Dreaming in Chocolate

by Susan Bishop Crispell

  Henry’s office light burned upstairs. If he was looking out the window he would have seen her. Thankfully his back was to the window, and she hurried up the sidewalk. She wedged the note she’d written on the back of a Festival of Fate postcard into the doorjamb an inch above the knob where Margarete would be sure to see it on her way in.

  She’d kept it simple: Tell everyone they’ll have their hot chocolate this year. Whatever good it will do them.

  * * *

  The drive from the mayor’s office to work took her by the Orchard Street Cafe. It was so packed for breakfast that customers spilled onto the front porch as they waited for a table.

  It took her a second to recognize one of them as her mom. Sabina watched the road, her hand flying up every few seconds to tuck in flyaway hairs or smooth out her coat.

  She wasn’t just waiting for a table. She was waiting for someone.

  The fact that she hadn’t mentioned anything about it sent a shiver of worry through Penelope. If her mom had used the chocolates again, she would be waiting for a hallucination. And every patron in the cafe would be witness to Sabina’s magic-induced high.

  Penelope pulled into the first open parking space she could find. Backtracking down the street, she tried to find her mom again in the half dozen people crowded in front of the door. When she reached the cafe, and Sabina was nowhere in sight, Penelope hoped her mom had come to her senses.

  She peered in the window and found her mom sitting across a table from Marco.

  Her mom’s nerves hadn’t subsided with Marco’s arrival. If anything, they may have gotten worse. Sabina had no reason to be nervous around one of her oldest friends. Unless she was trying to talk him into overruling Penelope’s decision regarding Ella’s treatment. She’d promised she wouldn’t use magic again, but Penelope hadn’t thought to make Marco off-limits too.

  Marco wouldn’t agree to it, of course. He’d been the one to tell Penelope to end it in the first place.

  But she had to be sure.

  Penelope pushed her way past the line, murmuring her apologies but not stopping until she made it inside.

  Sabina blushed when Marco reached across the table and covered her hand with his. A laugh bubbled out of her, so much like when she thought her husband was still alive. Penelope froze.

  There was one other reason her mom might be uneasy with Marco. Why she hadn’t told Penelope about their breakfast. Sabina was on a date.

  Penelope turned before they could spot her and slipped back outside. She was halfway down the sidewalk when Zan stepped out onto the porch and called her back. “I can bring something out to you if you’re not up to dealing with that many people yet.”

  She’d been so worried about her mom she hadn’t even considered that she’d be putting herself in the line of fire. Her gaze whipped back to the front window. A couple people watched her, pity weighing down their features as they lifted their hands to their hearts. She looked away, pretending she hadn’t seen them. “Oh, thanks. I was actually just checking on my mom. Looks like she and Marco are having a good time so I didn’t want to bother them.”

  “Hey, I know you don’t know me very well, but I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry about your daughter,” Zan said, her hesitant tone stretching the sentence out. “Whenever I see her, she always seems so happy and full of life. It just breaks my heart that she’s so sick.”

  It wasn’t just heartbreaking. It was tragic. Unfair. Cruel. But Penelope was biased.

  She smiled to force some of the awkwardness out of their way. “Thanks. Ella’s optimism is what keeps me going most days.”

  “It makes sense now. Why you’ve been so certain that what I dreamed about my ex will come true. I’ve kinda been hoping he wouldn’t show up until after the festival and I’d be able to use the hot chocolate again to make sure he didn’t find me here. But that was never going to work. And you tried to get me to see that.”

  “I’m sorry, Zan. I wish more than anyone that there was a way to change our fates. Everything with Ella has made me realize if something is supposed to happen, it will find a way no matter what we do, so I might as well accept it and figure out how to deal with it.”

  Zan puffed out her cheeks then released a cloud of white into the cold morning air. “So you have to watch your daughter die and I have to either leave the first place in forever that’s felt like home or risk my ex finding me and ruining my life here anyway. That just plain sucks.”

  “I’m not saying it’s easy. But that’s what I have to do because otherwise I don’t think I would get through it in one piece,” Penelope said. She bit her lip to keep from saying anything more. She’d agreed to help with the festival and should probably act like she supported it even when she didn’t. “But most of the town still believes in the festival and the magic of the Kismet hot chocolate. And I’m done trying to convince them otherwise. My mom and I will make the hot chocolate for the Festival of Fate like always and people can drink it or not. So if the idea of drinking possibly magical but possibly not hot chocolate makes you feel better about what’s coming, just ignore me. Everyone else is.”

  “What changed your mind about helping with the festival?”

  “Fighting it was getting me nowhere. And you know, if it’s what they all want, who am I to tell them they can’t have it?”

  “But you still don’t think it will work?” Zan asked.

  “It didn’t work for me. But maybe what I wanted to change was just too big,” Penelope said.

  25

  Noah had worked three doubles in a row. By the time he got back to his brother’s house each night, all he wanted was a cold beer and a hot shower. Preferably together. He swiped a double IPA from the minifridge in the laundry room and popped off the cap on the opener screwed into the wall by the light switch.

  He guzzled that one without taking a breath. The bitterness of the hops was a perfect match for his mood. He grabbed a second one before heading to the guest room.

  The television whispered from the family room and threw patterns of light on the cream carpet in the hallway. He paused, ducking his head around the jamb. His brother slouched on the sofa with his socked feet propped on the coffee table. Tucker’s eyelids drooped so only a sliver of white peeked through. Noah stepped back and accidentally knocked his beer against the molding. Tucker jerked up, cracking his good heel against the table.

  “Sorry,” Noah said.

  “You’re home.” Tucker blinked a few times against the low light. He rubbed his heel on the top of his other foot and let his head fall back on the cushions. “Good night?”

  “Decent. The new girl’s not gonna make it, though.”

  “She’s been there two days. Give her a chance.”

  Noah rolled his shoulders and loud pops followed in rapid succession. Just thinking about the broken glasses and spilled drinks and wrong orders at her hands had the tension tightening again. “I gave her enough chances for three people tonight. Would’ve been home half an hour ago if she hadn’t spilled the dirty mop water all over the floor I’d just cleaned.”

  “That on top of a double? Man, your boss is a dick,” Tucker said. He barked out a laugh and cradled his broken ribs with an arm. “Finally decide you want to make a move on your dream girl and then spend every waking hour at work so you can’t even try.”

  “Just remember I’m here doing you a favor. You keep this shit up and you’re on your own,” Noah said, letting some of his bad mood rough up the edges of his words enough to get his brother to back the hell off.

  “Doubtful. For one, you’re too decent of a guy to bail on me now. If you didn’t want to put up with my shit, you wouldn’t have come in the first place. And two, if you do, you’ll never get the love note River brought you from Ella.” He flicked his eyes to a folded piece of paper wedged under an empty glass. “She wanted to wait up and give it to you herself, but it’s a school night so I told her no dice and sent her packing. But she made me promise to tell you it’s very im
portant and you are to leave your response on the other side and she’ll take it back tomorrow.”

  At least one of the Dalton girls is interested in me. Noah let out a long breath as he walked into the room. He whacked his brother’s good leg with the back of his hand when Tucker made to move the note out of his reach then leaned over him to wrench it from his fist.

  Written in very serious print were the words: Plees com to dinr tomoro at the BEST piza restrot in town?

  He read it through twice to make sure he understood what she was asking. Two lopsided check boxes sat underneath the question.

  “Shit, I was kidding about it being a love note,” Tucker said, reading over Noah’s shoulder.

  Smiling to himself, Noah dug a pen from one of the cargo pockets on his pants and scrawled an X in the “yes” box.

  “What are you doing, Noah?” Tucker nudged his cast into his brother’s knee and narrowed his eyes, making all of his features sharp and accusing. “Using an eight-year-old to get to her mom is pretty low. But using an eight-year-old with a brain tumor—special seat in hell, bro.”

  Noah had tried calling Penelope countless times in the past week, but she was ignoring him. No one seemed to really know what was happening with Ella or how bad things were. He’d even asked Marco when he came in for bourbon one night and was told to talk to Penelope if he wanted answers. If Ella was going to offer him that opportunity, he wasn’t about to pass it up.

  “Ella’s the one sending me notes, not the other way around. I can’t help it if she likes me. And I’m sure as hell not gonna ignore her. That is a surefire way to get on Penelope’s bad side.”

  “You’ve been there long enough, I’d think you’d be used to it by now.”

  Noah dropped onto the chair, the unopened beer dangling from one hand between his knees. “Doesn’t mean I want to be there. Plus, I like the kid. She’s got one hell of a personality. I mean, what other kid would have the guts to send a grown-ass man notes home from school with his niece asking him to dinner? You gotta admit, that’s pretty damn adorable.”

  “Which bring us back to my original question. What are you doing? You don’t live here. What happens in the unlikely event that Penelope and/or Ella fall for you?”

  “I appreciate the concern, Tuck, but right now, I’m just taking everything one day at a time. Seeing if there’s even a place for me in Penelope’s life.”

  “Your relationship with her—or whatever this is—is more like a Choose Your Own Adventure. Maybe you’d fit in her life in one scenario but not another. Or maybe you’re not even a choice at all.”

  Noah leaned forward and picked at the bottle label that was already going soft from the condensation. “If you think that’s gonna make me like her less, you may want to rethink that.”

  “You always died in those books. Then tried again, made the same dumb-ass mistakes and died all over. You being back here and going after Penelope Dalton is the same thing.”

  But this time, Noah was determined to make different choices. “I was an idiot back then, so it’s not the same. And I seriously doubt she’s gonna kill me. But if she does, just be glad that you’re the beneficiary on my life insurance.”

  “Noah, listen,” Tucker said. He cut the volume on the television and leaned forward, mirroring his brother’s stance. He spoke to his clasped hands instead of Noah. “It’s not that there’s anything wrong with her. But don’t you think it’s strange that they make chocolates that tell the future and alter personalities and shit? Don’t get me wrong, they taste fantastic, but who’s to say Penelope isn’t using them on people to get what she wants? Not to mention the fact that she’s been lying to the town about Ella getting better? I mean, what kind of person does that?”

  “If she wanted to use her magic on people without them knowing, I doubt she’d make it quite so obvious by selling her chocolates right out in the open,” he said. He picked at the edge of the beer cap with his thumbnail. The nervous feeling he’d been fighting since he’d last seen Penelope returned to gnaw on his stomach. “And I don’t know why she lied about Ella. What they’re going through can’t be fun. I don’t blame her for wanting to keep it from everyone for a while.”

  “Okay, I can see your point about Ella. That’s a shitty situation and having everybody all up in her business right now probably isn’t making it any easier. But the chocolate thing is still weird. I mean, she’s got this magic at her fingertips and yet she’s raising her kid on her own with no sign of the girl’s dad, like ever. You’d think she’d have tied her life up in a pretty little fucking bow by now if that’s what she wanted. So what makes you think she’s going to suddenly change her mind just because you’ve rolled back into town for a few months?” Tucker asked.

  She had been interested in him once. She’d calmed the restless part of him that was always pushing pushing pushing to find something more, something bigger. She’d given him a reason to want to stay in Malarkey. And he’d screwed it all up in five seconds flat. No wonder Penelope had trust issues with guys.

  Noah shoved out of the chair, smacking the bottle against his knee. “You really are a dick. So, I’m going to chalk this conversation up to you being tired and pissy, take my beer, and go wash your damn bar off of me.” He grabbed the note off the table to leave on River’s nightstand. The paper stuck to his clammy hands. “If this all blows up in my face you can say ‘I told you so.’ But if I somehow manage to win Penelope over, you will owe me the biggest fucking apology.”

  He went upstairs and left his response to Ella next to his niece. He still had a long way to go to earn back Penelope’s trust. But with Ella on his side, he might have a real shot.

  * * *

  Penelope waited for the hostess to clear a table for them. The restaurant was half-empty, but Ella had insisted on a table by the window. She’d said it was so she could wave to people as they passed on the sidewalk, but she scratched her nose as she’d said it, which usually meant she was lying. But she’d smiled and said please, and Penelope couldn’t think of a reason she would lie about it.

  She looked up when she heard her name. The pleasure in Noah’s voice sent a rush of nerves racing along her skin. How was she supposed to get Ella to drop her matchmaking crusade when he showed up everywhere? Her daughter was already too attached to him, and each new interaction was just going to make it harder to let him go in the end.

  She ignored the voice that said she was getting a little too used to his presence too. She caught herself staring at his full lips, remembering what it had been like to kiss him all those years ago, and looked away.

  “I heard this is still the best pizza in town,” Noah said as he shrugged out of his jacket and stood next to her.

  “It’s still the only pizza place in town. And you don’t have to wait to be seated. We’re waiting on a specific table,” she said.

  “Yeah, uh, Ella kinda invited me to have dinner with you.”

  Clearly, Penelope needed to lay some ground rules for Ella where Noah was concerned. And top of that list would be not inviting him to things without getting permission first. “Of course she did. I guess you both forgot to tell me?” she said after a moment.

  His mouth tugged to one side in amusement. “Huh. Guess we did.”

  “You knew she hadn’t cleared it with me, didn’t you?”

  “You’ve been avoiding me. And everyone else, based on the talk in the bar every night. People are worried about you two. I’m worried about you. What you’re going through with Ella can’t be easy. You don’t have to do it alone. So if ambushing you for dinner is the only way I can get you to talk to me, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  She wanted to tell him they were fine. That she appreciated all of the concern and sympathy and was sorry for making everyone worry more by hiding from them. But the words wouldn’t come. It was so much easier to lie to him—to act like he didn’t matter—when he treated her the same way. But this new Noah, the one who seemed determined to win her over, was throwing
a wrench into her plans to keep him at arm’s length.

  “Plus, it’s damn near impossible to say no to that kid. She’s too cute for her own good,” he said.

  “Tell me about it.”

  Penelope followed his gaze across the restaurant where Ella had gone to show off her purple hair to the waiter who always brought her free ice cream. As if she sensed them watching her, Ella looked up, saw Noah, and almost tripped as she rushed back to them.

  “Does this mean I get to stay?” He held up a hand to give Ella five when she reached him.

  “You came!” she said, curling her hand into his after slapping it.

  “Um, excuse me, kiddo. No running inside. You know that.”

  “Sorry, Mama. I was just superexcited to see Noah.”

  “It seems somebody couldn’t wait to go on her first date,” the waiter called across the restaurant.

  “It’s not a date for me,” Ella threw over her shoulder and then sent Noah a conspicuous wink.

  Penelope rolled her eyes when he winked back. Songs from the fifties and sixties redone in Italian played softly from the speaker system, and she hummed along as they waited. When their table was ready, Ella scooted into the far side of the booth and motioned for Noah to follow. He didn’t hesitate as he slid in next to her. She walked him through the menu as if he’d never ordered pizza before, reading out the words she knew and making up ingredients for the rest based on the photos next to some of the specialty pizzas. Then she told him he was going to eat two slices of plain cheese, like her.

  “Let him order what he wants, Ella,” Penelope said. She shot him an apologetic look and smiled when he shrugged like it was no big deal.

  “I’m good with most pizza,” he said. He slipped his arm around Ella on the back of the seat and tapped his fingers on the top of her head, making her whip her head around and giggle. “Except mushrooms. They’re a great way to ruin a perfectly good pizza.”

  Ella rolled out her tongue and scrunched up her face in disgust. “Don’t worry. There will be NO mushrooms on our pizza.”