Chapter Eight:

The entire room was silent except for Willy's sobbing.

"Willy... it's okay..." Jenni tried to console him, but he kept sobbing even more loudly than before.

Joe and Dennis exchanged looks, then Joe gave a nod to the other workers, who went into the back of the shop, where Joe and Dennis soon followed. It's best if they're alone together... they both thought.

Willy continued to cry. Jenni sat on the floor with him and pulled him into a soft hug. He was shaking again. "Willy... don't think about him."

"I c-can't!" he cried, and Jenni pulled him closer. "Willy... I know he's your father, but that's just the way he is. He doesn't like candy, and it must have angered him that it became your passion, and now, your job."

"He... he thinks I'm useless!"

"No, he doesn't! He never said that!"

"He d-didn't s-s-say it, but I know that's w-what he's thinking!"

"Willy..." She placed a hand under his chin and lifted his head up, and she gazed into his sparkling violet eyes. He was irresistably cute this very moment, but she couldn't let her attraction to him get in the way of consoling him. "Willy, you can cry if you want to. You have every right to. But I just want you to stop for a moment and hear me out," she said firmly. "I just want you to calm down a bit. Will you do this for me?"

He sniffed, but nodded.

"Look... your father is a dentist, so it's natural he hates candy. And even though he neglected you, I'm sure there's a part of him that actually does love you."

Willy opened his mouth slightly, but didn't interrupt. "I know that because for one thing, he came to your shop. And no parent can ever harden their heart towards their child, no matter how much they try. You found something in your life to keep you away from him, to keep your thoughts away from your memories of him. And he might've been jealous... he might've thought that you loved candy more than him and were more interested in that, and he became colder to you, thinking that it might make you want to be with him more. But it backfired, and you felt lonelier than ever. So you got your revenge by becoming a chocolatier. And he probably became bitter knowing that candy had won the fight."

"I did become a chocolatier... because of that. I thought... maybe if I dedicated my life to the one thing I actually loved and the thing that he loathed, I would actually be satistfied with my life."

"I can understand why you would do that. But he can't keep rejecting you, and you can't keep rejecting him. And don't give me that look," she said as his eyebrows raised, "you really are rejecting him, just subconciously. Focusing on the sweet things in life, candy, has made you reject him. You use it to try and erase or block out the memories of his cruelty and coldness towards you."

Willy blinked a few small tears out of his eyes, and he gave a small sigh. "You're... you're probably right."

Jenni rubbed his back softly. "I'm pretty sure I am. I know a lot about how people's minds work."

"You know... you're the first person who ever really understood me." He gave her a small smile, and it made her heart leap with joy. Even though tears were still trailing down his face, it made her feel better to see him smile a little. "Thank you."

She pulled him even closer so that his head was on her shoulder and her arms were wrapped around him. No... thank you, Willy. You've given me someone to love.

They both sat there for a few minutes in silence, Jenni holding the still slightly-shaking Willy in her arms, waiting for him to calm down.

"Feeling any better?" she said finally.

Willy looked up, and tearstains were still shining on his now flushed cheeks. He nodded.

"You look really worn out. Do you want me to take you home?"

He frowned slightly. "No... I really should get to work..."

"Are you sure you really want to do that?"

No... he thought to himself. Truthfully, he really did feel worn out, and even though Jenni's kind words made him feel a little bit better, he didn't think he could manage working that day. "I..."

She waited patiently for his response. "No..." he finally said. "I want to go home. But... the shop..."

Jenni gave him a reassuring smile. "I've already told you, we can take care of it."

"I really shouldn't though... I've been sleeping too much..."

"Well, considering you looked like you hadn't slept at all before, I think it's fine if you sleep more. But you don't necessarily have to sleep, you can just take a break from work and relax. The worst is over. He's gone now."

I have a feeling this isn't the worst there will be... he thought nervously, but he decided that it would be best to just go home. "Okay... fine..."

He reached into his pocket to grab his car keys, but Jenni stopped him. "I'll take you there. You shouldn't drive right now."

She's acting like I'm sick or something...

"Why not?"

"You look too tired to drive!"

"I am not!" he said, starting to get a bit frustrated. As weak as he knew he was, he still didn't like being shoved around.

"Willy, just let me do it," she said exasperatedly.

"Fine," he said with a bit of anger in his voice, but looking into her deep brown eyes, he felt any anger slowly ebbing away. It's because she cares, he told himself.

Jenni gave him a pleading smile, and the two left the shop. Come to think of it, she thought, I don't think I've ever been inside his house before. Not once.

"Do you know where it is?" he asked, getting into the car, which was a bit messy and cluttered.

"Erm... I've driven by it, yes, I do know where it is," she said, embarassed slightly by the amount of junk she had in her car.

The two sat in silence as Jenni drove towards his house. They were now on a very empty and secluded road. The drive seemed to be taking a long time, and Jenni suddenly remembered why: the only times she had ever seen his house was when she was leaving town, because he lived far away from the main city.

She kept glancing at the clock, and after a while, she realized that she had been driving for over an hour.

"Willy, you really should move closer to the city," she said, laughing.

He didn't reply.

"Willy?" She looked over at him to find that he had fallen asleep in his seat. Grinning to herself, she dug around the back seat through the pile of assorted objects until she found an old blanket. She stopped the car for a second and laid it carefully over him.

She laughed softly. "How many times am I going to have to do this for you?"