Back again then...
In that case... Happy birthday Trgirl. I hope you enjoy this section, even if it's not quite as exciting as the last. Good hearling you're also continuing to enjoy things Linkwonka. Turrislucidus - I'm wondering what Charlie shall think when he's eventually exposed to the wires. Also, will Willy christen it 'Wonka-zip' or similar? ;-) Very true when it comes to team work. As for getting Sticky... I'm thinking we've left poor Willy like that for far too long now...
Ellie's first priority as she pulled Charlie away was to find out why he had been out of the suite in the first place. "I thought you were safely tucked up in bed young man!" she exclaimed, shivering as she realised how easily her son could have been wandering through the factory and she would never have known it.
Charlie frowned, never having considered her point of view before. "I'm sorry Mom." He said hanging his head. "The alarm went off during homework club, and Wilke said that someone could have died. I was worried about Wonka and I wanted to make sure he was alright." Then he sighed, "But he wasn't happy. He was…" Charlie's voice drifted off, as he tried to pick a suitable term. "I think he was disappointed." He eventually decided. "I never thought he could be disappointed because I was waiting up for him."
Ellie hugged her son close. She didn't really want to go into this with Charlie tonight. It was past 3AM, nearly heading for 4, and they were both exhausted. She did need to cover the ground with him though, so that he could go to sleep without worrying too much. "What did he say to you?" she asked him quietly.
Charlie looked up at her again. "He told me a little about what had happened in the factory, and said in future, if I didn't wait up, he would come to the school room during morning break to tell me what had happened during an emergency." Then he paused, that hadn't been all of it. "He made me promise not to wait up though. He said he couldn't come and tell me if I wasn't rested well enough, and that I really needed my sleep so that I could learn what I needed to. He told me that we have bedtimes for a reason."
At that Charlie ran down, tiredness showing in every limb. Ellie squeezed his shoulder affectionately. "He's concerned about you Charlie boy, and he cares about you. He knows how tired you'll feel in the morning if you stay up late." Then she paused, maybe this would be a good time to encourage Charlie to think about other people's points of view a little more. "When you're a little better rested Charlie, I want you to think about it from his point of view. He'd been dealing with an emergency that broke out in the factory. It was a physically tiring job, it made him work late. He got covered in candy, and must have felt horribly dirty and sticky, and then he sees you, sitting outside of his suite.
"The chances are, all he wanted to do was to go inside, have a shower, and go to bed, but now he sees you there, and he knows he can't leave you to sit there all night. And you're tired, and because of that tiredness he has to comfort you. He knows you did it because you care about him, but he also knows you would be better off in bed, and he would have been better off if you were in bed.
"Maybe it will be different when you're older Charlie, but right now you're a growing boy, and you need your sleep as much as you need the right food to eat, if you're going to learn and be healthy. That's why he was so worried, and why he seemed disappointed." Then Ellie sighed, and looked at her exhausted, downcast son. "Charlie, you've already promised Wonka that you won't wait up for him another night, and I'm glad that you have. I need you to promise me that you won't leave the suite without telling me, or one of your grandparents exactly where you're going, and when you'll be back. If we'd come to check on you and you hadn't been in your room, we'd have been worried Charlie boy." Charlie looked up at her, tears flowing freely again.
With a sad smile, Ellie dropped a quick kiss on his brow. "Oh what am I going to do with you Charlie my lad?" she asked him before continuing, "Well, beyond sending you off to bed that is. And I ask you not to grumble when I wake you up in the morning – if you're tired it's your own fault! You'll just have to go to bed early tomorrow to make up for it!" she threatened, leading him back into his own room, and making a mental note to ask Wonka for an alarm that would let them know if Charlie exited the suite from his room in the future.
Once she had seen her exhausted boy into bed, Ellie returned to her own room, to see how much sleep she would be able to get for what was left of the night.
Willy sighed softly as he closed the door to his suite behind himself. That had been an unexpected addition to what had already been a long and hard day. Much as he enjoyed having an apprentice in Charlie, he had to admit that there were occasions when it complicated matters, such as tonight.
He should be thinking only of getting clean, relaxing, and getting into bed, but instead his thoughts were taken up with how best to deal with the young scamp. Charlie couldn't be allowed to continue on the way he had tonight, of that Wonka was certain.
Then he smiled at himself. Disciplining Charlie, more than he had already done so, wasn't his job. That was down to Ellie to deal with. He had found the right words in the moment, and that was all that mattered. If it happened again, Wonka would just have to see Charlie back to his suite, and keep to his promise that he wouldn't tell Charlie about what had happened during morning break.
Meanwhile he was best dumping his dirty clothing into the laundry hamper, and slipping into the shower, where he could divest himself of the candy mess. Wonka was thankful that he had his shower pre-programmed to deal with situations like this. He made sure that he'd a clean pair pf pyjamas, and a clean towel before he divested himself of the rest of his garments, pushed the appropriate button and slipped into the shower, which very quickly moved from really rather cool to just below unpleasantly hot. Most of the time he kept the temperature at 'just right' but for confectionery type accidents, just below unpleasantly hot was needed to melt the mess of candy off of his skin and hair. Then, after about ten minutes of being pounded by the super-warm water the shower would regulate to a more comfortable temperature, at which point he would reach for his favourite chocolate scented hair and body wash. The smell of his confectionary, intermingled with the soothing soap, calmed his ruffled emotions, and alongside the temperature of the water, relaxed him.
Wonka found himself amused at the idea that he was cleaning himself with something that often smelled of the very product that he had to cleanse himself of. The idea tickled his funny bone. There was something extra comforting in the smell of his bodywash and hair care products. Using them felt far better than smelling of having been covered in candy. It was like the outer equivalent of having a cup of river chocolate.
Suddenly Wonka had a thought. River chocolate! It was probably too late to help Ellie and Charlie, but he could still try. Quickly Wonka finished with his shower, and wrapped himself up in his towel. Then he went to the fireplace and ordered that he, Ellie, and Charlie be provided with some river chocolate. If either of the others were struggling to sleep, Wonka was sure that the chocolate would help them relax. Somehow Wonka knew the evening had been a challenging one for all three of them.
Duty done, Wonka returned to his bathroom where he could finish changing, knowing that his own portion of comforting river chocolate would be waiting for him in his room. A few minutes later he went to join it, gently hopping into bed, and slowly wafting it under his nose. This was a game he and the Oompa Loompa's played every evening. "Hmmmm, taken from just before the fourth bend in the river, right as it goes into the tunnel. The third best part of the river to take it from, right behind just down from the waterfall, and at the bank where the sugaring and creaming is done. Perfect for fluffy-mallow-delights" he pronounced, hearing the giggle coming from the fireplace. So far he had got the location of where they had drawn the river chocolate from right every time, and the Oompa Loompa's were starting to believe he knew the slight variations in taste at every point of the chocolate river. Then he took a taste. "Mmmm, delicious." He stated, before continuing. "I would guess that this batch was taken half an hour after creaming and sugaring time."
An Oompa Loompa head appeared. "Almost right Mr Wonka Sir." He was informed. "It was taken forty-five minutes later." Then the head disappeared again, leaving Willy to laugh at the cheeky chap. "One of these days." He murmured, knowing that he still hadn't quite got the different nuances in flavour that would help him work out the timing of the river chocolates withdrawal.
Then he began to savour the cup, enjoying the rich velvety flavour, and the way the warmth soothed him still further. Feeling deliciously sleepy, he finally cast the cup to the side, and throwing his hat over to the person shaped hat stand, extinguished the light. He'd regret not sitting up to read the accounts come morning, he knew that, but after such a long day he really needed his bed. With that, he turned over, and went to sleep.
Ellie had been startled when a cup came zooming into her room. She had been sitting up reading, knowing that tired though she was, she wouldn't manage to rest yet. The movement from the corner of the room distracted her attention however, and she looked at the cup, feeling puzzled. Then the scent of the chocolate hit her, and she immediately realised who must have sent for it.
She quickly moved through to Charlie's room, to see if he was awake. Her poor wee boy was tossing and turning, trying to sleep, but not quite getting there. Looking round the room, she quickly spotted the cup of river chocolate that had been sent to him. "Charlie." Her voice was low, but loud enough that he looked at her. "Look at your bedside table." She suggested. He did so, eyes widening in astonishment as he took in the cup sitting there. "I think Wonka thought we might sleep better if we had some chocolate." She informed him, before heading swiftly out of the room again.
Charlie smiled at his mother's retreating figure, before sitting up in bed and taking a small mouthful of the chocolate. The flavour warmed him, as much as the idea that Wonka had forgiven him calmed his heart and his restless thoughts. Soon, after another mere mouthful or two, Charlie found his yawns overtaking him, and he put the cup down again, rolling onto his side, and falling deeply asleep.
Ellie wasn't that far behind him, although, like Wonka, she did manage to finish her portion of river chocolate before sleep claimed her. She was so glad to have a friend like Wonka, even if he had brought difficulty into her life, he did all he could to mitigate that difficulty, and though he would never be more than a friend to her, she was starting to feel glad that there was someone she could share the burden of bringing up her son with, someone who would do all he could to protect her boy, and who would do his best to help him become the best man he could become. Comforted, Ellie found herself asleep, not to stir until the alarm called her to wakefulness the following morning.