The Chocolatier's Secret (Magnolia Creek, Book 2) (28 page)

‘I thought you weren’t supposed to put chocolate in the fridge.’

Andrew pushed the mould to the back of the benchtop. It was too heavy to lift to the top shelf where they usually cooled their chocolates. ‘You mustn’t put chocolate in a regular fridge,’ he explained, ‘but our fridge is set to a special temperature.’

Andrew had a captive audience with Molly and explained how cocoa crystals needed to form correctly for chocolate to be perfect. He explained how chocolate hardened and contracted, shrinking away from the edges of the moulds so it could be tipped out easily. He talked about the busiest times at the shop and the novelty chocolates they made for every season.

‘Some of these chocolates are awesome!’ This from Ben who was flicking through the trade catalogue Gemma had given him. He pointed to a motorcycle made from dark chocolate before leafing through more pages. ‘I should get that one for Owen.’

Molly pointed to one of the Halloween creations. ‘What’s that?’

‘Eurgh. It’s revolting.’ Ben pointed to the dog turd made out of chocolate. ‘Although maybe my brother would like it.’

Louis laughed. ‘I came up with the idea. Kids – boys mainly, but some girls – think it’s hysterical.’

‘I bet they do. It’s the sort of chocolate me and my brothers would’ve loved to surprise our parents with,’ said Ben.

‘I don’t think I could eat it,’ said Molly.

Gemma pulled a face. ‘Me neither.’

Andrew met Louis’ gaze as Molly and the others sniggered over the magazine, and both men found themselves nodding. It was only a small movement of the head, barely detectable to anyone else, but nevertheless there. It was a nod of acceptance of everything that had passed, everything that had happened. The future was what mattered now, and Andrew felt a rush of what he could only claim as forgiveness.

The family went upstairs to the decking outside for lunch. Andrew and Ben helped Louis up the stairs, slowly but surely. This was one family gathering Louis wasn’t going to miss out on, and Andrew didn’t want him to either.

Gemma ran home and raided the pantry for bread rolls, the fridge for cold meats. Ben went to the Harrisons and brought back a selection of cheeses and crackers and some fruit, and Andrew sorted out tea, coffee and soft drinks for everyone. They pulled tables together out on the decking. The rain had dissipated and, with a good wipe of all the chairs and the tabletops, they were able to set lunch up outside overlooking the bush in all its beauty.

One thing Andrew loved about chocolate was the way it brought people together. Most people loved chocolate in all shapes and sizes, and today he’d worked in the chocolaterie, relaxed in his familiarity as his family gathered around and watched, asked questions, discussed processes, laughed over funny creations. It was everything he’d dreamed his life would be, and sitting next to Molly for lunch, he was devastated she lived on the other side of the world.

‘Are you straight back to work after the holiday, Molly?’ he asked, willing himself not to get overly emotional.

‘I have four days when I get back.’

‘To allow for jet lag?’ he asked.

Ben unwrapped another portion of Brie and offered it round. ‘That, or in case she got the fear.’

‘The fear?’ Andrew asked.

‘My fear of flying.’ Molly grinned, not in the least bit riled by Ben. ‘And I think I’ll be fine.’

‘But you won’t have me by your side.’ Ben was clearly smitten. Andrew wondered who would struggle more with Molly’s departure: Ben or him.

‘Dad, can I get you something else to eat?’ he asked Louis, sure he was encroaching on Ben and Molly’s time together. Young love, especially when the two people involved didn’t realise that was what it was, was all-consuming.

‘No, I’m good thanks, son. My appetite is pathetic really.’ He looked over at Molly. ‘I’ll miss her when she leaves.’

‘Me too.’

‘Gemma has adjusted well.’ Louis watched his daughter-in-law pouring a glass of lemonade at the other end of the table as Molly drew her into whatever she was talking about with Ben.

‘She’s doing okay.’

‘I love her as though she were my own, you know.’

‘I know you do, Dad.’

‘And Molly is a keeper … she’s wonderful. Hold onto her.’

‘I intend to.’

‘Remember, son. Life isn’t black and white. It’s colourful, like everything you create in the chocolaterie … life is crumbled raspberries, gold lustre paint, hundreds and thousands. Life is rarely anything but complicated. It’s glorious technicolour.’

They stared at one another until Louis said, ‘I did a terrible, terrible thing—’

‘Dad, you don’t—’

‘No, I do need to say it. I did a terrible thing, but don’t let my mistake become your mistake. Don’t let anything come between you and that girl, whether it’s geography or your own need for a family. Gemma will be by your side every step of the way, I know it.’ Louis patted his hand. ‘Would you mind if I went home now? I’m tired.’

It was as though he’d been gearing himself up for his speech and now he was done, he could rest easy.

Andrew popped his last piece of cracker and cheese into his mouth and readied himself to help Louis down the stairs. Louis lifted a hand to say goodbye to everyone, and Ben came over to shake the old man’s hand. ‘It was nice to meet you,’ he said.

‘Good to meet you too,’ said Louis.

Molly hovered awkwardly but then stepped forwards, and for a moment Andrew thought she’d shake Louis’ hand, but she didn’t. She put her arms around his father and hugged him, carefully, as though he might break if she squeezed too hard. Louis was taken aback, Andrew could tell, but he was also clearly pleased at the gesture, especially when he gave him a wink that made him smile as though he were a little boy again being praised for getting top marks in a test.

‘I’ll walk you home, and then it’s back to school for me,’ said Gemma.

Andrew looked to Molly and Ben. ‘Feel free to stay here as long as you like, I’ll be downstairs.’

‘Thanks,’ said Molly. ‘I’ll come and see you before we go.’

Andrew helped his dad down the stairs, Louis stopping more than a few times, Gemma continuously asking whether he was okay.

‘Do you need me to help him home?’ Andrew whispered to Gemma when Louis sat down and she went to retrieve her bag from the office where Andrew had put it for safekeeping.

‘We’ll be fine, thanks.’

When they went on their way, Andrew checked the chocolate mould and it was setting nicely already. He opened the door to the fridge and then lifted the mould carefully to carry it over. But before he could slot it onto the shelf, he heard Gemma, screaming Louis’ name over and over again, yelling about an ambulance.

The mould crashed to the floor, and chocolate went everywhere, as the plastic shattered into a million pieces.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Molly

‘I feel so useless.’ Molly’s body sagged against Ben, who was sitting behind her. In a few short weeks, her family had grown with Louis, Andrew and Gemma, and the thought of losing one of them was unimaginable. At the hospital Louis had been rushed away, Andrew and Gemma had gone with him and Ben sat holding Molly’s hand. She gripped him tight, afraid to let go.

Molly and Ben had been upstairs in the chocolaterie, looking out over the beauty of the bush, enjoying the autumn sun on their faces, when they’d heard screams. They’d run downstairs to find Gemma yelling, telling everyone to hurry. Ben had run straight to the front door of the shop to help Louis, who was lying on the ground outside. Stephanie was at his side, Gemma was panicking and Andrew watched on as though he was some kind of ghost at the side of the room, hovering like this wasn’t really happening at all. Molly had taken a couple of steps closer, her body moving slowly, her mind nowhere near catching up. She remembered Stephanie coming over and putting an arm around her. She remembered Bella Finnegan crossing the street outside when she saw the commotion, Owen and Rosie standing outside, hands across their mouths in shock, Emilio still in his brown apron with the business logo, waving arms frantically and standing in the road to flag down the ambulance.

‘Can I get you anything?’ It was the first time Ben had stroked her hair so tenderly, the closest she’d felt to him, even more so than the night they’d shared the spa.

‘I think I need to phone my mum and dad,’ she said.

Ben squeezed her hand as she stood.

Molly floated down the corridors, through the maze of the hospital, not hearing any sounds, barely seeing anything apart from the green dimly lit exit signs as she made her way outside to make the call. She didn’t register the nurses who looked her way to see whether she was okay, she didn’t take in the little girl who called after her to tell her a tissue had fallen from her pocket. All she saw was daylight shimmering at the front entrance, pulling her outside.

She dialled the number without even checking the time.

Her dad picked up the phone. ‘Molly, what’s wrong?’ The time difference must have given her identity away.

And all Molly could do was cry.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Andrew

Andrew watched Louis, lying in a bed that looked too big for him, stared at his skin that seemed to be the only layer left of Louis Bennett. The smell of antiseptic was rife in intensive care. Hands were scrubbed, including his own, each time they came in here. It was quiet save for the sound of machines and hushed voices. Louis wasn’t conscious, but Andrew told himself his dad would pull through. They’d go ahead with the kidney transplant and everything would be okay. Louis would live in the annexe until he was well into his nineties, shuffling along the pathway every evening in his blue slippers to join them for a meal.

But deep down he knew it wasn’t true.

Andrew closed his hand over Louis’. A monitor next to the bed kept an eye on his vital signs, wires led from it to his body, attached by sensors. But Andrew didn’t see any of the technical details. He simply saw Louis, the man he’d had his whole life, the man he hoped he’d get a chance to share more of his life with.

‘Dad?’ Andrew’s voice came out in a whisper and Louis didn’t answer, but Andrew was convinced he’d felt his hand move beneath his, if only a fraction.

‘You can fight this,’ Andrew insisted as Gemma came into the room and sat down beside him. ‘You have to.’

‘Andrew.’ Gemma’s hand lifted to her husband’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. ‘Why don’t you take a break, grab a cup of coffee. I’ll sit with him.’ Her voice fell softly on his ears.

‘No. I’m staying.’ He’d spent weeks being furious with Louis and avoiding him. He wasn’t leaving his side now.

‘I’m sorry I treated you so badly.’ Andrew spoke as though they were on their own in the room and Louis could hear everything he was saying. ‘I didn’t know how to deal with what had happened, I didn’t know how to forgive you. But I know now that what you did, you did for me. You were right. At fifteen years old neither Julia nor I knew a thing about being in love, we knew nothing of what it took to be a parent and the commitment involved.

‘I can’t rewrite the past, Dad. None of us can. But we can control our future.’

He rested his head on Louis’ bed, his forehead against the coolness of Louis’ forearm. ‘To be a parent you need to be strong, you need to be there, you need to put your child first, and you did. You did that for me. And I’ve had a good life, a really good life, and I found Gemma.’

He felt Gemma’s hand against his back. ‘Molly’s here,’ he told Louis. ‘Your granddaughter is here, waiting for you. Even after everything that’s happened, she wants to be a part of our family, and watching you two today was one of the most special experiences of my life.’

A nurse checking the charts and the machine left them to it. Andrew had barely registered her presence.

‘I’m going to get a coffee,’ said Gemma. ‘I’ll give you some privacy.’

Andrew nodded and when she was gone he carried on.

‘I think about Julia, you know. I wonder how her life turned out. It’s hard enough for me to know a child of mine was given away, a child I never knew about. I can’t even begin to think about what it felt like to grow Molly for nine months when she thought her boyfriend had abandoned her, when she was taken away to live in Ireland without her friends, everything that was familiar to her.’

Andrew let his head rest for longer, feeling every slight twitch in his father’s body. Maybe he’d imagined movement, maybe he hadn’t. But he felt comforted being here, he felt close, he felt he could make peace between them.

Andrew smiled now. ‘You know, I think I might make it over to Europe one day. I’ll visit all those places we talked about … the Swiss chocolate shops, the Belgian chocolate places. I have the perfect excuse when Molly lives in England.’

He watched his father’s hand, lifeless beneath his own. Maybe he really had imagined any movement.

Louis’ eyes were shut, but Andrew looked at them as though they were open when he said, ‘I forgive you, Dad. For everything that happened, I forgive you.’

He sat in silence, holding Louis’ hand until Gemma returned.

‘Any change?’ she asked.

He shook his head.

‘Molly’s asking to see him again.’

It was the first time Andrew had smiled. And like any concerned father, he’d already adapted to worrying about Molly, happy Ben didn’t appear to have left her side since they arrived.

Molly appeared ten minutes later, the smell of antiseptic coming with her from her washed hands before she was allowed into intensive care.

‘How is he?’ She sat next to Andrew.

His voice came out small. ‘Same as before.’

Molly tentatively put her hand on the bed next to Louis.

‘You can touch his hand,’ Andrew assured her. ‘You never know, he might be able to hear us.’

‘It feels weird. I’ve only spoken with him a couple of times.’

‘I bet you don’t talk to expectant mothers for long before you’re holding their hand, helping them through labour.’

‘Good point.’ Molly reached out and jumped as her skin made contact with Louis’ and Andrew knew it was because of the temperature. Louis’ hands were cold, small, weak and such a contrast to anyone who was walking around freely right now.

‘Do you think he’ll wake up?’ she asked.

‘I hope so.’

Andrew wondered whether she’d been crying. The glow on her cheeks reminded him of Julia. In the winter time, when it was freezing and her head was all warm and beneath a woolly hat, Julia always did have the rosiest cheeks, and more times than he could remember he’d reached out his hands and put them either side of her face to warm them up. Funny, he’d forgotten about it until now.

Molly asked all about the plans for the Easter Egg Hunt, presumably to take both their minds off the gravity of the situation, and Andrew happily complied, telling her all about the morning of the hunt when they hoped and prayed it wouldn’t be raining so they could go and scatter the wrapped chocolate eggs over the lawns of Magnolia House.

‘The kids are going to love it,’ said Molly.

‘I think your Ben is going to like it too.’

Molly looked coy. ‘He’s not
my
Ben.’

‘He is.’ Andrew pushed. ‘Enjoy it.’

‘He was unexpected, that’s all. I haven’t had a serious boyfriend in years, I’ve been too busy having fun, working, going out with friends. I can’t believe it’s happened here, on the other side of the world.’ She turned to him. ‘But who knows what the future holds, right?’

They chatted some more about her family and her phone call with her parents earlier.

‘I bet you’ve got them worried.’ Andrew was already in the worry zone when it came to Molly. He couldn’t imagine how much that would be heightened had he been her dad for the last thirty years.

‘We talked for ages. Dad called me back on my mobile, Lord knows what the phone bill will be.’ She smiled. ‘I needed to hear their voices.’

Strangely enough, he wasn’t jealous. There wasn’t room for jealousy if he was going to be a part of Molly’s life from now on.

‘I’ve texted mainly, given the time difference,’ she told him. ‘This was the longest chat we’d had. It got a bit emotional.’

‘It’s a big thing,’ said Andrew, his hand gesturing first to her and then to himself. ‘Us, I mean.’

She nodded in agreement. ‘I leave on Good Friday. How can I leave when Louis is like this?’

For the first time Andrew put a hand on Molly’s arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. ‘We’ll all miss you,’ he said.

They talked more about her family, her brother and the upcoming wedding over in America. Molly told Andrew all about the bridesmaid dress she’d be wearing – silver, strapless, with beading which shimmered beneath the sunlight, and he knew she’d look stunning.

‘Dad and I talked of visiting Europe one day, but we never got round to it.’ Andrew looked at Molly now, her hand still covering Louis’ as though one of them needed to hold on to him constantly for him to stay with them. ‘I think I’d like to start with England.’

‘I’d like that.’ She smiled at him. ‘There’s an amazing chocolate shop in London, with the best name: Choccywoccydoodah.’

He laughed, relaxed for what felt like the first time in ages. ‘What a fantastic name. Dad would’ve loved it.’

‘I’m sure he would’ve heard of it. It has the most amazing, flamboyant creations. I’ll tell you what …’ She paused, unsure of herself. ‘When you come over, we’ll go. We’ll make a day of it and go round London visiting Choccywoccydoodah and other chocolate places. You can see how they do it in the northern hemisphere.’

His mind grabbed hold of the words ‘when you come over’. This was the start of a special relationship, and he felt glad she was letting him into her life.

The hours ticked by and as the skies outside grew dark, Andrew’s tummy rumbled. ‘Molly. Would you like to get something to eat? There’s a café not far from here, and it’s open until seven o’clock. Would you like to join me? Ben’s welcome to come.’

She hesitated.

‘Oh, you don’t have to,’ he said, suddenly unsure of himself. ‘I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.’

‘You didn’t.’ Molly smiled. ‘But I’d love it to be just the two of us.’

‘Sounds perfect,’ he said.

*

‘I’ll take this over hospital canteen food any day,’ said Molly after they’d sat in the café and chosen the All Day Breakfast with extra sides of spinach and mushrooms.

‘Gemma had a sandwich earlier, said it wasn’t bad.’ Andrew poured two glasses of water from the carafe in the middle of the table.

‘I like Gemma,’ Molly told him.

‘She likes you.’

Molly looked at the table but eventually met his gaze. ‘I’m glad. It makes it easier.’

‘It certainly does. She’s a good person. I’m sorry you walked into a bit of a minefield, what with everything the family has going on.’

‘It is a minefield, but then again, so are a lot of families. I’ve got friends whose parents had a bitter divorce, other friends who detest their siblings, a colleague who no longer speaks to her own mother. I think you guys are pretty normal.’

‘We’re not so bad once you get to know us.’ Andrew smiled.

They chatted and laughed as they ate, and by the time they walked back to the hospital, the temperature had dropped ten degrees and the sky was blanketed in darkness, stars twinkling above them.

They sauntered along slowly, enjoying one another’s company.

They only broke into a run when Gemma’s phone call came through.