The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop

by Caroline Roberts

  The last two proved more difficult. There was much foraging in the borders – good job they were in their wellies – and sighing and puffing, until Lucy stopped in the middle of the back lawn with her arms folded.

  ‘Maybe that’s it,’ she announced.

  ‘Let’s just keep trying a little longer,’ Emma suggested. She had just managed to surreptitiously move a half-chewed carrot to the base of the old apple tree, where the last pair of eggs were perched, just within sight and reach for a five-year-old, on the lower branches. There was also a note with them.

  James and Chloe were standing outside with a cup of tea, watching the goings on. They gestured to Emma that a tea was ready for her too.

  ‘Don’t think we’ll be long,’ she shouted across to them, with a wink.

  Emma wandered nearer the apple tree, seemingly looking around at floor level. Lucy caught her up and soon spotted the carrot lying at the tree’s base.

  ‘There, Auntie Emma – but where’s the eggs?’

  ‘It might be a clue,’ Emma hinted.

  Olivia was on the case, looking around her, and then up. The foil glinted in the sunlight from its branch. She reached up on her tiptoes, her fingertips grasping an egg carefully. Lucy barged in, grabbing the last egg and the note.

  ‘Lucy, be patient,’ shouted James from the steps.

  Lucy unfolded the note, to find a rabbit footprint and a short message.

  ‘Auntie Emma, can you read it, please?’

  ‘Okay. Dear Lucy and Olivia—’

  ‘Oohh, he knows our names!’

  ‘Dear Lucy and Olivia, Please now go to the garden shed where your Easter trail will end.’

  Before Emma had even had the chance to say the word ‘end’, the girls had bolted off. Lucy managed to lift the latch on the shed, and they dived in.

  All Emma could hear was, ‘Aww, that’s so cute!’ And ‘I love him!’

  Then, the girls were out of the shed door shouting, ‘Mummy, Daddy, Auntie Emma, look! Look!’ They were clutching large moulded chocolate Easter rabbits, with matching yellow dotty bow ties, which Emma had lovingly crafted earlier in the week. James and Chloe hadn’t known about these.

  ‘Oh wow, they are fantastic,’ said Chloe.

  ‘Thank you so much to the Easter Bunny,’ said James, beaming a smile at his sister.

  After a lunch of roast beef, and an Easter egg for the twins for pudding, the girls were tired and sat quietly watching some television. After helping with the washing-up, Emma sat with James at the cleared kitchen table, feeling pretty shattered herself.

  The build-up to Easter had been, as per usual, pretty manic – creating Easter eggs of all shapes and sizes, along with chocolate chicks and bunnies, and pretty Easter bonnets moulded from chocolate, upturned and filled with truffles. It was a chance for Emma to be extra creative and she loved that, and the rush and buzz, but it was hard work, resulting in sore feet and sore fingers.

  ‘So, how’s it all been going with the shop?’ James asked. ‘I know that you managed to secure the business at the Seaview Hotel, which is great, but is there anything else on the horizon?’

  ‘Well, the master plan hasn’t quite worked out as well as I hoped,’ Emma conceded. ‘I have been trying my best and approaching other possible new outlets, but they either seem to think that my products are too expensive – which, yes, they would be compared to mass-market chocolate because of the quality ingredients and the hand-crafting involved – or they already have a supplier of some similar confectionery that they are happy with. I seem to have drawn a bit of a blank lately.’ She sighed. ‘And then Easter has taken up all my time and energies, to be honest.’

  ‘Naturally. But hey, keep going. Chin up, sis. Your chocolates are just amazing. Just look at how thrilled the girls are with those brilliant Easter Bunnies.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘And if you need any help at all, me and Chlo are always here. Even if you need a short-term loan or something.’

  ‘Thanks, but it’s not quite come to that yet.’ The last thing she wanted to do was to borrow from her brother without knowing how on earth she might pay it back. She would keep trying and thinking of schemes, but at times it all felt like a juggling act – keeping the shop financed, supplied, and stocked with all the gorgeous chocolate creations she needed to make. With the massive rent hike, the end of every month was always tainted with anxiety and angst over finances; she was working all hours as it was, but it never seemed to be quite enough.

  17

  It was a Saturday afternoon in late May. The Easter boost to finances had now been spent and Emma had managed to pay most of this month’s rent payment and was intending to send over the final £100 after this weekend, when she’d have – hopefully – taken it over the till. It would only be a day or so late.

  Emma and Holly were both in the shop, Em just putting a tray of Baileys white chocolate truffles into the refrigerated counter, when she spotted the unmistakeably greasy head of Mr Neil (the Eel) lurking outside the shop window. She stayed low, hidden by the glass counter and the rows of chocolate therein, watching his next move.

  As he pushed the shop door open, she ducked down to the floor right beside Holly’s legs. Her assistant gave her a quick, confused glance but then seemed to realise what was going on.

  ‘The Eel,’ Emma managed a low whisper.

  Holly’s face settled into a pasted-on smile. ‘Good afternoon. How can I help you?’

  ‘Can I speak with Emma, please?’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry, she had to pop out to Alnwick this afternoon.’ Holly was cool as a cucumber, though Emma was in fact a quivering wreck at her feet. This was no place for a thirty-something grown woman, but it had been her first instinct, and she just couldn’t face him and his snide comments today.

  ‘She had to do some banking,’ Holly followed up.

  It was a Saturday, were the banks even open? Em mused.

  ‘Interesting …’ He let the word linger.

  God, he was such a sleazeball.

  ‘Well, when might she be back?’

  ‘Umm, might be an hour or so … she did mention a couple of other errands she had to run as well.’ Bless her, Holly was keeping it deliberately vague.

  ‘Hmm, I may well call back in later. But,’ he added almost to himself, ‘I do have another appointment – very inconvenient.’

  Well, if he’d said he was calling … Em thought from her coiled, extremely uncomfortable position on the floor … she’d have really made sure she was in Alnwick!

  ‘I’ll be phoning. And there may well be a letter to follow. Will you make sure to tell her I called, it’s a Mr Neil.’

  ‘Eel, yes,’ Holly mouthed as though repeating his name, which nearly made Em chuckle out loud and reveal her hiding place. ‘I will do.’ Holly held her nerve and gave another helpful smile.

  Em held her breath as there seemed to be a second or two where he lurked beside the counter, then she heard footsteps retreating, and the chime of the door. As the door swung to a close, Holly announced brightly, ‘Mr Eel has called.’

  Em stayed low, just in case he popped back for a second check, but she had to laugh.

  ‘That was far too close for comfort,’ she said to Holly. ‘Keep an eye out for a little while, he may well come back.’ And with that she crawled on hands and knees towards the back hallway, heading for the safe-zone of the kitchen. ‘We’ll need some kind of code if he does,’ she added.

  ‘Jellied eels?’ Holly laughed.

  ‘Yes, jellied eels it is – but won’t that sound a bit odd if you just shout it out as he comes in? Like you’ve got Tourette’s or something?’

  ‘I could sing it, like I’m just singing along to the radio.’ And with that she launched into ‘Oh, je-llied eels’ in the tones of ‘And so, Sally can wait’ from Oasis’s ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. Emma poked her head back in to the shop and they laughed together. Emma knew she had to laugh, or else she might just end up choking with te
ars – the threat to her beloved shop was very real.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that the shop’s having to close, pet.’ Old Mrs Clark had just ambled up to the counter and was still slightly out of breath from her walk up the hill. ‘It’s a bit of a bugger, that.’

  ‘Pardon?’ Emma was taken aback.

  ‘Oh yes, heard it from Sheila at the grocer’s. She was telling me about all the financial problems you’ve been having and that you’re having to finish.’

  It was only two days after Mr Neil’s ominous visit. Blimey, the village gossip merchants had been busy.

  ‘Oh, but that’s not true, Mrs Clark. I’m not closing at all.’ She was keen to put the record straight as quickly as she could.

  ‘Oh, but …’ The elderly lady looked confused.

  ‘No, I’m absolutely not closing The Chocolate Shop any time soon.’ She felt more determined than ever. Hearing those words coming from an old friend in the village was rather shocking and felt like a knife blade. Imagine if they really were true?

  ‘I’m so, so, sorry, Emma. It’s just that as I’ve heard that from a couple of people in the village now, I believed it.’

  ‘Well, to be totally honest, Mrs C, there was a small issue with a slightly late payment this month, and the landlord has hiked up the rent on me this year. So maybe that’s got a little confused in the chatter. But that’s all settled and it’s fine. I have no intention of leaving any time soon.’

  ‘Well, I’m very glad to hear it, Emma. I’d have missed you and your shop so much. I enjoy my weekly stroll up here, despite that bugger of a hill, and your chocolate brazils – they are so much better than any of those supermarket ones.’

  ‘Can I get you some now?’

  ‘Yes, please, pet.’

  ‘I’ll put a few extra ones in for free if you can do me a favour and go back and let the villagers and Sheila know there’s no truth in the rumours, that I’m not going to be closing at all. The Chocolate Shop by the Sea is doing fine, and is here to stay.’

  Well, she mused silently, for the next few months at least.

  ‘Of course, I will, pet. I’d hate for there to be any falsehoods going around. I know what the village can be like for gossip. I’m sorry I got caught up in it all and I hope I haven’t hurt your feelings, Emma dear.’

  ‘Not at all. In a way, I’m glad you let me know. At least we can put the record straight now.’

  ‘We can indeed. I’m on the case.’ The old lady set off determinedly, her chocolate brazils safely stowed in her large handbag.

  There was only one place the rumour could have started. Emma hadn’t told anyone else, not even Bev; she hadn’t spoken with anyone other than James and Chloe about her finances since the initial rent hike, and they certainly wouldn’t be in the village gossiping. There was only one person who could have talked – Holly!

  18

  ‘Hi there, you okay? Good time to talk, or do you have customers in?’ Bev’s chirpy tones came down the phone line. It was later the same day that Mrs Clark had been in.

  ‘Yes, it’s fine. No one’s in now and it’s nearly closing time.’

  ‘Em, I’ve heard the rumours going about that The Chocolate Shop might be closing. Do you want to talk, or come round after work maybe?’

  ‘Oh Bev, it’s not true. The shop’s not closing at all. Not on my watch.’

  ‘Right! Well, thank heavens for that. So where’s it all come from, then?’

  ‘It’s all snowballed. To be honest, there’s some truth in that I’ve had a few financial pressures lately, and this month the rent was paid a few days late. Three days, that was all, but that was it, the landlord was on my case. I’ve never paid late before in all the years I’ve been here.’

  ‘Well, that doesn’t seem very fair.’

  Emma sighed. ‘He wants me out, I’m sure of it. First hiking up the rent extortionately for this year, and now this. I’m sure he’s after selling the place off, or making it into a holiday cottage.’

  ‘Oh, Emma.’

  ‘I just can’t relax. It’s like this black cloud is permanently over me all the time, with me trying to make ends meet. But even if I do, and I cover the rent, I have a feeling that once this year’s contract is over he’ll probably serve my notice or hike it up again, anyhow.’

  ‘Oh, hun. I wish you’d told me more about this before.’

  ‘I was just trying to keep going, pay the bills and the rent. Carry on as normal. I didn’t want these sorts of rumours getting out.’

  ‘No, I bet. But you know I’d never betray a confidence. And sometimes a problem shared …’

  ‘I know. Thank you. I think it was Holly who let it slip after the landlord called to chase the rent. Once the village grapevine got hold of it, well, they had me closing down within the week.’

  ‘Well, it sounds like you might be in need of some time out. It’s been such a glorious day, and looks like it’s going to stay a nice evening, so I was actually calling to see if you’d like to come round for drinks in the garden here?’

  ‘Tonight?’

  ‘Yes, I’ll see if Joanne and Ali can make it too, if you’d like.’

  Ali was a friend of Bev’s who lived in the next village; she also worked as a receptionist at the doctors’ surgery, and was always good company.

  Well, it might beat her evening date with Alfie, the television, and pondering her financial woes. She hadn’t realised quite how lovely the weather had been as the shop front was shaded – ideal for chocolates, to be fair – with the sun hitting the courtyard at the back of the cottage of an afternoon.

  ‘Pete’s been out all day golfing,’ Bev added. ‘There’s some kind of dinner event afterwards too, so I doubt if I’ll see him back until past ten o’clock. So drinks with the girls seemed ideal.’

  ‘It sounds lovely. And yes, do ask Jo and Ali, that’d be lovely. What time do you want me around? I’ll just have to shut the shop up, take Alfie out for his walk, and give him some tea.’

  ‘About six-thirty, so we can make the most of the sunshine. Bring a cardi or fleece as we’ll try and stay outside. Pete brought home one of those chiminea things yesterday. We’ll set it up and give it a blast. Beat the Northumberland chill that’ll no doubt creep in later on.’

  ‘Great.’

  ‘I was thinking of making up a jug of Pimm’s and lemonade, to celebrate the start of summer. Maybe followed by a glass or two of Prosecco.’

  ‘Sounds delightful. Can I bring along anything to help?’

  ‘Now you’re asking … A scrummy box of your chocolates might be nice. Do you still do those Eton Mess ones? You know, the ones with strawberries, cream, and meringue? I think they’d go lovely with the Pimm’s.’ Em could hear the cheesy smile in her friend’s voice.

  ‘Yep, I do indeed. Made a batch of those yesterday morning, in fact, so I’ll bring some of those and a selection of other favourites.’ She’d also just made some dark choc ganaches with a hint of lavender, which were surprisingly good. She loved testing out new flavours with seasonal twists and she was now on to the tastes of summer.

  ‘Of course.’

  Hmm, Emma mused, a Pimm’s truffle might work really well – milk choc with a touch of Pimm’s liqueur and tiny freeze-dried strawberry and orange pieces on the top … Emma’s brain was in creative mode.

  Just after the school bus drop-off time Holly popped her head around the shop door. ‘Hi, Em.’

  ‘Hel-lo Holly,’ Emma’s tone couldn’t hide her disappointment: she was still so annoyed at the dreadful news of her precious shop closing spreading like wildfire through the village.

  ‘Everything okay?’ Holly asked cautiously as she came in. The shop was empty other than the two of them.

  ‘No, not really.’

  Holly’s eyes widened.

  ‘Word has got out that The Chocolate Shop is about to close. Can’t think where that could have come from, can you?’

  ‘Oh! But I only told my friend Freya.’

  ‘An
d Freya is the daughter of Sheila, who owns the village grocer’s. The best place for gossip in the world.’

  ‘Oh …’ Holly looked dejected.

  ‘Rumours have now spread and built, Holly. Mine and the shop’s reputation are in tatters. And the village is expecting me to close at any time. There are suppliers who’ll possibly be hearing about this and I don’t want them to think I’m going under. And my orders … The new business at the hotel, for instance, has probably got wind already and they’ll be expecting me to let them down soon.’

  ‘Emma, I’m so, so, sorry. I never said you were going to close. I was just telling Freya the funny story about you hiding under the counter and I may just have added about Eel Man chasing the rent.’ Holly would never have realised what was about to happen next. But so much damage could be done by such rumours. ‘How did you find out?’

  ‘Mrs Clark’s been in, saying how sorry she was we were closing.’

  ‘Oh, no. Emma, let me put this right. I’ll go right away to Freya and her mum and tell them the truth of it, and the village. I can knock on a few doors and put the record straight. I know who the main gossipmongers are. But don’t worry, Em, I’m sure they’ll all want to support you anyhow. None of them would want to see you or the shop go. You and The Chocolate Shop, you’re a part of Warkton now.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Emma felt a tear crowd her eye. She blinked it away. She couldn’t stay cross with her assistant for long. Holly was young and naïve and hadn’t been thinking. ‘Just be careful what you speak about in the future, especially when it involves other people’s lives,’ Emma warned.

  ‘I will. I will. Do-do I have to leave my job?’ Holly sounded choked up. She looked tearful.

  ‘Oh Holly, of course not,’ Emma replied. ‘Just make sure you think before you start chattering on next time.’

  ‘I will. Of course I will. If I’d realised what might happen … I never meant to upset you, or spoil the shop’s reputation.’ A big fat tear spilled down her assistant’s cheek.