Chapter 5
Within a week, a new variety of sweets lined up the shelves of Wonka's Candy Store, each one of them more delicious than the last. Now that they were married, Walter and Candace soon became business partners and ran the store together. They still had to hide the fact that Candace was a witch from friends and coworkers, but every waking minute they were together, they were happy. With the money they were making, Walter and Candace were able to afford a new sign for the candy shop and give their employees a raise. They even donated a portion of the profits to children's charities. Business was booming and they were a success.
One day, a sad-looking girl came into the candy store and looked at an assortment of chocolate truffles in one of the glass cases. Candace went over to her.
"Hello, there, little girl. Would you like to buy some chocolates?"
The girl looked at Candace and shook her head. "No, thank you, ma'am", she said, softly. "I'm just here to look. I don't have any money."
"Oh? Well, how's about a free one on the house?" Candace suggested. "I'm sure my husband won't mind."
"Oh, no, I couldn't let you do that", said the girl.
"Nonsense", said Candace. "One piece of candy won't hurt nothing. Now, which one would you like, sweetie?"
The girl scanned the many beautiful and decorative truffles, each one more mouth-watering than the next. She looked at Candace and asked her, "Do you have anything with strawberry?"
"I think I have just the one you're looking for." Candace went behind the counter and picked out a pink truffle with a tiny dark chocolate heart on it and handed it to the girl. "There you are, sweetie."
The girl took the pink truffle and smelled it, then took a tiny bite, just enough to get the sweet taste into her mouth. "Thank you very much, miss", she said.
"You're welcome."
The girl took another bite, leaving only half of the truffle behind. She took her time in chewing it, wishing to savor the creamy flavor for as long as she could.
"I think I'll save the rest for later", said the girl. "Do you have a napkin or something I could wrap this in? I don't want to put it in my pocket and have it melt on my way back home."
Candace took a small paper bag and gave it to the girl to put her half-eaten chocolate into it.
"What's your name, young lady?" Candace asked the girl.
"Jennifer, but my aunt calls me Jenny."
At that moment, a suspicious-looking character came into the candy store. His name was Michael Ficklegruber. He was a snobbish-looking man who walked with a cane and sported a neatly-trimmed dark goatee.
"Good afternoon, sir", Candace greeted him. "Welcome to Wonka's Candy Store."
"Good day, madam", he said. "My name is Mr. Ficklegruber. Are you the owner of this establishment?"
"Partially. My name is Candace Wonka. I'm Walter Wonka's wife. He owns the store."
"Charming. Pray tell, where might your husband be at this hour?"
"He'll be right back. He had to run out to deposit a check in the bank."
Mr. Ficklegruber looked at a jar of colorful round candies and pointed at them. "What are these?"
"They're Rainbow Drops", Candace explained. "You can suck on them and spit them out into one of seven different colors. Most grownups think it's disgusting, but the children love them."
"Yes, that's precisely the reason why I've come here", said Mr. Ficklegruber, taking out a notepad and pencil. "I have some questions I would like to ask you and your husband about the candies you have invested into."
Just then, Walter returned to the shop and saw Candace being confronted by Mr. Ficklegruber. "Is everything all right, dear?" Walter asked her.
"Yes, but this gentleman has some questions he would like to ask us", said Candace.
"I'm just starting out in the candy business myself, Mr. Wonka, and I would like to know how you make some of your delicious candies", said Mr. Ficklegruber. "Also, what would you estimate is the worth of your store?"
"Mr. Ficklegruber, my wife and I are in this business to bring enjoyment and sweetness to the world, not turn it into a money-making machine", said Walter. "Whatever it is you're offering, I'm afraid we're just not interested."
"That's right", said Candace, standing behind her husband's word.
"Mr. and Mrs. Wonka, this really is too much for you to run by yourselves", said Mr. Ficklegruber. "You really ought to start thinking about running a family, not a candy store. I am prepared to offer you $5,000 for the store."
"The store is not for sale", said Walter.
"All right, $10,000. Not a penny more. We could be partners and split the profits."
"Mr. Ficklegruber, if my husband says the store isn't for sale, then it's not for sale", Candace defended.
"You're making a big mistake, Wonka", Mr. Ficklegruber threatened. "One day, your candy-making secrets will be mine!" He turned on his heel and left the candy store in a huff.
Jenny, who stood by and witnessed the whole thing, looked at the Wonkas and told them, "That man was very mean."
"Yes, he was", Candace agreed.
"What's your name, young lady?" Walter asked the little girl.
"Jenny, sir."
"She didn't have any money, so I gave her a truffle for free", said Candace.
"Well, Jenny, why don't you come back next week and we'll offer you to try some samples of our newest sweets coming out next month", said Walter.
"Oh, boy, I'd love to", Jenny exclaimed. "Thank you, Mr. Wonka."
"You're welcome."
"Well, I have to be going now."
"All right, Jenny", said Candace. "Thank you for stopping by. Be sure to come back again."
"I will. Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Wonka."
The next day, Candace decided to take the day off, and spent the whole morning and afternoon inventing new candies, while Walter went to run the candy store. She laid out several items on the dining table, including a cup of sugar, several vials of spices, a pair of scissors, some paperclips, a toothbrush, candy corn, a piece of chalk, a spoon, salted peanuts, an egg, a lollipop, a plum, some chicken feathers, a red pepper and a green pepper.
"Well, I'm off to work now, dear", said Walter. "I'll stop by the supermarket and pick up some groceries later. Can I bring you anything, Candace?"
"Yes, Walter, I need some wormwood", said Candace. "Could you bring home two bottles of it, please?"
"Wormwood?"
"Yes, I need it for the new chocolate bars I'm working on."
"The dark chocolate bars that glow in the dark?"
"Yes."
"All right. Anything else?"
"Yes, I need a bag of chocolate chips, as well."
"For candy?"
"No, I just have a sudden craving for fresh chocolate chips."
"All right, wormwood and chocolate chips it is", said Walter, making a mental note to remember them.
When he came home later that evening, Walter walked into the kitchen and smelled a delicious aroma in the air. There were several pots on the stove, one of them filled with boiling pink liquid and another filled with some kind of sticky purple stuff. Candace dipped her finger into the purple stuff and tasted it. She shook her head, then threw in some peanuts and stirred the batter until it turned a golden brown color, like rich, melted caramel.
Walter walked over to Candace and gave her a kiss, then handed her two bottles of wormwood and a bag of chocolate chips. Candace ground up some of the wormwood and added it into a batter of dark chocolate mix.
"What's the wormwood do?" Walter asked.
"It takes away some of the sweetness and gives it a more bitter taste", Candace answered. "It'll taste the same once I'm through getting it right." Then she added a pinch of coal dust and a pair of scissors into the batter, stirring the strange ingredients into the batch.
"What's that for?" Walter questioned, slightly puzzled.
"It give it a sharper taste", said Candace. She poured some of the dark chocolate batter into trays and stuck them in the freezer to cool them.
Candace walked over to the table and chopped up a red pepper, then added it into one of the smaller pots.
Before Walter could ask, Candace explained to him, "Everybody knows you can't make peppermint without a pepper. I'd like to make Peppermint Bombs, but I'm out of snozzberries in order to make them."
"Snozzberries?" Walter asked her, wondering what on Earth a snozzberry was and what it tasted like.
"Yes. You see, some of my candies require special ingredients that need to be collected from other countries. In order for me to get them, I'd have to take a broom and fly out and go get them myself."
"How long will you be gone for?"
"I won't be gone long, Walter. I promise. I'll just take a broomstick out tomorrow and be back in a day or two." Candace gave Walter a kiss and said, "I'll finishing cleaning up the mess and get dinner started."
"No, no, Candace", said Walter. "You've been slaving away over a hot stove all day long. I'll cook for us tonight. How does meatloaf sound?"
"That sounds wonderful."
The next morning, Walter said goodbye to Candace and asked her where she was going first.
"You won't believe me, but it's a place called Giant Country."
"Giant Country? There's no such place as Giant Country."
"There is such a place, and I will prove it to you. Take care, Walter. I'll be back in a couple of days." Just like that, Candace mounted her broomstick and flew off out of sight in less than a second.
Two days later, Candace returned home as promised and brought home a basket of several new ingredients from Giant Country, including a green fizzy drink that made the bubbles go down instead of up.
"Walter, whatever you do, do not drink this", Candace warned him.
"Why? It's not poison, is it?" Walter asked her.
"No, it's called frobscottle", said Candace. "It looks and tastes just like a soda, but instead of making you burp, it...makes you make noises that come out your other end."
Walter thought about it, then his face blushed bright red as he got the idea what it did.
"It was given to me as a present from a big, friendly giant", Candace explained. "I tried some and thought it was delicious, but then I found out the results and...Well, you know. Anyway, I didn't want to hurt the giant's feelings, so I asked him if I could bring some back home to share with my husband."
"Are you planning on using it in any of the new candies?"
"Maybe, but first, I want to get started on making those Peppermint Bombs."