his cup.
He watches as Anthony bursts in, in a hurry to get Johanna and leave without ever being here.
He calls for Johanna, and says to Sweeney, "forever in your debt, sir." Though he says it quite excitedly.
All Sweeney does is nod, before proceeding to take another sip, cringing at the sweetness of it. Soon enough, Mrs. Lovett wanders out with Johanna.
She embraces the young girl, gives her a kiss on the cheek, and wishes her goodluck. Johanna smiles and waves, and says to keep in contact.
Mrs. Lovett looks over at the barber, but he makes no note of it. He simply nods at Anthony, and silently sends them on their merry way.
A few weeks later...
Covered in blood, and not making any effort into changing, Sweeney Todd sits in his barber chair, with a glass in his hand.
The substance this time is bitter and thin. Easily sliding down his throat, he takes small sips instead of the big gulps that the boy would take if he had wine.
The Judge was dead. As was the Beadle. The two lying out in the bakehouse with the annoying beggar woman.
Mrs. Lovett decided taht she wasn't going to cook them, instead she was just going to burn them. And she probably was doing that, at this moment.
He decided he would check on her later. He hadn't cleared his thoughts enough, and besides there was no hurry.
Two months later...
He didn't remember why he was still around. His purpose was the kill the judge, but he had nothing planned after that.
Drinking was certainly not on the list. He sat silently in the chair in the parlor, careful not to spill on any of the furniture as he sipped the drink.
The disgusting taste caused him to make a face, as he threatened to spit it out, but managed to force himself the swallow. He didn't dare take another sip.
He let his thoughts run through his head, including the ones about living by the sea...and being a proper family.
Exactly Sixteen days Later...
He sat atop her bed, balancing the glass between his fingers. Mrs. Lovett lie sleeping under the covers snuggled up close to him.
Her naked form, made drinking the unusual tasting wine a little easier. He set the glass down, brushed a piece of stray hair out of her pale face.
She looked same damn innocent in her sleeping form, and like a goddess with her pale skin and auburn hair.
He scooted down to lie beside her, stroking her cheek lovingly. She was making moving on a lot easier. Or perhaps it was the wine.
Either way, properity was no longer in the question. The sense of being pure somehow still hovered over her, after all that she's done with questionable legality.
He kissed her cheek, pulled her close to him, and fell asleep dreaming of nothing, thinking of nothing. Perhaps the wine was doing it's job,
A week later...
Just because he slept with her didn't mean he loved her. Or did it? He didn't even have to like her. Though he did...
This was the perfect time to try the wine that she bought home. The taste was a mix between cherries and grapes...the grapes, okay, but cherries?
The thing about this one was it was strangly addicting...just like her body...and her touch...and her voice...
He drank again, a huge gulp, trying to rid the thoughts. But it didn't work. They returned to haunt him. He needed to see her...and touch her...
He growled as he set his glass down with a loud thump on the counter, before proceeding to the bakehouse where she worked, scrubbing the floors.
He watched for awhile, letting her lips enchant him, before her voice brought him back into reality.
"Hello, beautiful..." He mumbled as he wrapped his arms around her thin waist. The wine clear in his breath.
"Is that the one I bought yesterday?" She questioned him...referring to the drink. He simply nodded innocently, before catching her lips.
Maybe love was somewhere in there...mixed in with the wine...and the years that went by.
Two months later...
So she's pregnant. Boom. Outcomes the bottle, propped up on the table...begging for him to come pour the liquid out.
She tells him this, not waiting for his reaction, and leaves. He automatically, finds himself in the kitchen...with a bottle of wine waiting for him.
He willingly pours it out...the color reminding him of her hair...the after-taste of the night before.
He ponders over whether or not to keep the child...and his own feelings on this sudden...tradgedy? Surprise? It was overall impossible to describe.
However, the more he drinks, the more he accepts the idea, and by the time the nutmeg tasting drink was half done, he had grown to like the situation.
Maybe once the child was born...they could forget about this life...and move on to live a new one.
A proper one...and maybe even by the sea... "Oh gosh..." he thinks...with a smirk. "It's either the wine...or her...it's poisoning me..."
But deep down inside he knows that it's not the wine...but he's grown to love this woman.
Half a Year and a month later...
Boxes lay randomly scattered around the house. They decided that they'd get new furniture once they moved in...they had enough money.
Most of the boxes were filled with clothes...and things like books...but the razors were to stay with him all times. He trusted nobody with them.
He sat in one of the booths, as he kept a watchful eye on his wife, Nellie who was standing outside, giving friends her new address.
He bounced his baby on her hip, as she recived a kiss on both cheeks, and a hug. The little girl wailed, so Nellie waved, and walked inside.
"Will you talk Abigale out of my hands for a bit, love." He nodded, taking the brunette girl out of her hands, as Abi curled her little finger around his pinky.
He kissed her forehead. The brief image of Johanna pushed it's way into his mind...but the vanished quickly.
Fifteen minutes later...
His wife returned and sat down next to him. She set down a dusty bottle on the table, and two glasses, and gave him a smile.
He leaned in and kissed her temple. "I love you..." He smiled, and gave her a peck on the cheek. "And I you..." She returned, kissing the babies fingertips.
He poured each of them half a glass. Abigale attempted to knock one of the glasses over, but her mother shook a finger at her no.
The little girl pouted and pulled her hand back, presenting her parents with her own gummy smile.
They both brought the glasses to their lips and took a sip...the wine was bitter at first, but the aftertaste was sweet. "How come this feels like de ja vu..." He said.
She gave him a smirk, before saying "so..." she puased taking Abigale from him. "Out of all the wines you tasted, which was you favorite?" She asked randomly.
"Why?" He asked back. She rolled her eyes and shrugged, "I'll tell you, once you answer my question." He thought about it for a moment.
He couldn't remember everything that he'd ever drank...but this one was so much better than the rest. "This one." He stated to her.
"Really?" She asked. He nodded. "They say...the wine that you love best, reflects your life the most." She gave him a wink.
She stood up, and carried Abi off, cooing to her as she walked, "we gotta a big day tomorrow!" Sweeney chuckled.
What babies did to woman was a mystery. But then again, what wine did to him was a mystery too.
One minute later...
He inspected the bottle in silence, while taking another huge gulp of his favorite wine. He realized that this was the same wine he had a couple years ago.
The first time he had sat down here to try to clear his mind...when the judge was driving him insane...and his desire for Lucy still fresh on his mind.
"But it was bitter than...really bitter, just like my life...it was...unpleasent. How come it tasted so different?' he thought to himself.
He raised a brow, as he took another sip. Bittersweet and strange...and when it hit the sweetness he thought "oh goodness things certainly can change."
And again, he wasn't sure if it was the wine...or him...or just life in general. But isn't change supposed to be good?
He took another sip and in his mind concluded...change is good...and wine tasting is very addicting.