(Charlie's POV):
I burst into the shack with a mix of excitement and some other feeling I can't describe.
"Young man, where have you been?" my mother asks me worried.
"Sorry. I was out with Matilda."
"You really should let me know when you're going to be gone longer."
"Oh, leave him alone, Hannah," my dad exclaims.
"A young boy needs his time with his friends."
"Who's tying up loose ends?" Grandpa George asks with a yawn as he sits up.
He nudges Grandma Georgina.
"Georgina, someone's tying up loose ends."
Grandma Georgina and Grandma Josephine yawn and sit up.
"George, you old coot!" Grandpa Joe exclaims.
"He said that a young boy need his time with his friends."
"Yes, I love coffee blends!"
"Friends!" Georgina, Joe, and Josephine yell.
"Alright! I'm not deaf, you know."
"Charlie, what's in the basket?" Georgina asks.
"Did your girlfriend Matilda give you a gift?" Josephine follows.
The two women laugh as I blush heavily.
"Matilda's not my girlfriend. And I don't like her like that."
"Now, Charlie. You shouldn't lie to your grandparents like that," Josephine scolds me playfully.
"Who's seen a rat?" George asks.
"George, she didn't say rat. She said that," Georgina clarifies with frustration.
"I'm not lying," I claim.
"Now, Charlie," Josephine tells me.
"I've seen how you look at her. You really think she's somethin' special, don't you?"
Guiltily, I look down at the floor.
"Ooh-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo!" Georgina and Josephine whoop.
"You DO love her!" Georgina tells me through laughter.
I nod slightly.
"Maybe."
"I knew it," Josephine says matter-of-factly.
"Anyway, what's in that basket?"
"Oh. Right."
I place it on the bed.
"Matilda sends her regards."
Once again, my Grandmas start whooping and hollering with delight.
"Chocolate!" they say.
"And Nut-a-rifics!" Josephine exclaims.
"Please marry that girl, Charlie."
"Indeed," Georgina agrees.
"Marry her as soon as possible."
"Why? She wouldn't want to marry me. I don't think she even likes me like that."
"Well, you never know," my mom tells me.
"She could be feeling the exact same way about you, but is just too shy to admit it."
"Matilda? Shy? Impossible!" I exclaim.
"She doesn't seem like the type of girl who'd get shy about anything."
"Like I said, you never know."
"Your mother's right," my father pipes up.
"When I met her, I was too shy to tell her how I felt. I was afraid she would reject me and then all my friends would laugh at me and-"
"Ethan!" my mother snaps.
He gives her a look of embarrassment.
"Right. Anyway, after a lot of pep talk from my friends, I just decided to go straight up to her and tell her how I felt."
"And?"
The two look at one another.
"He found out I felt the exact same way about him," my mother says.
"I was just too shy to say anything."
Strange. My mother doesn't seem like the shy type.
"Now you'd better get ready for bed, Charlie. It's late."
"Can't Grandpa Joe just tell me one Wonka story?" I beg.
"Just one? Please?"
I give her a pleading look and she sighs.
"All right. But just one. And no zombie worker stories. You need your sleep."
"You guys mind if pop tells Charlie a bedtime story?" Dad asks the others.
By this time, the others have fallen asleep.
"I guess not."