Chapter 13
It’s late afternoon, the clouds low and gray and the air smelling like ocean brine and impending rain as Henry and I walk side by side through historic downtown Poulsbo.
I’m giddy and eager to hear what he has to say.
Being with him feels like drinking a triple shot of espresso.
I can feel my heart beating fast in my chest. I can’t believe I’m just walking around my hometown with Henry Summers like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
This late in the day, the sidewalk is almost empty.
Henry sets a very leisurely pace, hands in his pockets.
I picture him at eighty, wearing a cardigan and doing the same thing, with salt-and-pepper hair and those same clear hazel eyes.
I wonder where we will both be at that age.
Will we grow old together? Will we still be in love?
It’s a strange yet lovely thought. Every moment with Henry feels like it has a subtext of destiny running below the surface.
Every word has extra meaning, every second feels like it’s leading up to something good. I shiver in anticipation.
“So you’ve decided to open your own shop?” Henry says, turning to me, his gaze warm and open. “That’s excellent news. When we spoke about it over tea, you seemed to have some serious reservations. What changed your mind?”
“I’m doing it partly because of something you said,” I admit.
“You said I have a talent and that you hoped someday I could find a way to share it with the world again. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
” I glance at Henry, then muster my courage.
“The truth is that I’ve been too scared to take the step I’ve dreamed of taking for years.
But your words inspired me, and then my mom generously offered to help make it a reality.
I’m still not sure I can really pull it off, but it’s like I found enough courage to take the risk. All I needed was a little push.”
A little push in the form of my birthday vision, Henry showing up in town, and a glass cylinder of mysterious but seemingly potent magical sprinkles.
I think of the sprinkles. They appear to be working because somehow I’m here with Henry, telling him about my dream and reaching for that vision with a boldness I didn’t know I had.
It feels terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.
“I’m so glad to hear that.” Henry smiles. He peers at me from under the hank of hair falling over his forehead. He’s concentrating on me like I’m the most important person in the world. I love it. Even though it’s chilly, I’m warmed by his attention.
“Emmie, I’ve been thinking about you since we talked—about your family’s fudge shop and the challenges you’re facing right now. And I’d like to help.” He clears his throat. “I hope this isn’t too forward, but how would you feel about me featuring your family on an episode of Savor?”
I stop dead still on the sidewalk. “Are you serious?” I stare at him wide-eyed. In my wildest dreams I’ve imagined Henry saying these very words. Now he’s saying them for real. Mom is going to lose her mind when she hears about his offer. She’s wanted us to be on Savor for years.
“I’m quite serious.” Henry nods. “And now that you’re opening your own chocolate shop, we could feature that too. I want to focus on the generational family aspect, how you’re carrying on your family’s legacy in a new way for a modern time. I think it will be a great fit for Savor.”
What he’s not saying, but what I know to be true from doing my own internet research, is that being featured on Savor is a huge marketing boost for any business.
The high-profile exposure leads to a big jump in sales, visitors, and visibility.
It would be a tremendous benefit for my fledgling chocolate shop as well as for the Happy Viking.
And I’d get to spend more time with Henry.
It feels like Christmas and my birthday came early this year.
“Eek, thank you!” I squeal and impulsively throw my arms around Henry and hug him. He laughs, a puff of air against my hair, and returns the hug. He is warm, lean muscle underneath his soft swazer, and he smells as delicious as he did before, like steeping Earl Grey tea, an elegant, pleasant aroma.
“You’re very welcome, Emmie,” he tells me, pulling back to peer into my face.
“This is why I host Savor, to showcase local families and businesses who are pillars of their communities, who are contributing in some way toward making the world a kinder, happier place. Everywhere I’ve gone in this town, people have spoken highly of you and your family.
You’ve made a big impact on this community with your kindness and your generosity, and that’s exactly the kind of folks I want to highlight in my show. ”
“This is a dream come true,” I tell him, beaming. I mean that in more ways than one. I step back, but I’m still clasping his arm. I don’t want to let him go.
“It’s my pleasure. I’m glad to be of service,” Henry says with a smile. We stand there for a moment, not saying anything, just sharing a look. “And I’m glad you’re saying yes,” Henry says softly. I blush pink.
“Me too.”
We don’t say anything more. We don’t have to. As we head back to the shop, I am almost skipping with glee. I see it now. This is how it happens. This is how my vision is going to come true.
* * *
“What are you all still doing here?” I ask in surprise as we walk into the fudge shop after our stroll to find Dani and Gus standing with Mom and Dot, peering into several open cardboard boxes of candy. Mom sighs wearily as we approach. She looks tired and is leaning heavily on her cane.
“The leak went through the back wall of the bathroom and soaked some of the inventory in the storage closet,” she explains. “We’re sorting through it now. I think most of it’s going to have to be thrown away.”
“Oh no.” This is not good news. Damaged inventory means more lost money.
I wince at the thought. I hear metallic clanking coming from the bathroom and glimpse a pair of long, blue jean–clad legs through the doorway.
Jakob appears to be still hard at work on the plumbing.
Nearby, Mr. Butters is snoozing in his bed wearing a doggy-sized bumblebee costume complete with antennae on springs, oblivious to the chaos around him.
“More bad ones, Grammy.” Gus holds up a handful of waterlogged M&M packets to show my mom, the rainbow colors from the candies seeping through the brown wrapper and staining his hands with red and blue and orange dots.
He throws them into an industrial-sized garbage bag on the floor.
The bag already looks half-full. “Mom, did you know that M&M’s were the first candies to go to space? ” he asks.
“I did not know that, honey.” I glance around at the carnage in dismay.
“This whole box is bad,” Dot announces, squatting over a box filled with a variety of old-fashioned candies in waxed white paper bags.
She opens a bag of lemon drops that have melded together into one solid clump.
“It’s not looking good for the other boxes either.
” She shakes her head and pitches the entire contents of the box into the garbage bag.
Henry takes off his swazer and lays it aside. “What can I do?” he asks.
“Are you sure?” I look at him doubtfully. Is a famous TV host really going to sort through our flood debris?
“Absolutely. Put me to work,” he says firmly.
I eye Mom in concern and send Henry to get a chair from the office for her.
Then we give him the task of hauling trash to the dumpster while I check unopened boxes of candy for water damage.
With two extra sets of hands, we get a lot done.
After a half hour though, Henry checks his watch, an expensive-looking Omega.
“I’m so sorry,” he says in a low tone to me.
“I’ve got a work call with my producer in fifteen minutes.
I’ve got to go, unfortunately. I hate to not stay and finish. ”
“You’re being plenty helpful with Savor,” I tell him. “And thanks for staying to help out. That was very kind.”
“I’ll call you after I talk with my production team and work out the details,” he tells me, checking his watch again. He says goodbye to everyone, but his smile is just for me. I walk him to the door and he clasps my hand briefly. “I’ll be in touch soon,” he promises. And then he is gone.
As soon as he’s out the door, Dani whirls on me. “So?” she demands. “Tell us everything.”
I glance around the circle of expectant faces. Only Gus is going about his business, focusing on finding more ruined candy and clearly not interested in adult conversation. The clanking from the bathroom stops. I wonder if Jakob is eavesdropping.
“Well, I have big news.” I look around at their eager faces. “Henry wants to feature our family in an episode of Savor.”
Dani screams, Mom gasps, and Dot whoops and high-fives me.
“Attagirl!” she says.
I tell them all about Henry’s idea to feature both the Happy Viking and my new shop.
Mom puts her hand to her heart when I finish. “Oh, Emmie, this is such wonderful news.”
“And of course you’ll have to spend lots of time together,” Dani says slyly.
I glance up to find Jakob standing in the bathroom doorway, one toned arm gripping the doorframe, a length of pipe in his other hand.
He’s staring at me with an expression I can’t quite place.
It looks a little like annoyance. I get the feeling he’s heard everything we’ve said.
He turns and goes back into the bathroom without a word.
“I hear wedding bells in your future!” Dani predicts as she flings handfuls of ruined boxes of Mike and Ikes and Good & Plenty into a trash bag. “Dibs on being maid of honor.”
“Way too soon for all of that,” I scold her. Yet as I grab a big box of waterlogged Skittles, I’m smiling from ear to ear. We are on the cusp of something new. I can feel it. Somehow I can’t shake the most nervous, delicious feeling that everything is about to change.