Chapter 18
I didn't always individually wrap my chocolate. More than half of the time, I presented my chocolate in other ways, stacked in boxes, or tins, or bags. Usually, I put multiple pieces in a container.
I did take the time to make some individually wrapped pieces with my regular orders, however, and they were fun for me. I didn't do it for all of my chocolate because I would have to charge more and it wasn't that practical. I loved the act of wrapping each piece in foil, though. I liked the neatness and monotony of it, and I liked the finished result. It made me smile to see the chocolate looking beautifully packaged in bright foil. Wrapping was a side of chocolate making I never knew I would enjoy. I also enjoyed the idea of people having the added ritual of opening each bite before eating it. It made each bite seem like a little gift.
That was why I wrapped three hundred pieces of chocolate to take to my parents' house for the big family fun weekend. I was finishing that at the moment. I also made a few hundred of my patented smores squares. I made three flavor varieties and they were the perfect size, thickness, and flavor combinations to make the best-ever smores.
The smores squares were crowd-pleasers, and they were close to my heart, so I was a natural salesman with them. They had quickly become a classic for my customers this summer.
I had only taken them to a few of my family's bonfires, and I was excited to take them to the camp with so many people around to try them. They were the most perfect size and thickness for that graham cracker, and I put a neat piece of parchment between each piece for ease of handling. People loved them.
My new machines had put the whole experience over the top. The thickness and consistency of each square was down to a fine science. The wrapped chocolate would be available at one of the tables with food, but the smores chocolate would come out on serving trays during tonight's bonfire. I had been preparing all of it for the last two days, and I was excited for everyone to try it this weekend.
There was a small clearing near the cabins, and the church had set up booths with food, games, and prizes. When we first arrived, Kat and I walked with my mom to that area. We took the wrapped chocolates to a lady at one of those booths, and she was so happy to get them and said she would make them available for everyone to sample.
Kat and I walked around for a little while before meeting up with Jenny and Lev. Sara came when she got off work, and she brought a couple of her friends with her. Kat and I hung out with all of them. We did several of the carnival games and then we took the trail to the lake and went canoeing for an hour or so .
It was past dinner time when we got back to the camp. I could smell food on the grill, and I was hungry. It was the first party of the sort that my parents had hosted, and I knew they were having the best time welcoming so many people onto their property.
Several jokes had been made about love matches being made at the campfire, but Sara and I never made any eye contact about it. I didn't want it to be awkward, but it was. I knew that I would have to confront her by the end of tonight.
I knew that because of how badly I wanted to see Salem. I missed him. We had both been slammed with work lately, and I couldn’t wait to be near him.
Salem had to finish a project with his brother, so they had to work late. He was planning on leaving Raleigh at six or seven, which meant he might miss the talent show. He would make it in time to join us at the campfire, and that was his main objective. He had a big job going on right now, and he knew he would be heading back to Raleigh tonight, so Phillip rode with him.
Addie encouraged Phillip to go. She wanted to be there, but she still had some recovering to do after her C-section and she decided to stay back in Raleigh. I was glad Salem had someone to ride with him, but I did wish he had the option to change his mind and spend the night on one of my parents' couches. That wouldn't happen tonight. Phillip would definitely want to go back to Addie and the baby.
I was just glad he was able to come at all. He had been insanely busy with work. They had a high-profile job making the welcome desk and built-in bookcases in the foyer at City Hall. We had seen each other quite a bit lately still, but it was in the evening after we had each tended to our work.
My machines took some getting used to, but my process was becoming dialed-in now, and my chocolate was better than ever. This translated to new orders. I had gotten a new source for my sugar, and I was getting used to the new machines. I was proud of my product, and it made me happy to see people enjoying it at the campout. I couldn't wait until the platter with smores chocolate came out.
Mostly, I was ready to see Salem.
We sat and watched the five or six acts of the talent show. There were what must've been two or three hundred people there, and most of us gathered to watch. I was surprised and impressed by the skill and varied talents of the participants. One guy whistled. Two people sang a song. One guy dressed up like Napoleon Dynamite and did the famous talent show dance from the movie. One little girl did a magic show, and I almost cried at how adorable she was. It made me wish I had worked something up with Ethan.
Although, he wasn't able to be here at all. He and Sadie had both come down with a cold this morning and they stayed home. John-Michael stayed back with Ethan and Sadie even though some of his students had come out. He had let them know that he couldn't make it, but they came anyway.
The emcee was a guy from the church, and he was dressed up in a tuxedo jacket with tails and a top hat over his t-shirt and jeans. He was funny and he commented about each act in a funny way that had us all laughing.
I was sitting on a big section of blankets with my sisters and a few of our friends when Salem and Phillip arrived.
They approached the crowd from the side, and I didn't see them at all until Kat pinched me.
I looked that way, and… my word, good gracious. My insides turned warm the instant I saw him. Salem was a real man—a gorgeous specimen. Before, when we saw each other at family occasions, I was able to keep my cool. Even after we made the deal, and shared the occasional kiss, I kept my cool. I never looked at him and imagined that he was mine and I would be with him forever.
But now I did imagine that. I wanted him. I wanted everyone to know he was my boyfriend, and I didn't want anyone else to have him ever again.
"Hang on, I'm going to go tell Salem and Phillip where we're sitting over here," I said.
I made the statement quietly enough that just a few of the people around me heard what I was saying. I didn't see if Sara heard me or not because I intentionally wasn't looking her way when I said it.
I stood up and quickly jogged away from the crowd and toward the strapping young men who were walking up together. Salem was an inch or two shorter than Phillip, but Phillip was well over six feet, so Salem was still a sizeable man, and he was a little bit broader than Phillip. They were both such handsome guys. It was summer, and they were both dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Salem's shirt was a light tan color and his tennis shoes matched. He was an athletic guy, a carpenter, and a man's man, but he knew how to style clothes, and he looked good.
I loved Salem. I was so thankful to Isabel Love for keeping him off the market for all those years. I didn't care that my brother was married to his sister or that my sister was terrified of us being together. I wanted everyone to be happy for us, but their disapproval didn't stop me from knowing he was the one. How could I not know that? He was sweet, brilliant, successful, and too gorgeous for words. I couldn't resist.
"Hey," I said stopping short of them. I wanted to fall into his arms, but I knew it wasn't the place for that. I leaned in casually like it was an afterthought and I hugged them both, first Salem and then Phillip.
"Is this the talent show?" Salem asked.
"Yes, and the acts are really good! It's probably not going to be that long, if you guys want to come watch the rest of it. What time do you have to head back?"
"Will just be here an hour or two," Salem said. "He needs to get back to Addie and Alex. We just wanted to come, check it out, and say 'hey'… sit by the fire."
"I'm glad you did," I said.
"I figured my brother needed backup in case your brother tried to beat him up."
"Sadie and the boys aren't coming," Salem said, since he already knew about my brother.
"I talked to Sadie this morning. I knew she came down with a cold, but I thought John-Michael might still come out," Phillip said.
"No, he stayed home," I agreed. "Ethan was disappointed. They said they all hope to make it out in the morning, though, if they're feeling better."
We still talked to each other as we headed back toward the crowd, but we grew quieter as we got closer. My sister glanced at us, but there was nothing to see. She waved at Salem and Phillip, and so did a few others from our group.
There were several large blankets spread around, and the three of us found a spot on the edge of one of them. My mom had fallen in love with the boys while they were out here building the tunnel, and she came over to hug them both and greet them. It made me happy to see her so happy to see them. I hadn't talked to her directly about my feelings for Salem, and I wondered how much she knew .
We all got silent while a little boy recited Psalm twenty-three.
Salem and I made eye contact when he finished.
"Isn't this adorable?" I said. "Ethan needs to do it next year. He could list dinosaurs."
"Would they allow that?" he asked, smiling at me.
"Oh, yeah, you should have seen the little magic show that happened a minute ago. I was almost bawling it was so cute."
"That was just the most adorable thing," Mom agreed, hearing me talk about the magic show.
She had obviously been listening to our conversation. I had to remember that Salem and I had a sort of familiarity that my family knew nothing about. I had to remember to keep my distance at a time when all I wanted to do was be close to him—to reach out for his hand. He was so handsome that my heart sped up every time I looked his way.
"Some lady gave us one of your chocolates when we passed those tables," Phillip said.
"Oh, you guys came that way?" Mom said, looking concerned. "I thought for sure you would park at the house so you could check out the tunnel on the way. The vines are really covering it. It looks so good right now. The lights are off, but you can still see it."
"We'll go over there and check it out before we leave," Phillip assured her.