“All I know is what Luna told Isabel. Is there anything else you need tonight? Make a list of things you find that would will need and I will make sure that I deliver them.”
Sebastian pointed to the big bell on the porch with a long rope. “Just pull it down and I will be here in a hurry.”
Catherine walked around the massive house. It was furnished with furniture that went well with the style of the structure. The chairs and couches were all large and comfortable looking. The kitchen had a modern gas stove and two large ovens, a big pine wood table with eight chairs, toaster, coffee pot, and microwave. Just from this quick assessment, Catherine could not imagine anything that they would need that was not already here.
Catherine ran her hand along the rich wood mantel of the fireplace. “Sebastian, could you take me and Cody back to the hill now?”
“Of course, but if you are worried about your suitcases, I can retrieve them from the hotel for you.”
“No, I would like to go back to the hotel now and just process everything. I mean, everything seems so perfect and I am not ungrateful. I keep wondering what the catch is?”
All of a sudden Catherine felt a rush of wind and saw only a white blur out of the corner of her eye.
“Speaking of the catch – there she is. Twinkle is the true owner of this house and she is who you are here to look after.” Sebastian said.
Twinkle had jumped up onto the back of the chair Catherine was sitting at and then continued on to the kitchen table where she stuck her tail up in the air and looked at the newcomers.
“Aw, mom, she is so cute!” Cody said, rising from his chair.
“Oh Cody, don’t pick her up, she does not know us and it will take her time to get used to us. Sebastian, could you show me where her food and water pans are? I’d like to make sure she is taken care of for tonight and so I can know what and where to feed her tomorrow. We have never had a pet before.”
“Never at a pet, ever?” Sebastian asked, surprised.
“No, first where we lived was way too small for even the two of us, and the apartment where we lived did not allow pets and we were at work and school all day so it didn’t seem fair to lock a pet up like that all alone.” Catherine said.
Sebastian showed Catherine and Cody where Twinkle’s food was kept and then he said “Oh, I almost forgot.” He walked over to the big coffee table that was in front of the six foot long couch and picked up a rather large book. “This book will tell you everything you need to know about living here.”
“May we take that book back to the hotel with us? Luna gave us a big book all about the chocolate shop and that information is priceless. It is very thoughtful of her and Thelma to have left us such a good guide.”
“Are you hungry? I have a big pot of beef stew on the stove in my cottage.”
Cody and Catherine were, in fact, very hungry. She had to stop herself from sampling the chocolates at the shop most of the time she was there today and she knew that Cody had to be hungry by now.
“We wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” Catherine said.
“Not at all, actually, Isabel made the stew and she always makes a lot. She loves to cook, I will be right back.” Sebastian said.
“Oh, we can come to your place. That would be easier, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, if you wouldn’t mind, it’s just around the back of the house and down the path to the right. Give me just a moment to set things up for you. We don’t get a lot of company, so this is a treat for me.”
“May I help you?” Catherine offered. “No, not this time. Hopefully we can help each other out as time goes by.” Sebastian said.
I wonder what he means by that.
Ten minutes later Cody and Catherine were eating the best beef stew and homemade bread that either of them had ever remembered eating. “This is insanely delicious! “ Catherine said. “I have always felt like such a looser, all I can make is spaghetti and a good omelet! I can make pretty good walnut chocolate chip cookies though. “
“Isabel is a fantastic cook. She loves cooking for me and Max and I know she will be thrilled to have another woman around to talk to. That is, if you and Cody decide to stick around.”
Catherine smiled at him and finished her second helping of stew. “At least let me help you clean up here.” Catherine offered.
“No need, just putting the bowls into the dishwasher and leaving the stew on low for when I bring Max and Isabel home. “
“Thank you so much for everything, Sebastian.”
The ride back to the hill seemed much shorter than the ride to the house, but that might have been because she was so in awe of what was in front of them. Catherine could honestly say that she had never seen such a welcoming, and yet such a mysterious, place in her entire life. Sebastian said his goodbyes and as Catherine and Cody walked towards their hotel, Sebastian walked towards the school. Catherine turned around to steal a look at Sebastian and was flustered when he also turned, catching her looking at him. He smiled and waved.
“Sebastian is really a nice guy, isn’t he mom?” Cody said, waving at Sebastian. “He certainly seems nice.” Catherine agreed.
Chapter 5
Once Cody and Catherine got back into the hotel room, Catherine kicked off her shoes and plopped herself onto the bed.
“Oh Cody, we have so much to think about! Do you think we really should just stay here to live? You think this is something we can actually pull off?”
“I vote yes! Our apartment building does not even have any room to play, just that ole parking lot and there are no other kids there that go to my school either. I liked Mrs. Roans when she used to come babysit me, but she is kinda old to play with and besides, since I go to Latch Key, I never get to see her anymore. Wouldn’t you rather work in a chocolate shop than for Mr. Dobbs, mom?”
No brainer! Out loud Catherine said. “We would have to go back home and get our clothes, Cody, I didn’t pack much more than we would need for the weekend that we were originally going to stay.”
“We have clothes mom, in the car!”
“What clothes? In our car?”
“Yeah, remember, you were telling me about a walk-about in Australia and I figured if we were going to Australia that we would need a whole lot of clothes, so I stuffed a big garbage bag with all of our clothes, or at least most of them.”
“I never said that we were going to Australia, Cody, where did you get that idea from?”
“You said that people in Australia go on walk-about for vacations and I knew Australia is far away.
“So, you really have our clothes in the car, Cody?”
“I really do, mom.”
“What do you say, should we go swimming one last time here in the hotel?”
“Sounds good to me, mom, I even promise no more running around it too!!”
Catherine heard her cell phone ringing in her purse when they opened their hotel room door after being at the pool. “Darn it, missed the call.” Checking her messages, she saw that she had one from her Uncle John.
“Hi Catherine, its Uncle John. I hope you and Cody are enjoying your trip. I have some bad news. Several of the apartments caught on fire one night when it stormed, lightening hit it. I am afraid yours was one of them. We had renters insurance and since I co-signed for the apartment, the insurance company let me file the claim on your behalf. I don’t know if this will cover your losses or not, but they are depositing a check for $20,000 in your account next Wednesday. I hope you don’t mind, but I kept the security deposit we got back. I was the one who paid it when you moved in.
I have decided to move in with my girlfriend Jean and we are heading out to California tomorrow. Sorry I couldn’t stick around to say goodbye to you and Cody. You are more than welcome to use the trailer as long as you want to, you can have it in fact. I hope you don’t see this as me taking off on you. I will let you know my new address and phone number in a few weeks when I get one. Take care of yourself and that little one. Love you.”<
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“Cody, we won’t have to go back to the apartment after all. Looks like we are here to stay if you are sure that this is what you want, is it?” Cody answered by jumping up and down with a big smile on his face.
The next morning Cody and Catherine ate their last breakfast at the hotel before checking out. “Are you sure that we don’t owe you anything?” She asked the clerk behind the front desk.
“No, you have the gift certificate which is good for one week. You haven’t been here a week total, so the night that you stayed here before your son won the free week can be included in the paid for days.”
“Thank you, but we do owe you for the rental of a movie that we watched that first night, don’t we?”
“Nope, there is no charge for children’s movies.”
Catherine thanked the hotel management again and she and Cody walked out to their car. “Wow, Cody, we haven’t even been in our car since the first night we got here. Everything is in walking distance here.” She parked their van in front of the candy shop and then walked the half block down to the school to enroll Cody into classes. “Cody, would you like to start school today, or would you feel more comfortable starting tomorrow?”
“I guess it don’t matter mom, this looks like a pretty good school.” Catherine enrolled Cody and the lady from the school office showed them around. Catherine asked about school lunches and was told that Miss Thelma and Miss Luna had a standing donation for the school so that none of the children ever had to pay for lunches or school activities. There were speakers set throughout the area on lampposts and when school was out for the day they rang bells, which the entire downtown area could hear. “I have heard those.” Catherine said.
Catherine told Cody to stay inside the school door and when she heard the bell ring at 3pm that she would be back to get him. “Mom, can’t I just walk to the chocolate shop after school? I don’t want the other kids to think I am a baby.”
“Maybe in a few days, Cody, but for now, until we get used to things around here, I would feel much better picking you up after school. So make sure you wait for me, deal?” “Deal.”
“There you are, Cody! We have been waiting for you!” Mr. Lucky said walking up to them. “Science project is first up this morning. Hello, Catherine.”
It was nice to see a familiar face, even if it was just Mr. Lucky whom they had only briefly met once before. Catherine smiled and waved good-bye to her son, who seemed to have no qualms about being in a new school with all new people.
Catherine walked back to the chocolate shop, stopping to look in her van for the garbage bag that Cody said he had taken with them. Sure enough there it was. Catherine was glad she had noticed a modern wash machine and dryer at the house, these clothes needed to be rewashed after being stuffed in a garbage bag for the last few days.
What a turn of events, the fire and not having to go back home to pick up anything. It then struck her just how little of a life they were actually leaving behind. Important papers like birth certificates and pictures of Cody and such were kept in a little steel box that she had in the van. She always carried her credit cards and check book with her. There was nothing lost in that fire that was of any value. All the furniture they had had been bought from the thrift shops or given to them by Uncle John or her former co-workers at the hardware store. We never really felt at home there in that apartment building. Twenty thousand dollars! Catherine could hardly believe it.
Catherine opened the shop and found a couple of notes from Luna. She assumed that Luna had to be the lady in the blue dress, although she had actually only referred to herself as “Thelma’s sister.” There were employment papers to fill out and a note reminding Catherine to open an account at the bank in town. It was 8:35am and the shop was to be opened for business at ten. Catherine looked out the window and noticed the bank was across the street and so she locked the shop back up and went to open an account. Everyone at the bank was as nice to her as the entire town had been. She also arranged for her former bank accounts to be wired into her new checking and savings accounts at the new bank.
Walking back to the shop, Catherine thought she saw a light blue mist through the window of the chocolate shop. When she opened the door, however, there was no mist, blue or otherwise. Just the wonderful smell of fresh brewed coffee and a new note.
“Hi Catherine, sorry to have missed you. Please feel free to enjoy the coffee and don’t feel bad about sampling our candies. Isabel should be in about noon to pick up the empty trays for the chocolates. – Luna”
Catherine was sorry she had missed Luna. The coffee smelled wonderful, like chocolate coffee. Catherine took the trays of chocolates out of the refrigerator and placed them into the glass cases in the front of the store. It wasn’t long before her first customer of the day showed up.
Catherine thought the young girl looked familiar when she came into the shop. She smiled and said “Good morning, welcome to Thelma’s Chocolates.” Then it clicked where she had seen this young lady before. “Oh, you work at the restaurant, right? My son Cody and I were there a few days ago. We were the ones who had a question about our bill being paid already.”
“Yes, I remember.” The young lady said. “Everything checked out at the end of the night, so you are still all set. My name is Jill, by the way. So, you and your son decided to stay in town?”
“Nice to formally meet you, Jill. Yes, our situation changed at home so we figured this would be a good place to stay. Everyone has been so nice to us.” Catherine said.
“It really is a nice town. A good place to grow up in. I understand Cody is in my dad’s class.”
“Your dad’s class?”
“Yes, my dad is Luke Lucky. He is a teacher over at the school.”
“Oh, yes, I have met your father. So, you are Jill Lucky, which is a very interesting name. I like it.” Catherine said. “Today is Cody’s first day at the school, he seemed excited about being there when I registered him this morning. I even asked him if he would like to have one more day off before going, but he opted to stay.”
“Dad is a good teacher. Tell me, has Isabel made any Halloween chocolates yet?” Jill asked, looking at the shelves of chocolates before her.
“I understand she is going to be here around noon, perhaps she will bring some then. Was there something special you were looking for? I could mention it to her.” Catherine offered.
“Oh, everything Isabel makes is special. She is very talented. I know everyone likes her at the school.”
“I have only met her briefly, but she does seem like a very nice person and these chocolates are hard to resist in any form.”
“I know what you mean. Isabel teaches part time at the school, a craft’s class. I don’t know when she finds the time to do her magic on the chocolates.” Jill said. Jill felt a chill and looked up to see a puff of dark blue smoke coming out of the vent behind Catherine.
“I really have to be going now, could you wrap up a dozen of those chocolate cherries for me?”
“Of course. I enjoyed our talk, Jill, I hope to see you again soon.” Catherine said ringing up Jill’s purchase.
There was a steady stream of customers all morning and at noon Catherine heard the back door opening.
“I’m here!” Isabel’s voice was a welcome distraction. Catherine held the back door open wide so Isabel could carry in the trays of chocolates she had today. There were chocolate pumpkins and white chocolate ghosts, black chocolate cats and funny hats, bats and spiders and all things Halloween.
“Hi Isabel, these are really nice! I have had customers in this morning asking if your Halloween creations were coming soon. Now I see why.” Catherine said, helping Isabel rearrange the trays in the display case to allow for the new candy.
“I should have had these here yesterday, but I have been running a bit late.” Isabel said.
“I have plenty of time. Perhaps one day you can teach me how to be of some help to you. I don’t mind, in fact, I would love to know how you mak
e some of these.”
“This is my busy season. I just might take you up on your offer.” Jill said, turning to the door when they heard the bell above the door ring.
“Hi Sebastian, let me guess, you could smell the chocolates were here and just couldn’t wait.” Isabel laughed.
“True.” Sebastian smiled at his sister. “That, and I brought you a sub sandwich, I know how busy you are. I got you one too, Catherine, I hope you like turkey.” He said, placing three subs on one of the tables in the shop.
“I love turkey! How much do I owe you for the sub?”
“Nothing. I actually just made a delivery at the school and kept these three out for us. Dig in.” Sebastian said.
“Thank you. I know Cody will enjoy his lunch today as well, he likes turkey. Isabel, I understand you teach a craft class at the school, that sounds interesting.”
“It is, and it is fun as well, I wasn’t kidding when I said this is my busy time. The kids make Halloween decorations and then they go into the stores and shops and decorate each one. It is a tradition and everyone gets involved. Halloween around here is a very big deal.” Isabel explained.
“I could tell that just from seeing all of those pumpkins growing on the way to the house. You take care of that area as well, Sebastian?”
“Yep, I am a jack o lantern of all trades around here.” He smiled and his sister groaned. “Keeps me busy and also keeps me from getting bored. By the way, have you decided yet if you are going to come back to the house to stay?”
“Oh, I am so glad you mentioned that, Sebastian. Yes, Cody and I will be staying at the house. I do not have your phone number, nor yours Isabel, so I am very glad you both came by today.” Catherine said, making quick work of the sub sandwich and bottled water that Sebastian brought them.
“I showed you the big bell on the porch of the house, well, there is also one at the top of the hill. Whenever you are ready to come back to the house, just ring it and I will be able to hear, wherever I am, and will take you back to the house.” Sebastian said.
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