by Olivia Swift
He was not ashamed to let the tears flow and told himself that it was shock and reaction. Then pulled himself together to text Rula how Magda was doing. She texted back that that was great news and the police had gone.
“Tell her when she wakes up that we are still serving customers. Everything is back to normal.”
He sent back a thumbs-up as he stroked Magda’s hair. The doctor had dressed the wound where she hit the ground.
“Oh, Magda, Magda. Everything was going so well. If I hadn’t asked you to get rid of Loretta, this would never have happened. I am sorry, my darling.” He went on talking gently as he held her hand. “Wake up and tell me you can hear me please. I can’t bear it. I need to talk to you, Magda. I can’t manage without talking to you even if we argue.”
Her eyes fluttered and opened, and she looked around with a blank expression.
“Where am I?” she whispered and clutched at his hand. “Don’t leave me.”
“You’re in the hospital, sweetheart, and there is no chance of me leaving. Take it easy and let it come back slowly.” She turned her head toward him and winced. “You took a nasty crack on the head when you hit the ground. Doctor says you will be fine.”
“Oh, I remember,” she said. “That Loretta was causing trouble and then she passed out.”
He smiled and told her that Great-Gran Irina had made an appearance and Loretta fainted. Magda smiled. “Good old great grandmama.”
“Rula says everything is back to normal and you are not to worry.”
“As long as you are here, I won’t worry.” She clutched his hand, and he took a deep breath and decided to take a chance.
“Magda Caraganic,” he started, and she looked at him suspiciously. He grinned. “Will you please do me the honor of not being Miss Caraganic, but marry me and become Mrs. Magda Barnes?” There was no reaction from the woman in the bed except that he saw tears well up in her eyes, and panic rushed like a lump into his chest and throat. “Have I spoiled everything? I’m sorry. I love you so much, Magda, and we have been so happy these last few weeks.”
“You said the L word,” she whispered as the tears did spill over onto her cheeks. I wouldn’t let myself think it. I thought you were going away to the new job that you have and that it would all be over.”
“We have been such a couple of fools all these years.” He smiled at her and found a tissue to wipe the tears. “I can say it again. I love you, Magda, and you haven’t answered the question.”
“I need to sit up and put my arms around you, Sam Barnes. He helped her sit up in the bed, and she held out her arms for him. “I love you too, idiot, and the answer is yes. I can keep you safe from the Lorettas of the world.
“I think Great Granny will do that.” He smiled.
“Kiss me, Sam. The feeling that it gives me should have told me that we loved each other.”
He obligingly took her lips, and she lay back still holding his hand.
“I know I am in a hospital bed with a great gash on my head, and I bet they shaved some hair off as well.”
He looked and nodded. “Yup.”
“But I am the luckiest and happiest woman in the world. Making the café has been exciting but really only because you were there. We helped Great Grandmama, reunited her with the cat, and found out how upset she was and why. The café is beautiful and Sam Barnes has asked me to marry him.”
“If you had gone out on that date when you were fifteen, we could have saved ourselves all of the arguments.”
“But we liked the arguments,” she answered. “Katie said last week that opposites attract. I think she sort of knew before we did.”
“Did I hear my name?” a female voice said from the door, and Katie stepped in with a bunch of flowers from the hospital gift shop. “How are you?”
“I am happier than I have ever been in my life,” she answered, and Katie looked from one to the other and then a smile spread across her face. Magda nodded. He asked me to marry him.”
“And thank the Lord she said yes and didn’t argue,” Sam added.
“Well, Rula sent me to say everything is under control.”
“Can you find the doctor, Sam? I think I can go back to work.” He shook his head and went to find someone, and Katie gave her a delighted hug. The doctor warned her to be careful and take it easy but let her go. They found her clothes, and Katie had a car to take them all back to Chocolate Magic. The place was in full swing, and you would think that nothing had happened to disturb it all.
They all gave a great cheer when she walked in. The customers joined in because the story had gone around to everyone that came in. Declan had stayed on to help Branston. Rula and Melissa were still tweeting back-and-forth and taking photos to record the day.
They made her sit down, and Katie whispered to Rula. Magda smiled.
“Tell them, Sam.” He stood up with a broad grin and said that he was sorry to interrupt their hot chocolate and truffles, but Magda Caraganic had just agreed to marry him. There was another great cheer, and everyone crowded around the two of them to pat Sam on the back and give Magda hug.
“What a day,” Magda said and found a chair. “Opening a café, being invaded by troublemakers, Great Grandmama solving the problem, being knocked out, and finally being proposed to. You don’t get many days like that.”
By late afternoon the customers had dwindled away, and Magda wanted to thank everyone for making it all happen.
“I’ve cracked the way that coffee machine works,” Rula told her, and Katie had loaded the dishwasher, the tables were wiped, and the unsold truffles and cheesecakes were put in the display cases.
“I think we all need a restful night and start again tomorrow,” Magda told them, and Rula added that it would be easier because they knew how things would work. They left to their various homes. Sam and Magda were left standing in the huge kitchen. She took his hand.
“I will remember this day for the rest of my life.”
“Me too,” he answered. “If you knew how many times I wondered if we would ever be a couple, you would never believe it.”
“Why did you not say something?” she asked him. He grinned and said did she not know that he wanted to live without bruises. She punched him on the arm and then put her arms around his waist. “I want to tell Great Grandmama about today.” He nodded and took her hand as they stood side by side and looked around.
“Thank you, Great Grandmama Irina, for coming to my rescue today.” They both felt the gentle breeze across their faces and Magda smiled. “I felt that thanks. I know you can hear me, and you probably already heard that Sam asked me to marry him today.”
The warm breeze surrounded them, and the scent of lavender floated through the air.
“So, Magda will not be Caraganic any longer,” Sam said out loud, “She will be Magda Barnes, and the Caraganic will finally be lost.” Cobweb fingers touched both of their faces.
“Sam was right. History will not repeat itself, and the course of true love will finally live on. I hope Aunt Gertie knows that the café is successful. The room took on a certain glow. Neither of them could quite describe it afterward. It was maybe a bluish light or maybe lilac but it surrounded the two of them completely.
Sam turned Magda toward him and took her lips with his own in a gentle promise that had his heart in the message.
“I love you, Magda. Always have and always will.”
“I love you right back and always will. Happy ever after, Samuel Barnes. Happy ever after.”
The light felt warm and then faded away leaving the fabulous and gleaming kitchen ready to start work again the next day. There was no suggestion of spirit left there, and no black-and-white pussycat stalked through the nonexistent wall.
“The place is peaceful now,” Magda observed.
“Let’s go home. We have real live cats that will be wanting something to eat,” Sam added. As The Chocolate Magic Café, settled quietly into the night, they knew everything would be all right.
/> Magda settled into the curve of his body later in the night. The cats managed to get in there as well.
She reflected on how she could not possibly get any happier than she was right then.
“Love ya, Mr. Barnes.”
“Love ya right back, Mrs. Barnes,” he murmured into her hair and then sleep claimed them after a long day and they closed their eyes. A slight hint of lavender filled the bedroom. Crystal and Pushkin both looked to the foot of the bed. There was a whispered sigh and then it died away. The cats curled up together and slept.
THE END
Spirit Magic
A Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery - Book 2
Copyright © 2019 by Olivia Swift
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
1
Magda opened the bottle of special Old Pulteney Scotch Whisky which had just been delivered. Looking at the bottle, she observed the spelling was different from the American spelling of ‘whiskey’. “Hmmm … that is interesting”, she thought. She sniffed. It smelled very good, so she took a small spoonful to test it out.
“It should be good at the price,” she murmured. A taste of the smooth liquid told her that it was worth it. Magda was a chocolatier and truffle maker. The chocolate café which she had opened a short time ago was proving to be a wild success. To help her make the truffles and other treats, she had Katie, a talented artist, but who also needed to work. Rula, her best friend, ran the café itself, however, it was still a phenomenal amount of work.
Magda’s truffles were each handmade and therefore a bit on the expensive side. She had discovered that whenever the chocolates had a story behind them, they sold much better. The alcohol-related ones were very popular and she was incorporating Scottish stories into the new one being made.
When she was trying out a new variety, it was easier to work in her kitchen at home. The smaller chocolate vat that she used to make all the stock before the café opened was still there, and it presently had a small amount of chocolate waiting to coat the new truffle. She mixed a spoonful of the whisky into the soft chocolate center, covered it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to set.
“I could treat myself to a coffee and a rest,” she thought and took the mug into the living room. The cats all looked up to see if there was anything edible arriving but ignored her when there was not.
“You are spoiled brats,” she told them. “Psychic cat, indeed,” she said as she moved Crystal along on the couch to find a space. “Lazy cat, more like it.”
Crystal was a lilac tortie Birman and very beautiful with fluffy cream fur and slightly darker ears. Her sister, Abigail, was a darker Birman and both had attractive blue eyes. Crystal always knew when the phone was about to ring and had proved uncannily accurate about other things in the past. They were joined on the couch by Pushkin and Irina, two black and white kittens that had been dumped on her doorstep.
Irina was supposed to be living with Sam, but as Sam was at Magda’s most of the time, the kitten had joined the others. Sam and Magda had known each other all their lives and had fought and argued for almost all that time. Their group of friends was used to the constant disagreements. If Sam said “white,” Magda would say “black.” Magda loved old-world things. Sam loved slick and modern, but Katie had remarked many times that opposites attract.
Sam had designed the café with an insight that belied the arguments. In the end, the two of them admitted that along the way they had developed strong feelings and did love each other. Making everything work, planning a wedding, and running two businesses was proving to be quite a tall order.
The third kitten was with Declan, the carpenter who worked with Sam and who already had three other cats.
“Oh heavens! I have quite a lot to think about,” she said to the cats. Then hearing the door open, she added, “And here is one of the reasons,” then turned her head to see Sam Barnes drop his folder on the table and go off to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
“I just needed a few quiet minutes,” he said as he dropped beside her on the couch. The cats obligingly moved over. Crystal made her way onto his knee.
“Me too. I’ve made up the new center and stuck it in the fridge.” Crystal kneaded her paws on Sam’s knee. “That little villain won’t go to anyone else but you.”
Sam laughed and stroked the cat.
“Is this the whisky truffle?”
“I’ll get you a small taste of the hard stuff,” she said and went to find the bottle.
“That is good,” he said and she handed him a small piece of the chocolate and whisky mixture. “Mmm. That is a winner, Magda.”
“The people with the distillery in the north of Scotland are helpful and willing to do a deal. The stuff is wildly expensive, but I think different from anything else around here. They sent me a photo of the distillery.” Sam saw the small, and to American eyes, quaint, door in a stone wall. It looked like what it was, a historic building which was still operating today in the twenty-first century.
Crystal stretched and swiped at the photo on the tablet and then settled back on his knee.
“Oh no, you little minx,” Magda cried, “We are not having any of this psychic stuff now.” She took back the tablet and saw that the next picture had come up on the screen. It was the ruined walls of an old castle on the headland.
“That’s the ruins behind the distillery,” she told Sam. She flicked on to the next one, “And that is the drop down from the walls to the rocks and the sea. Must have been a good place to defend.”
“So, is this one good to go?” Sam asked.
“I’ll make this batch as samples and write up some of the history.” She stood up. “I had better finish them and then get back to the café.” He caught her arm as she moved away and pulled her back down.
“Not very often we get a few minutes like this.”
“Mmm, I’ll give in and take the chance as well,” she said. Then her conscience pulled her away and back to work.
Sam picked up the folder.
“I am meeting Declan at the café later to talk about this tree house.”
She knew that he was enjoying designing this unusual tree house for a client. It was to be hung between trees and move slightly in the wind. The entrance stairway would be hidden from view and people would suddenly see what looked like a giant wooden teardrop suspended in the forest.
“I can drop you off and pick you up later. We could get a pizza or something on the way back.”
“Sounds good. Saves cooking. Let me just collect this mixture,” Magda answered, and they locked the cats in the living room and left together.
Magda smiled as she walked down the narrow path between the hiking shop and the bank. There were lanterns strung overhead and wrought iron decorations on the walls. It still gave her a thrill when she stepped into the garden area with the colored tables. The double doors opened into the new extension, and the whole of the original stable was an enormous, shining, modern kitchen. The restored original stone slabs on the floor were polished and looked wonderful.
The whole picture of the building looked like an old miner’s cabin and the enticing smell of chocolate drew you in. It was exactly how she had seen it in her mind’s eye and Sam had instinctively reproduced what she wanted. Rula smiled as she saw her friend and now her boss, coming back to work. She was working the complicated coffee machine with the necessary skill, and Rita, the new assistant, was zooming about in her pocket-rocket way that never seemed to slow down.
Magda went over to Katie, who was stirring chocolate in the big vat, and took out the pieces of whisky fondant.
“Is that the new one?” Katie asked, and when Magda nodded and offered them, she popped one in her mouth. Magda waited nervously because Katie was not afraid to point out
if something was not quite right. Then a smile spread across Katie’s face.
“That is a dream, Magda. An absolute dream.” Rula came over and tried one and agreed. Then Magda noticed that one of the regular ladies was at the counter.
“Mrs. Jarvis, you are an expert by now. Tell me your honest opinion of this flavor.”
The woman ate the fondant and smiled. “I need another to be sure,” she said and Magda handed the plate out.
“Absolutely perfect, Magda. What is it?”
“Proper Scotch whisky from the highlands of Scotland. I am going to write up the ingredients that they use to flavor it. It’s fascinating.”
“Tell me when they are ready to buy, girl. It’s a dead certain winner.”
Magda thanked her and let Rita try one as well.
“Yummy,” she said and went back to making sandwiches.
Katie brought Magda up to date on what had been made and what was still to do. Magda tucked her long, plum-colored hair into a hygienic white hat and tied on an apron.
I’ll do the violet ones and let you finish the rose fondant,” she said. “Sam is meeting Declan here later, to discuss the tree house design. It’s apparently very complicated.”
“Declan will work it out for him. I reckon he could build anything out of wood,” Rula called across.
“I did spot some of his sculptured pieces at the house once,” Magda said. “Sam keeps me away in case I remember that he hasn’t built the exercise area for the cats like Declan has.”
“What sort of exercise area?” Rula asked, and Magda told her that Declan had encased the decking in a beautiful wooden structure with fine wire netting.
“The cats can go outside but still be safe. They have tree branches to climb on and rest in the sun.”
“Maybe Sam would be better building the cat area at his own house. You are going to move there eventually, aren’t you?” Katie asked.
“Hmm,” Magda smiled. “I did think that his new roof terrace would be wonderful for the cats to use if it was enclosed. None of you say anything. He will have to be in the right mood to be clued in about it.”