A few days later, Willy loaded Cocoa into the elevator and they took off. Cocoa was nervous at first, but Willy was able to soothe him. A few minutes later a house with a nearby stable came into view. Willy worked the controls and landed near a nearby riding ring. In the ring an older woman with silvery grey hair was cantering a dark grey horse around. She stopped the horse and stared. Willy exited the elevator, leading Cocoa over to the ring. He smiled. "Hey Auntie," he called, "it's me!"
The woman continued to stare for a moment before she whispered, "Willy?" Willy nodded, and she cantered her horse over to the fence. She pulled the horse to a sliding stop, startling Cocoa, and dismounted. Then she threw her arms around Willy. "My boy," she whispered.
"Good to see you, too, Auntie," he said, cautiously returning the hug. "Though you startled my horse with that sliding stop."
"What?" Aunt Lauren said, pulling away. She had been so focused on her nephew, she hadn't noticed the horse. Now she looked Cocoa over. "Good lookin' fella," she said, and held her hand out to him. Cocoa sniffed her hand and then snorted. She smiled. "What's his name?"
"Cocoa," Willy answered, patting his neck. Then he turned to the horse. "Stormcloud?" he asked, looking at the horse. It certainly looked like him.
Aunt Lauren shook her head. "No," she said, reaching out to pat the horse by her side. "Stormcloud died a few months ago. He became terminally sick and we had to put him down. This guy is Steel. He's Stormcloud's nephew. Stormcloud had a twin brother who wasn't gelded and fathered this guy. Soon after Stormcloud died, I saw him at a sale and bought him."
"So I guess Candy's gone, too?" Willy asked. "He was older than Stormcloud."
Aunt Lauren nodded. "Yes," she said. "He died of old age. He had a long and happy life, though. His passing was very peaceful."
Willy hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "I'm glad," he said.
Suddenly Cocoa decided he'd had enough of just standing around while the humans talked. He wanted to play. He grabbed one of the tails on Willy's coat and gave it a quick tug. Then he ran off. "Hey!" Willy exclaimed, and went running after Cocoa. "You rascal! Get back here!" Aunt Lauren watched from the gate for a moment and laughed at them. They were playing tag. It brought back memories, watching them. Willy would often play tag with Candy, too.
Just at that moment, it was Willy's turn to be chased. He wasn't watching where he was going and…
BANG!
…He ran right into the glass elevator and fell over backwards. Fortunately for him the patch of ground he landed on was clear of any horse manure. Cocoa came over and snuffled him.
"Ow!" Willy cried, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Should've parked this thing somewhere else where it wouldn't be in the way."
"Are you all right, Willy?" Aunt Lauren asked, whipping the gate open and running to her fallen nephew.
"Fine," Willy said, getting up and dusting himself off. "I'm always doing that."
Aunt Lauren giggled at this admission. "It is good to have you here," she said, laying her hand on his arm. "Even if you are a klutz."
"Hey!" Willy pretended to take offense at her remark.
Aunt Lauren smiled, "We should get these two guys into the stable," she said, indicating where Cocoa and Steel stood. "Then I want us to go up to the house and get caught up in each other's lives."
"Don't you know what's been going on with me?" Willy asked in surprise.
"Of course I do," Aunt Lauren said. "I just want to hear everything from your perspective."
Willy stayed for a week. Charlie had assured Willy that he, his family, and the oompa-loompas could keep the factory going that long easily. During that time he and his aunt were inseparable, except at night when they would go to bed. Willy collapsed in bed each night, sure he had never been so happy. Yes, he missed the factory and Charlie, but being around his aunt again made it so the pain wasn't too great.
There was just one thing that cut into his happiness. On the first day together, Willy had discovered that Uncle Jacob was dead. He'd had a heart attack a month ago, and one morning Willy and his Aunt Lauren went to visit the grave.
One day the two of them went for a trail ride together. They rode through woods and fields. They stopped to let their horses drink at a stream. Cocoa started to splash the water about a bit and they quickly got out of the stream.