Lottie Morgan decided to visit her Uncle Andrew and his family at Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Little did she know that she was about to enter a magical, delectable world and capture the heart of the sweetest of men.
"All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost."
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 1954
Based on the 2005 Tim Burton film, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka.
Willy and Charlie were walking to the Bucket house for dinner. They were discussing improvements for a new line of taffy.
"Now, remember, Willy, my cousin Lottie is staying with us for the week."
"Oh, erm, of course!" he said, not paying attention. Was it banana or orange taffy, he wondered, that…
"You remember, Willy, right?"
"Oh, right! Of course, I remember!" said Willy absent-mindedly as he opened the door to walk inside the Bucket home.
"Hello, starshine, the earth says…!" Willy spun around and stopped dead in his tracks, looking at the woman before him. He had expected a girl about Charlie's age.
"Hello," said the lady standing before him. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Wonka." She offered her hand to him. She felt faintly nervous to be meeting him at last.
Willy stammered. He was awfully confused and put out. Who was this…this…this woman…here in Charlie's house? This woman with the mystical aqua-green eyes? "Okay, Willy thought to himself, "don't hyperventilate." What should he do? Willy was beginning to get very red and embarrassed at his uncertainty. He went to say something, then grimaced and made a face and looked away. He rubbed his purple gloves together until they squeaked. This continued for about thirty seconds.
"Good God, Wonka, what's the matter with you?" said Grandpa George. "This is just my granddaughter – she doesn't bite, ya know."
Willy suddenly had a vision of this woman with very large teeth, taking a chomp out of his arm. Then she snapped out of it and looked at her trying to recollect himself, sputtering "Uh, ha, welcome to the factory."
"Willy, aren't you going to shake her warmly by the hand, too?" asked Charlie.
"Oh...that. Uh …okay."
He held out a gloved hand to Lottie, who was, but this time, very confused and uncertain. What had she messed up now? What was wrong with her? She peeked up at him, and tentatively met his hand. Were those purple gloves he was wearing?
"I'm Charlotte Divinity Morgan, and I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Wonka."
"Divinity – with an 'n'"?
"One," she replied shyly. No, she thought to herself with a smile, Divinity with a "z."
Willy nodded his head. "You know," he piped up, looking at her directly now, "divinity is a type of white creamy fudge made with egg whites and nuts. I make some here at the factory!" He looked at expectantly.
"Oh, I know! I think your divinity's quite good, actually!" she stammered.
Willy looked at her, beaming with pride. "Why, of course do you, my dear girl, it IS my candy, after all!" He acted like this was simply common knowledge, which, of course, it was.
Lottie smiled back at him a little, still a little unsure of him, but beginning to warm up a little bit to this odd man. His eyes were – what were they? Violet? Did he truly have violet eyes? At any rate, she felt they were kind eyes, if perhaps a bit unnerving. She was sure he thought her a little mouse.
"Yeah," he said, looking around nervously. "Okay..."
"Come on, Willy, sit down and eat something," said Mrs. Bucket. Willy slid into a chair across from her and helped himself to some roast beef and baked potatoes. He whispered over to Charlie, "I thought you were inviting your cousin, Charlie," said Willy.
"Lottie is my cousin, Willy."
Willy peeked across the table at Lottie, and then back at Charlie. "No she isn't!"
"She's my cousin, Willy!" said Charlie.
"Charlie, she can't be your cousin, can she? She's a wo…wom…uh, she's all grown up."
"For heaven's sake, Wonka, you act like you've never seen a woman before! She's my granddaughter, and a very sweet one at that, and she's bloody well not coming over to bite you!"
Willy looked up at her kind eyes, now cast downward in confusion, and had to admit that she didn't seem too scary
"Willy, Lottie's the daughter of my older sister, Melinda. You remember me telling you about Melinda, right?"
"Oh, yeah, I remember!" answered Willy. "The interior designer."
Aunt Bucket piped up, "That's right, you looked at her designs for some rooms in your factory. Now, does anyone want any more brownies?"
"How are school today Charlie?" asked Grandma Josephine.
The family continued on like this, telling each other the comings and goings of the day. They acted no differently than other close-knit families seen the world over, sharing their day over a warm meal.
Willy sat silent, poking his brownie with his fork. He wondered why Mrs. Bucket put walnuts in this brownie? He thought pecans would have been better…or maybe even almonds. Wait a minute, he thought, what about macadamias…or….
"I love rutabagas!' Grandma Georgina suddenly exclaimed to no one in particular.
Lottie went over quietly to the old lady and hugged her gently. "I missed you, dear grandma," she said. Willy's eye followed Lottie's movements across the room. He decided her liked her laugh. Now, what color would he call her hair? Hmm…
"Come on, Willy, let's get to work!" said Charlie, standing up. Willy, slightly startled, looked and Charlie and smiled.
"Okay, Charlie, let's see what we can do with our taffy! I'm still not exactly sure…let me think…" He took out a notepad and scribbled a few notes.
"Have fun, you two," said Mrs. Bucket. "Charlie, be back in two hours to work on your homework."
"Okay, mom!"
As Willy and his protégé were walking out of the door of the little shack, Willy glanced back at Lottie, who was standing by the sink. Her hair was pulled back in pony tail as she got ready to help her aunt with the dishes.
"Are you sure she's your cousin?" he muttered to Charlie.
"Yes, Willy. Come on!"
