Chapter 1: Letters

There was nothing like a letter to interrupt the cadence of a normal day in the Wonka factory. Not that any day in the factory could be considered 'normal' by an outsider, however whenever a missive came for Charlie Bucket, Mr. Wonka recognized that he was about to lose the attention of his pupil for the entire day.

The duo, mentor and student, were sitting together at a table in a middle of the Inventing Room as Willy examined how Charlie experimented with flavoured serums. An array of glass vials, beakers, and flasks were spread before the pair and each contained a clear, lightly-tinted liquid. If one wafted the contents of each container, they realized that the liquids ranged from fruity to savory scents that either comforted or surprised the nose on the opposite end.

Charlie's hesitant hand reached for a beaker and poured 20 milliliters of its volume into a buret before he also reached for a dropper to add a smaller quantity of liquid from another vial.

"I think this would go well together," Charlie shared.

Willy was used to the quiet tones of his apprentice and gently added his own thoughts before he would sample the concoction with Charlie. "You're doing well, my boy. No need to feel there are any wrong answers during the inventing stages. Here, we learn what is pleasing to the senses or what we would like to avoid in our candies."

His more experienced hand turned the spigot to released the blended liquid into the tasting glass. After allowing Charlie to take a sip of his experiment, Wonka lifted the glass to his nose.

"Strawberry," Wonka's thin lips pulled into a soft smile and Charlie observed a glint of amusement dance around in the man's watery eyes. He continued, "and...two herbs. One is peppermint, and-" he sniffed again with a perplexed glance at what he held in his hand, "-basil?"

Charlie's face brightened with a grin, "You always guess right."

"I've been doing this a long time, Charlie," Willy reminded him and tipped the liquid into his mouth. He swallowed, pensively smacked his lips, and pondered the combination that Charlie had come up with. "It's very balanced and surprisingly goes well together," he complimented. "We should put it on file and see whether we can incorporate it into one of our new products. What do you think?"

"I liked how it turned out," Charlie shared. "I wasn't sure about it at first, but it's better than I thought it would taste."

Willy patted his young novice's shoulder reassuringly, "Great job with this one." He recognized that Charlie's palate was maturing because of the extended periods of time he had spent experimenting with Wonka in the Inventing Room. "Why don't you try to come up with one more combination to end our day?" he suggested.

"Okay," Charlie readily agreed but was not quick to move to action. Willy let the boy think, for he could see the cogs turning in his young head. His heart warmed as he watched Charlie start to sniff the serums again and play with drops of the liquid in a petri dish. The boy was taking risks, and Willy held in a chuckle as a combination made Charlie's face twist in displeasure. He'd soon gain an instinct on what works and what to avoid when creating candies.

Their solitude was interrupted by an Oompa-Loompa entering the chamber. Willy recognized him as Zumph, an individual who usually worked in the creaming and sugaring division of the Chocolate Room. The small humanoid approached the table, and Wonka could spot a battered envelope clutched in one of the gloved hands of his employee. At the sight of the letter, Wonka knew that his lessons for the day with Charlie were at an end.

Wonka accepted the letter from the Oompa-Loompa with a soft thank you and recognized the familiar writing of a young man who was still a stranger to him.

"Charlie, it's for you," Wonka passed the letter to his apprentice. Charlie had already been distracted by Zumph's entrance, and with the confirmation that the message was for him, he trembled with new energy as he took the letter and enthusiastically ripped open the sealed correspondence to flatten the creases of the paper.

Willy decided it was more comfortable for Charlie if he pretended to have little interest in the contents of the letter until his pupil was willing to share with him, so he pulled a small notebook from the pocket of his vest and scribbled down some memorandums that had come to his mind during the few hours he had been with Charlie.

He was in the middle of jotting down a reminder to fix the gear system of the taffy puller when Charlie jumped up from his chair intent on running out of the room. Willy, nimbly, caught Charlie by the wrist and pulled him back.

"Whoa, there, Charlie, where's the fire?" He was concerned with the speed that Charlie was leaving with, for haste action could be very dangerous in the production section of his factory.

"I'm sorry, Wonka," Charlie stood before him. "I just need to see my mom right away, and Grandpa Joe, and Grandma Josephine, and Grandpa George, and-"

Wonka cut him off, "I see it's a family affair, Charlie, and one that has gotten you quite excited at that." He glanced at the letter that Charlie still clasped in his small hands, and he hated to admit it, but he was extremely curious about what in it could have sparked so much spirit in Charlie. It probably wasn't his place, but he found himself asking, "Care to share with me?"

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie handed him the letter, "Thomas is coming home."

Wonka examined the piece of paper Charlie had handed him and, indeed, found the lines that informed him Thomas' regiment was coming back to America and was due back sometime in the middle of March. Wonka recognized that meant Thomas would be due to arrive within the next week or so, being that March was almost over.

"This is exciting," Wonka smiled flatly, unable to share the same level of zeal that his pupil was exhibiting. Yet, he tried to be encouraging. "This news must be shared immediately, Charlie. Go, go. Don't run, but take the Wonkavator."

In his rush, Charlie forgot to take the letter with him, but he hastily exited into the corridors leaving Wonka alone.

Wonka read the entirety of the letter and contemplated the situation.

Thomas Bucket…

After two years, Willy was able to feel that he had connected with each of the Buckets. Grandpa Joe displayed immense interest in the factory and the runnings of it and acted as a confident to Charlie as much as Wonka had become a support in the young boy's life. The rest of the grandparents seemed more distant, however, they each viewed Willy as the savior of the entire family in promising Charlie the chocolate factory. He could chat comfortably which each of them, and in the better circumstances of life in the factory, the health of each individual had improved drastically. Mrs. Bucket and Willy had formed a platonic comradery that centered on the mutual interest in the health and safety of Charlie, her son. Overall, Willy now felt he had integrated himself into a harmonious relationship with each member of the Bucket family.

The addition of a new arrival might disrupt the balance he felt he had achieved.

Willy folded the letter and slipped it into his travel notebook, also making a mental note to give it back to Charlie for a keepsake the next time he saw him. Next, he gathered up the chemistry equipment Charlie and he was playing with during their flavour experiments and took them to the sink to wash. The clink of glass on glass against the soothing rush of the faucet calmed him as he cleaned each piece. He set them out to dry on the counter, retrieved his overcoat, shut off the lights, and left to seek the solitude of his office.