Disclaimer: I don't own a darn thing in this story!
A/n: Here's my early Easter present for you, the next chapter of Confusion! In case you're wondering, the mini-line of W's a little ways into the chapter is intentional. I felt a page break was neccesary there, but I couldn't get any other more suitable page breaks (lines, asterisks) to show up, so I had to go with the W's! And as always, please keep those reviews coming! :)
"At the rate we're going, I wouldn't be surprised if we'll be ready to begin construction on the bakery by mid-summer at the latest!" Mr. Bucket remarked. It was a Thursday afternoon in early April, and another bakery planning session had just come to a close (Mr. Bucket had arranged things so that he was able to get off work at the toothpaste factory early in order to attend the meeting). "Actually, I was thinking late summer would be a good time to begin construction. You know, like early August or something," Willy replied. "Yeah, that would be a much better time," Ronnie agreed.
The Buckets exchanged puzzled glances (naturally, they had been fully expecting Willy and Ronnie to want to begin the construction as soon as possible!). "If you really want to wait until then, that's fine. But what's wrong with June or July?" Mr. Bucket inquired. "Er, well, nothing. It's just that early and mid-summer can be kind of busy and..." Willy started to say. "Besides, do we really want to be doing the construction while it's super-hot out?" Ronnie jumped in.
This didn't make much sense to the Buckets, since if anything, it's usually even warmer in August than it is in June or July! But they could sense that Willy and Ronnie really didn't want to discuss the matter further. So Mrs. Bucket decided to change the subject. "Willy, Ronnie, do you two have any plans for Easter?" she asked. "Not really," admitted Willy. "My mom and I usually..." Ronnie stopped in mid-sentence. She was getting an idea. "What are your plans for Easter?" she asked the Buckets. "Well, I was thinking of making a big, fancy easter dinner this year. It's been awhile since I've gone all-out for Easter dinner, and I thought it would be kind of fun," Mrs. Bucket answered her.
"Would you mind cooking dinner for 11 instead of 9?" Willy asked. Ronnie smiled at him, glad that he had figured out her idea. "No, but who would the other two people be?" Mrs. Bucket asked. "I was thinking of inviting my f-f-f- well, you know, him," said Willy. Needless to say, the Buckets were a bit surprised. Although Willy and his father were on good terms now, it wasn't exactly often that Willy invited his dad to the factory!
"And I was thinking of inviting my mother. I know she doesn't know you guys and you don't know her, but she knows that Willy and I are together. So I thought Easter might be a good time for her to get to know Willy a bit, as well as get to know you guys. Plus, usually it's just she and I for Easter dinner and because of that, we don't have a very fancy meal. I think she'd enjoy having a big, fancy Easter dinner for once," said Ronnie (unlike Willy and his father, Ronnie and her mother were quite close and talked on the phone often, which is how Ronnie's mother knew about her and Willy.).
"Things must be getting pretty darn serious if you want your mother to get to know Willy and us," Mr. Bucket teased. It was all Ronnie could do not to burst out, "They sure are!". Instead, she just said, "I just think it's high time for my mother to be introduced to the factory." Before the Buckets could respond, Willy spoke up. "If it's okay with you guys, I think I'll call my...well, him right now," he said. "And I'll call my mom," Ronnie said. "Go right ahead," said Mrs. Bucket. "Thanks, Mrs. Bucket. We'll come back after we're finished calling and tell you what they said," Ronnie said as she and Willy headed off.
Approximately fifteen minutes later, they returned. One look at their grinning faces was all it took for the Buckets to figure out the verdict. "They said yes, didn't they?" Mrs. Bucket asked. "You bet they did!" Willy exclaimed. "And when my mom heard that there are going to be eleven us here for Easter, she insisted on making a salad and a dessert for the meal," Ronnie added. "That's awfully nice of her," said Mrs. Bucket. "I take it she enjoys cooking," Mr. Bucket chimed in. "She does, especially baking. She even has her own baking business that she runs from her home," said Ronnie.
Willy gazed lovingly at her. "Like mother, like daughter," he said. "Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt where I caught the baking bug," Ronnie commented. Everyone chuckled. "I haven't even met your mother, Ronnie, but I think I'm really going to like having her as...er, as part of our Easter gathering," Willy said, catching himself just in time. "I think so, too," Ronnie said, winking at him to let him know that she knew what he really meant. "I'm looking forward to meeting your mother as well, Ronnie, especially if she's anything like you, which it sounds like she is," said Mrs. Bucket. Ronnie felt her cheeks turn pink "Awww, shucks!" she said.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
After what seemed like an eternity to Willy and Ronnie, Easter finally arrived. They were so excited that getting through breakfast proved to be a bit of a challenge. They both very nearly spilled the beans about the real reason they'd invited their parents to Easter dinner several times, and as if that weren't bad enough, their excitement was also making them a bit absent-minded. Willy almost buttered his egg instead of his roll (since they were having such a big lunch, Mrs. Bucket had made a very simple breakfast of rolls and hard-boiled eggs that she and Charlie had dyed the night before), and Ronnie managed to drop her egg into her glass of orange juice.
"You guys aren't excited or anything, are you?" Mrs. Bucket teased. "How could you tell?" Ronnie joked back. Mrs. Bucket laughed. "Oh, I don't know. Just a feeling I had," she said. "Well, we are, and that's no yolk," Ronnie answered. Everyone groaned at the pun. "So, why don't we go over the plan once more?" Willy suggested (Ronnie knew he wanted to change the subject before one of them had a chance to almost spill the beans again!). "Good idea, Willy," Mrs. Bucket agreed. "So, let me see if I'm remembering correctly...Willy, your father insisted on finding his own way here?" Mr. Bucket inquired. "That's right. I don't know why he wouldn't just let us pick him up!" Willy replied, rolling his eyes.
"At least we know he can be very sneaky when he needs to be!" Ronnie pointed out (she was referring, of course, to when Dr. Wonka had managed to move his entire house without anyone seeing!). Willy couldn't help but smile a bit. "Yeah, he pointed that out to me too, when I reminded him that I'd rather not have anyone see people coming into my factory and get suspicious," he said. "Anyway, he'll be arriving early in the afternoon. We're leaving right after breakfast to pick up my mom, but should be back before Dr. Wonka arrives," Ronnie explained to the Buckets. "Sounds like a plan to me," Mrs. Bucket said.
Not too long after that, breakfast was over and Willy and Ronnie were on their way to Ronnie's mom's. "Well, do you think the Buckets have figured out our secret yet?" Willy asked Ronnie. "I don't think they've quite figured it out, but I do think they've gotten a bit suspicious," she said. "I can't imagine why that would be!" Willy joked. He and Ronnie both laughed. "It will be very interesting to see how they react to the news," Willy said once they'd calmed down. "Not to mention our parents," Ronnie added. "Speaking of whom, here we are," Willy said as the elevator landed.
As the pair headed up the steps to the door, Ronnie noticed that Willy looked very nervous. He was fussing with his hair and clothes, checking his teeth, and fiddling with his gloves. She knew that he was trying to make sure he'd make a good impression on her mom. "Willy, it's all right. Trust me, my mom's not the type of person who expects people to look perfect," she assured him. Willy relaxed, but only slightly. Hoping to take his mind off of things, Ronnie pointed to the brass name plate beside the door. It read "Scrumptious Creations by Sylvia". "That's what my mom calls her baking business," she explained. Willy relaxed a bit more and smiled. "I like that name," he said. Ronnie smiled back as she rang the doorbell.
Moments later, the door opened to reveal a smiling, friendly looking woman. She was a bit on the short side, with brown hair that was graying in several places and the same sparkling, bright blue eyes as her daughter, which were framed by a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. She wore a flour-dusted apron over her clothes and an oven mitt on her hand.
"Happy Easter!" she greeted Willy and Ronnie as she ushered them inside. As soon as they stepped inside, Ronnie's mother dusted as much of the flour off of her apron as possible, stepped forward, and hugged her daughter. "It's so good to see you again, Ronnie," she said. "Happy Easter, mom. It's good to see you too," Ronnie replied happily. Then she turned so she was facing both her mom AND Willy. "Mom, I'd like you to meet Willy Wonka. Willy, this is my mother, Sylvia Wells," she said. Willy extended his hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wells," he said. "Please, call me Sylvia. I've been looking forward to meeting you," Sylvia replied as she shook the chocolatier's hand. "So, are you ready to see the factory?" Willy asked eagerly. Ronnie grinned, glad that Willy wasn't nervous anymore. "I sure am! Just let me grab my stuff and we can be on our way," said Sylvia.
Once Sylvia had her things, the trio headed for the elevator. Sylvia, who, of course, wasn't expecting the journey to the factory to be via elevator, looked around in confusion. "Where's your car? I'm not seeing it anywhere," she asked. "We didn't bring a car," Willy said. Now Sylvia looked more confused than ever. "Willy, your factory is about an hour away from here. There's no way you two could have walked all this way," she said. It was all Ronnie could do not to giggle. "Mom, of course we didn't walk! We use a different form of trans-" she began, only to be stopped by she and Willy running straight into the side of the elevator. Willy turned crimson. "I really need to be more careful where I park this thing!" he said as he got to his feet and then helped Ronnie up.
Now it was Sylvia's turn to stifle a giggle. "What exactly is this thing?" she asked as they stepped inside the elevator. "It's the great glass elevator!" Willy explained proudly. "An elevator? But elevators can't..." she started to say. Ronnie grinned. "Ordinary elevators can't, but this is no ordinary elevator!" she explained. "Okay, everyone prepare for take-off!" Willy announced. Ronnie and Sylvia set the dishes of food (the salad and dessert Sylvia had made for the dinner) they had been holding on the floor. Then Ronnie put a special "cargo strap" (that Willy had invented for cases like these, when objects needed to be carried in the elevator) around them to stop them from sliding about. "Okay, we're ready," Ronnie said. "Then off we go!" Willy said as he pushed the button to start the elevator.
"Isn't this a great view, mom? It's always my favorite part of traveling by elevator," Ronnie commented once they were in the air. "Yeah, it's not every day one gets to travel via glass elevator!" Willy added happily. Sylvia, however, did not respond, and when Ronnie looked over at her to see why, she was alarmed to discover that her mom's face had taken on a greenish tone, and that she was holding her stomach. "Mom, are you all right?" Ronnie asked. Sylvia shook her head (she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, Willy and Ronnie might very well end up seeing what she'd had for breakfast!).
That's when Ronnie realized that her suspicions had been correct. The elevator was making her poor mom motion sick. "Mom, why don't you sit down and close your eyes," she suggested. Sylvia was more than happy to oblige. After quickly explaining things to Willy, Ronnie sat down next to her mom. She figured that the best thing to do right then would probably be to distract her. So she started talking about the bakery project (being careful not to mention anything about the actual food they were going to sell there, since she knew that food was the last thing her mom needed to hear about right then!).
After talking about where they were in the process and what their latest plans were, she said, "We've been meaning to ask you if you have any ideas for the bakery. Since you've been in the baking business for several years, we figure that you might have some good advice. We'd love your help." Sylvia (who, thankfully, had recovered a bit by this time) smiled. "I'd love to help you with the bakery. In fact, lately I've been considering opening my own bakery and moving my business there, since it has grown quite a bit in the last few years," she said.
At that moment, a light bulb clicked on in Ronnie's mind. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this idea sooner. "Mom, why don't you just merge your business with our bakery? You could help run the bakery AND you could still run your business, because we could sell your stuff there along with our stuff. And we aren't even starting construction on the bakery until around August, so you'll have plenty of time to tell your customers about the change," she suggested. "Hey, yeah! That would be great!" Willy agreed.
Then something else occurred to Ronnie. "Mom, how would you feel about moving?" she asked. To her surprise, Sylvia didn't seem at all annoyed or taken aback by the question. "Actually, now that you mention it, I have been thinking about it a little. I like my place, but it's a little big for just one person," she said. "Well then, you know how I told you that my apartment is above Willy's original candy shop, which is where the bakery is going to be?" Ronnie asked. Sylvia nodded.
"The thing is, I've been thinking about moving myself. I'll stay in the same town, but I thought, you know, maybe it's time for a change of pace. So that means my apartment would be empty. You could live there," Ronnie explained. "If you're sure you want to move, that would work out quite well," Sylvia said. "I'm sure, mom," Ronnie assured her mother. Willy grinned. "That will also mean, Sylvia, that you won't have much of a commute to work once the bakery opens," he said. They all chuckled. "Well, I guess we're going to have quite the news to tell everyone at dinner!" Sylvia said.
At that moment, they arrived back at the factory. "Well, I guess I said the magic word!" Sylvia remarked. They all chuckled. "You did indeed, mom," Ronnie replied. "Welcome to my factory, Sylvia. This is the Wintergreen Room," Willy said. Sylvia glanced around in awe. "I've never seen anything like this before. It's amazing!" she said. Willy grinned. "I'm glad you like it," he said. "Hello! Dinner's just about ready!" a cheerful female voice called suddenly. "We'll be right there!" Willy called back. Noticing Sylvia's confused expression, Ronnie quickly explained, "The others are waiting for us in the Wintergreen Forest." "Well then, lead the way," Sylvia said with a smile.
Within seconds, they were in the middle of the Wintergreen Forest. The first thing Sylvia noticed was that it was even more beautiful than the rest of the Wintergreen Room. The second thing she noticed was that a large table was set up there, and that several people were sitting at it. "Is this where we're eating?" she asked. "You guessed it!" Ronnie said eagerly (there was no way that they were going to be able to fit 11 people around the Buckets' small table, so they had decided early on that dinner would be in the Wintergreen Room since it was one of Willy's and Ronnie's favorite places.).
Before she, her mom, or Willy could say anything more, an older, tall, balding man stood up from his chair and walked over to Willy. "Happy Easter, Willy," he said. "Happy Easter, dad," Willy responded. Now that he had greeted Willy, Dr. Wonka looked over at Ronnie. "And this must be Miss Veronica Wells," he said. "Yes, but please, call me Ronnie," Ronnie said as she extended her hand. Dr. Wonka shook it. "The last time I saw you, you were only 10 years old! And now here you are, all grown up. A pleasure to see you again," he said.
Ronnie felt her cheeks turn pink. "A pleasure to see you again, too. I hope you haven't been waiting for us for too long," she said. "Don't worry, I got here just before you did," Dr. Wonka assured her. Then Sylvia walked over to Dr. Wonka. "Hello, Wilbur. It's good to see you again," she said. "Sylvia! It's good to see you again, too," said Dr. Wonka. Needless to say, Ronnie was a bit surprised. Since when were her mother and Dr. Wonka on a first-name basis with each other? Realizing that the Buckets were probably eager to start eating, and that they hadn't yet been introduced to her mother, she shrugged it off.
Once the rest of the introductions were finished, Willy, Ronnie, Sylvia, and Dr. Wonka sat down at the table and dinner began. "Willy, Ronnie, and I have some news for you," Sylvia told the Buckets. "We're all ears!" Mr. Bucket said. "First of all, has Ronnie told you about my baking business?" Sylvia asked. The Buckets nodded. "Well, on the way over here, Ronnie, Willy, and I were talking about the bakery they're going to open, and we decided that I'm going to help them run it. The bakery will sell my stuff as well, so it'll work out well for all of us. I can help run the bakery without having to let my customers down, and my business has been going so well that I've been thinking about moving it to a bakery anyway," she said. "What a terrific idea!" Mrs. Bucket exclaimed. "Yeah, we're glad you want to help," Charlie added. "I wish you the best of luck, Sylvia," Dr. Wonka spoke up. "Thank you," said Sylvia.
While Sylvia was speaking to Dr. Wonka, Mr. Bucket couldn't help but notice that Willy and Ronnie were grinning like cheshire cats. "There's more, isn't there?" he asked. "You bet there is! You see, obviously it would be a lot more convenient for my mom if, once the bakery opens, she lived close by. She's been thinking about moving into a smaller place anyway, so we decided that she will move into my apartment. Can't get much closer to the bakery than that!" said Ronnie. "That's a very clever idea, Ronnie, but where will you live then?" Mrs. Bucket asked. "Well, Ronnie was just planning on moving anyway..." Willy began. "Because Willy and I are getting married!" Ronnie announced happily, holding up her hand so they could see her ring.
For a few moments, nobody spoke. Ronnie looked around the table, trying to get a sense of how everyone felt about the announcement, but all she could tell was that her mom, Dr. Wonka, and the Buckets were all a bit surprised. "Come on! Somebody say or do something to let Willy and I know what you think about all this!" she thought. As if she had read her daughter's mind, Sylvia broke into a big grin. "So that's why you wanted us all together for Easter dinner, and why you wanted to move all of a sudden. I'm really happy for you both," she said.
"I don't know why I'm so surprised. I mean, I guess I should have seen it coming, but I am just the same. I'm glad you finally found someone special, Willy," Grandpa Joe spoke up. "I don't know why you're so surprised, Joe. It's about time Willy found someone to settle down with!" Grandpa George put in. Mrs. Bucket looked horrified. "Dad, enough!" she hissed. Then she turned to Willy and Ronnie. "Don't mind him. Congratulations to you both, and I wish you a very happy life together," she told them. "Everyone else has pretty much said it all. I hope that the two of you will be as happy together as Nora and I are," Mr. Bucket chimed in. "Awww, James!" Mrs. Bucket cooed, leaning over to give her husband a kiss. "Gross! You guys are making me lose my appetite!" Charlie exclaimed.
It was all the adults could do to keep from laughing. But then Charlie quickly recovered and said, "I'm very excited and happy for you, Willy and Ronnie...even if you two getting married does mean more kisses I'll have to endure!" This time the adults did laugh, but softly and gently. Charlie laughed, too. And then something happened that took Willy completely by surprise. "Willy, it has been my greatest hope that you would find someone special to share you life with, and now you have. I'm very happy for you, son, and I hope..." Dr. Wonka started to say. "You hope what, dad?" Willy asked, feeling happy and surprised at the same time (he had expected his dad's reaction the engagement to be similar to Grandpa George's, rather than congratulatory!). "I hope that married life brings you two the greatest of all happinesses," said Dr. Wonka. Willy had a strong hunch that wasn't what Dr. Wonka was orginally going to say, but he decided not to press the issue. "Thank you all for the congratulations," said Ronnie. "Our pleasure. Now then, I'm sure you'll want to get planning the wedding...and we're more than happy to help," said Mrs. Bucket with a twinkle in her eye.
A/n: I know I said in the chapter preview for this chapter that part of this chapter would be about the plans for Willy and Ronnie's wedding being discussed. However, at the time I had no idea that this chapter would turn out as long as it did. So I decided that the wedding planning would fit better in the next chapter.
Chapter 18 Preview: Willy and Ronnie, along with their parents and the Buckets, begin planning their wedding. Also, we find out a little bit more about why Dr. Wonka and Sylvia are so friendly with each other.