Chapter 2
Over the next several weeks, customers kept coming back to the candy store. Mr. Wonka greeted every customer who came in. One day, a plump man named Mr. Finny came into the store to buy a gift for his wife for her birthday. She didn't want a fur coat or shoes or even a nice hat. She loved chocolates, so Mr. Finny thought he would buy her a box. He searched among the delicious sweets and candies, but nothing captured his eyes.
"Can I help you find something, sir?" Candace asked him.
"Yes, tell me, are these all the sweets you have?" Mr. Finny asked.
"Yes, sir", Candace answered. "Would you like to sample our new fudge?"
"No, thank you. My wife told me I need to cut back."
"I understand."
"Tell me, when might you be expecting something that's new?" Mr. Finny questioned.
"Well, we have only a few selections at the moment, sir, but we're looking to bringing in some new candies by next month", said Candace
"Very well", said Mr. Finny. "May I buy a box of chocolate seashells, please? It's my wife's birthday, you see, and I would like to buy her a present."
"Very fine idea for a gift, sir", said Candace. She selected a box of chocolate seashells from off the shelf behind her and set it on the counter. Mr. Finny paid for his wife's present and thanked Candace and walked out.
Walter came over and asked her, "Is everything all right, Candace?"
Candace turned to him. "Hello, Walter", she said. "No, everything's fine, sir. The nice gentleman was just asking us if we'll be getting any new candies sometime soon."
"New candies?" Walter exclaimed in confusion. "What's wrong with the candy we have now?"
"Oh, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but let's face it", said Candace. "Anybody can sell candy to people. What I think we should do is invest into something different, something that nobody's ever tasted before."
Walter turned and rubbed his chin, stroking it as he started to pace back and forth, thinking about Candace's proposition.
"You know something? I think you're right", Walter agreed. "It's impractical, but I think it could work. If we could find a way to make a new candy that nobody's ever tasted before, we might be able to expand the business."
"You like my idea?" Candace asked him.
"Like it? Candace, I love it!" Walter exclaimed, enthusiastically. "There's just one little problem: where on Earth am I going to find somebody to make a new candy around here?"
"Well, believe it or not, Walter, but I just so happen to be a candy maker in secret."
Walter raised his eyebrows, surprised to hear that. "Oh, is that so?"
"Yes", said Candace. "If you give me a chance, sir, I think I can make a new candy that nobody else in the world has ever invented. I could bring you some samples to try."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to try some of your candies."
"You really mean that?"
"Of course. Granted, you don't mind me selling them."
"No, not at all."
"I'll tell you what", said Walter. "Why don't you bring in some samples tomorrow and we'll see what the customers think of them."
Candace thought about it, then she looked at her boss and said with a smile, "All right. You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Wonka."
"Please, Candace. Call me Walter."
"All right, Walter. It's a deal."
They shook hands and agreed to meet early the next morning at the candy store.
Later that night, Candace locked herself in her room and got to work right away. She broke out her spell book and searched through it for some ideas, wondering which one she should try first. Candace had so many ideas for candy, but didn't know which one to choose. They all sounded so delicious. It was enough to give her a headache, let alone a cavity. Candace decided to start out small, but needed to collect some ingredients first.
Candace went downstairs to gather some things from the kitchen and opened the ice box. She took out some food and borrowed some spices from the cabinet. She went out to the garden and picked some wildflowers and went back up to her room and set everything down on the bed. It would have been much easier if she had a bigger room with a table and shelves, but had to settle on using what was available to her at the moment.
The first candy she invented were these multi-colored marshmallows that tasted like flowers. Each colored was a different flavor. Pink ones tasted like carnations, red ones tasted like roses, white ones tasted like daisies, yellow ones tasted like daffodils, and light purple ones tasted like lavender.
"Flower Marshmallows", Candace said to herself. "Eat one and taste a garden of wonder."
Candace was up half of the night, creating chocolates and candies from her spell book. Ten or eleven ideas came to her head all at once, but magic takes time for things to work. Even though she was skilled in the art of witchcraft, Candace wasn't quite as talented as other witches. Some witches had the power to turn children into animals or garden statues. Others had the ability to summon fire with a flick of their wrist. Candace didn't know how to do any of those things. The Grand High Witch tried to teach her, but Candace rebelled many times. Because of her disobedience, Candace often found herself going to bed without any supper.
Candace then took a chocolate bar and broke off several small pieces into a bowl. She opened a bottle of vanilla extract and added just a tiny drop, then waved her hands over the bowl and said a spell. A cloud of pink smoke filled the room, as the bowl filled with several marbled squares of brown and white fudge. Cadence tried a piece and found it tasted just like vanilla.
Candace turned and went to open the window to let some of the smoke out, when she saw a tiny spider crawling across the windowsill. She held her hand out to the small creature, allowing it to crawl into her palm.
"Here, let's put you over here", said Candace, setting the spider over on the nightstand for its own safety. "Are you hungry? I'm afraid I haven't any flies, but maybe I can interest you in a few bread crumbs?"
The spider didn't answer back, for spiders don't talk, but graciously accepted the witch's offering.
Continuing her work, Candace just finished making a handful of colorful round candies called Rainbow Drops, when she suddenly thought of another idea. She looked to her spider friend and pointed her finger at it, shooting a ray of pink light on the arachnid. She kindly asked the spider to spin her a web, but instead of a silvery white color, the thread of the spider's web was a light pink, like the color of cotton candy.
Candace took the pink webbing and shaped it into a heart, then added a pinch of sugar to make it sweet and cast a spell. The new candy tasted very much like cotton candy, but it was made out of spider web.
By the next morning, Candace went to the candy shop with a box of brand new candies and showed Walter her newest inventions.
"What are these?" Walter asked, pointing to a soft, pink, heart-shaped candy.
"Candy Hearts...They melt in your mouth."
"And this one?"
"Vanilla Fudge", Candace explained. "Two flavors in one bite."
Walter sampled each one and complimented Candace on her work. The two employees, a nice young man named Peter and a middle-aged, slightly overweight woman named Mrs. Albertson, also tried some of them.
"Candace, these are some of the best candies I've ever tasted", said Walter. "How do you make them?"
"I have my secrets", said Candace, proudly.
"They're delicious", said Peter.
"They're scrumptious", said Mrs. Albertson.
"My dear, you have a gift", Walter admired. "With these new candies, we're sure to increase business. Now, let's open up and see what our customers have to say about them."
When customers heard about the new line of sweets on the shelves of Wonka's Candy Store, they quickly flooded in to try them. The whole town loved the new candies, and customers kept coming back for more the next day, and the next day, and the next day after that.
At the end of the week, Walter offered to give Candace a fair share of the money they made from her new candies, but Candace politely declined and settled on taking only her regular pay instead.
"I have no interest in money, Mr. Wonka", said Candace. "I'm only interested in making candy and bringing a smile to people's faces."
"I've never met such a more modest woman", said Walter. "In that case, I shall have to take you out to dinner one of these nights."
"That would be wonderful."
Around five o'clock, Walter closed up the store and walked out with Candace, who looked over across the street and saw a dark-haired woman on the corner dressed in black. She was wearing a fancy hat with a large bow and long purple gloves. Her face was like porcelain and her lips were painted bright red. There was an evil look in her eyes, which had a faint purplish color to them. Even from a distance, Candace could see it.
"Oh, no", said the nervous young witch.
"Is something wrong, Candace?" Asked Walter.
Candace turned and looked at him, then looked back to see the woman again, but she was gone. Shaking it off, Candace turned back to Walter and said, "N-No, nothing's wrong."
"Are you sure? Maybe I should walk you home."
"No, don't worry about me, Mr. Wonka. I'll be all right."
"But, my dear, that's ten blocks away", Walter reminded her.
"Oh, I don't mind. It helps me to think. Good night, Mr. Wonka."
"Walter, please."
"All right. Good night...Walter."
"Good night, Candace."
Candace walked home by herself and scratched her head once nobody was around. She admitted she loved Walter Wonka, but thought it improper to be thinking about her boss in a romantic light.
When Candace got back to Mrs. McAllister's house, she went upstairs to her room and opened the door and found Mrs. McAllister replacing a sheet on the bed.
"Oh, don't mind me, dear", she said. "I was just popping in to change the sheets."
"Thank you", said Candace.
"You're welcome. By the way, dear, I saw a spider on your nightstand earlier, but you need not worry. I already killed it for you."
Candace's jaw nearly dropped open in horror when she heard that, but she somehow managed to keep a straight face and smiled weakly. "Did you now?" She asked, innocently.
"Yes, terrible things, spiders are. Nothing to worry about, though. I'll bring you some supper in an hour."
Later that night, Candace lied in her bed, feeling sad about the loss of the spider. She was hoping to learn more about her little friend, but knew the spider was in a better place now. Candace sighed sadly and went to sleep, dreaming that tomorrow would be a much better day.