My thanks are once again due to my RL friend who, when I began to turn one of my concepts from the merest inkling of an idea, into the start of reality, happily batted ideas back and forth regarding what was in character for the various people involved when defining the word love, something that shall dominate the themes of the next few chapters. Without this most valued assistance, the offering below, and those that follow, would be merely a pale reflection...

Thanks also to Turrislucidus for the thoughtful review. I think it's hard to see where things might go when emotions are involved.

This chapter, and the next couple, may be on the short side, as they aren't quite so light hearted as some of my other chapters.

If you recognise it from elsewhere, the chances are, it doesn't belong to me.


Settling back in

That first week, Charlie spent mostly at home. A pattern formed in that Charlie would sleep until everyone who was occupied outside of the suite in the morning had executed their morning routine, and skedaddled to pastures new.

After relaxing in bed for a while, Charlie usually got up around ten, would have his breakfast with the one or two people who were still in the suite, who generally paused to have a hot drink and chat with him, and would then settle in the front room to do some drawing, or, if his classmates had brought some homework to him from class the previous evening, he would spend the morning working on that.

"Get it done while you're still fresh," Grandma Josephine commented approvingly. Everyone returned at around lunchtime for some catch up over the meal. This, Charlie found, fell into a general pattern conversation wise. It was usually Grandpa Joe who would start to quiz him on what he'd been up to, and his family were soon hearing all about his homework, and little bits about his art.

Grandpa George would usually scoff at the idea of a boy being an artist, but the rest of the family would tell him off, pointing out that Charlie was free to draw and paint if that was what he wanted to do. Beyond his Mom, who was generally out at least two thirds of each day, the lunchtime break tended to mean the changing of the guard.

In the afternoon, Charlie would catch up with the doings of his family outside of the suite, and would then go for a nap. He was making a concerted effort to eat a little more at every meal. On top of this, he still devoured the tasty and nutritious treats that the Oompa Loompa's sent up to him. This was despite the way his Grandpa Joe would look at him in askance, commenting that it wouldn't take long for him to turn 'into a porker, like that awful Gloop boy' at this rate! Charlie scowled at this comment, as his mother protested with an, 'honestly Dad!' His grandfather really wasn't anyone to talk; he was putting on a fair bit of weight himself!

The comment Charlie was receiving most often was just how much he was growing. Wonka had said this wasn't surprising. He had quickly noted that Charlie was slightly small for his age, especially when one compared him to the height of his Grandfather. Now Charlie was getting plenty of food, and his illness meant he had spent a lot of time sleeping. This naturally translated into him shooting up. Willy hypothesised that with the maintaining of Charlie's current healthy diet and general good nutrition, he ought to gain back any losses in growth.

This didn't stop him from warning Charlie that he would need to remain under the expert care of Hansard. Willy couldn't be sure just how much the limitations Charlie had experienced in his nutrition, would impact on his long term health. What food he had had while growing up had been nutritious enough. It just hadn't been overly plentiful, and it was amazing just how well the boy had done, given he admitted that he had only discovered what it was not to feel hungry almost all the time when he was at the factory. The only time he had truly felt otherwise was the day he had gorged on that chocolate bar, just before he discovered the golden ticket. That evening, he had almost been sick, his tummy just not used to so much sugar all at once.

Once the afternoon questions were over, Charlie normally retired for a nap, the rigours of the morning having exhausted him. He was trying to cut down on this, however. Next week he would begin attending Homework Club with his friends, the following he would start at morning school, and over the next few weeks he would build up his attendance until he was attending full time, just in time for the swiftly approaching Christmas holidays. Meantime, Charlie's plan was to endeavour to build upon his stamina.

It was on the Wednesday of that week that Charlie sat deep in thought. His teacher had set him the challenge of producing an essay on what the word 'love' meant. He was expected to do some research into the subject, be that by reading, or talking to people, and was then to write up his findings. Charlie was stumped. He wasn't sure what he thought the word meant, and he didn't exactly think that he could trust what his family would say.

With a deep sigh, he glanced around the room. He really was not motivated to do this task. Grandma Josephine looked over at him. "What seems to be the problem Charlie?"

Charlie glanced up. "Difficult paper Grandma Josephine." He admitted, a grimace of distaste marring his features. Josephine moved closer. "Tell me about it?" she requested. "Maybe I can help." Sighing again, Charlie admitted defeat, and explained. "My teacher wants me to write about love, and how different people define it. I'm not too sure how to begin."

When Josephine's hand came to rest on his shoulder, Charlie found himself leaning into her touch, and then wondered why he had felt the need to do so. He still wasn't sure what he thought about any of his grandparents, and the way they had acted as he was growing up, and now he was accepting gestures of comfort from one of them?

"That sounds like quite a challenging assignment." Grandma Josephine acknowledged. "I suggest you make a list of people it would be good to talk to about it, ask them what they think, ponder upon their responses for a bit, and then maybe ask them again, before you write anything.

"You're in quite a good position for this kind of assignment Charlie, you have the five of us adults you live with, Willy, James, and maybe even some of the Oompa Loompas you got to know at homework club, or who have been looking after you. That should give you plenty of opinions to canvass before you need to write up your assignment. When is it due?"

Charlie looked at her, gasping for breath at the concise advice he had just received. He had never seen his Grandma Josephine acting like this before, in fact, he could never recall her having displayed the slightest interest in his schooling up until now. Something had definitely changed. Then, despite his confusion, he remembered that she had asked him a question. "I think I have around a fortnight to do it."

"Perfect! That's plenty of time. As long as you use your time wisely Charlie. Don't leave it all to the last minute!"

Charlie laughed, and immediately turned to her. "OK, Grandma Josephine. How would you describe love?"

This caused a chuckle of delight from his grandmother. "Oh Charlie! You'll have to give me a moment to think!" she exclaimed. "That's alright Grandma! I need to go and get pen and paper."

The next moment, he was striding through the hall to his room, and gathering the required materials.

When he returned, he found his Grandmother lost deep in thought, to the point that she startled as he came around to sit next to her again.

"Sorry Grandma Josephine. I didn't mean to give you a fright." He exclaimed. She smiled at him, somehow reminding Charlie of how he felt when wearing his new dressing gown from Wonka. It was so soft and fluffy. "Not to worry Charlie. I was ruminating on my various experiences of love." She explained, her smile becoming more pronounced as she thought about it.

"Oh?" came the response from her grandson. Josephine squeezed his shoulder once again. "I was brought up by my parents. My father was strict, and often quoted the bible passage 'spare the rod, spoil the child.' His love was tough. But he brought us up to try and be the best people we could be.

"My mother on the other hand, was comfort. She never went against my father, heaven forfend. However, once one was truly penitent. She would offer parental forgiveness, and one finally got to see Father smiling at one, when she let one sit beside her knee. I very quickly learned to take Father's punishments as stoically as I could, and then do my best to gain mothers forgiveness. For then, both parents would look on me with pride.

"In my marriage…" Josephine went quiet, as she contemplated her experiences of love with Joe. Charlie sat in silence, waiting for her to be ready to resume talking again. "I think, with Joe, I learned how to appreciate and value the quirks of a person. Sometimes your Grandfather drives me mad Charlie, with his love of the Chocolate Factory, and his obsession with sweets in general. But I've learned how to laugh, much of the time, and to care about him despite that."

A door banged while Josephine was talking, and Joe stuck his head round the door, just in time to hear his wife's last Statement or two. At her words, his eyes sparkled, and he wandered over towards them, dropping a kiss on her brow.

Charlie grimaced, thinking that adults were always far too mushy. Catching the look, and immediately guessing the cause, Joe put his thoughts into words. "Sometimes mushy stuff is the only way to tell a person just how much you appreciate them Charlie." He explained to the boy. "However awful you think it must be, I appreciate your Grandmother putting up with me more than words can say. Her willingness to deal with my quirks in a way no one else would is what lead to my falling in love with her. So I try to show her that I appreciate her by behaving affectionately towards her." During this monologue, Josephine sat and looked up at Joe, a blissful smile of adoration her face. It was quite clear that she still doted on the man.

Seeing Charlie shrug at him, Joe nodded his head once, and then changed the topic. "Where's old George anyway?" he enquired. "I'm going to go get cleaned up, and then I think I'll look him up for a bit."

George, who had been in his room with the door ajar, heard this proclamation, and came out to see what was happening just as Josephine decided to finish up her statements. "That's the thing Charlie. Sometimes your grandfather drives me insane, other times, I can't get past how kind and caring he is. My heart melts and I find myself falling in love with him all over again." She paused to recollect herself. "I think that's what I believe Charlie." She told him. "Love means being prepared to put up with your loved ones idiosyncrasies. Everyone has something that annoys the people they are with. Love is about passing over those irritating habits."

George, who had come to stand at the entrance to the room, waiting on Joe joining him, scowled at this, immediately responding. "Love? Who cares about love? Companionship is all you need. No one likes to be lonely!" Charlie looked up at him, feeling somewhat offended at this response. "But that doesn't help with my assignment Grandpa George!" he rebutted. "I'm supposed to write what people think love is, not state that it's not necessary!"

George glowered even more. "Then love is about being prepared to challenge the other person, so that they don't take any big decisions without thinking them through thoroughly, and so they can have the chance to change. Love is about being prepared to make them hate you, if you believe that what you are doing is in their best interests!" and with that, George turned and stomped over to the table in the dining area.

Charlie looked at his grandmother, nonplussed. Josephine turned a smile on him. "Don't worry about him Charlie. George always was a crusty curmudgeon. And… Well… Back in the day, when he got married, companionship was one of the main reasons for marrying. Alongside, for a man, someone to cook and clean for you. A woman gained someone to provide for her, who wasn't her parents. Many didn't marry for love; I think that Georgina was one of the few who would have accepted George on those terms; he was such an irritable cuss. But she knew he had had a hard life. I think she felt sorry for him." Charlie blinked, he certainly had not anticipated being told such intimate details about his grandparents when he started this conversation with his grandmother.

Feeling rather overwhelmed by all he had been told so far, Charlie noted the useable responses, and then fell into a daydream, being so lost to the outside world that he didn't notice when Grandpa Joe came out of his room and headed to join Grandpa George at the dining room table. It was only when the rumble of their deep voices came to him that Charlie stirred from his dwam and began to take an interest in life again. Grandma Georgina was now sat next to him, where Grandma Josephine had been sitting, and Grandma Josephine was in the dining area with his Mom, clattering cutlery onto the table. Charlie pondered asking Grandma Georgina what she thought love was, but decided that he would do that later, after lunch perhaps, while she and Grandpa Joe were at home. His Mom, he would catch the following morning.

Lunch passed as it usually did. Charlie was able to sit and just listen as the conversation flowed around him. He made himself pretend that Willy was sat next to him, so that he had the extra impetus to eat 'properly'. His family didn't seem to care whether he ate enough or not, but Willy had always told him off for not pushing himself to eat the kinds of quantities his classmates ate on a regular basis.

In the light of all he had heard from Grandma Josephine and Grandpa George that morning, he didn't know what to think about this. Was that what Grandpa George meant about challenging others? Willy pushed him to eat more, because he cared about him, and thought he needed to eat more to grow up big and strong. Was Willy risking Charlie getting upset if he disagreed with this? Was that what his Mom was doing when she insisted on taking decisions for him? Was that something to do with love?

The meal ended, and having been given permission, Charlie wandered away from the table, back to his room, his thoughts awhirl with so many conflicting thoughts and feelings. He would need some time to contemplate the different ideas he had been given over the course of the morning before he was ready to explore any further.