Author's Note: Not abandoned, lovely readers, not abandoned! I've been by my own personal chocolate factory arriving in true fairy tale fashion, out of the blue and against seemingly impossible odds. Without going into detail, one day in the middle of it all, the following conversation occurred between me and my husband, who knows I write but doesn't pay attention to what:
Him: Remember what happened to the person who suddenly got everything they always wanted? (after a pause while I gape at him) What? Don't you remember that line from Willy Wonka? So are you going to live happily ever after now or what?
Me: Maybe...or maybe it'll be like Tangled and I get to go find a new dream.
So...forgive me for making you wait! Happy endings are a little distracting. This is a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to get something out there so you knew I was still alive.
Chapter 6
Mary Sue Weston was accustomed to having her way. The single child of a fantastically rich man whose wife had died in childbirth, Mary Sue had been spoiled silly since the day she was born. Whatever she desired, she had merely to ask, or point, or give any sort of other indication that she might be interested in possessing the object in question.
And right now that object was a man.
Why this man? Well, there was nothing in the world that Mary Sue enjoyed more than upstaging her friends, who were all just as spoiled and silly as she was and who had all married equally silly, doting men. The list of eligible bachelors who fit Mary Sue's requirements of being more rich, more famous and more handsome than any of her friends' beaus was extremely short. Mr. Wonka had not even been on the list until the newspapers turned the second Golden Ticket contest into a scandal. That was exactly what Mary Sue needed to trounce her friends' egos once and for all.
Procuring her ticket had been easy enough - most things are when you can throw an unlimited amount of money at them - but Mr. Wonka had proved not to be the sort of man who would so easily fall for a beautiful woman who could offer him anything his heart desired.
Mary Sue tapped her foot irritably. She had made a mistake by ruling out any of the other women as real competition. Mr. Wonka had certainly looked cozy enough with that mousy brunette earlier. What could he possibly see in her? Regardless, it moved Ms. Amalda McCaine to the top of Mary Sue's list of people to Eliminate.
She was quite good at Eliminating people. Some of them were easily driven off when they realized they were competing with someone of such wealth, talent and beauty. Some of them could be bought off with her daddy's money. Some of them could be blackmailed, which Mary Sue did not enjoy, simply because it required the kind of political maneuvering that she would rather not wrap her brain around around when there were more important things, like flirting, that should be happening.
No, the method that was her personal favorite was sabotage. There was something so thrilling about the expression on a person's face when they realized their dreams had slipped from their grasp without them even realizing it and were now hopelessly beyond recovery. Even better when they were aware of who had caused their downfall and knew that they dared take no retaliatory action against her.
As soon as she saw the quaint little boat appear that would take them to their next stop on the tour, Mary Sue knew exactly how she could sabotage Ms. McCaine. It was a more daring action than she would usually take, but everyone had read the stories about what the children who had visited the factory had gone through. Her revenge would seem almost ordinary in comparison.
Charlie was still answering the women's questions and congratulating himself for how well the star candy demonstration had went when he saw that Mr. Wonka had summoned the boat. Politely cutting off Ms. Lauper's stubborn protests that such as thing was simply not possible, he led everyone over to where Mr. Wonka and Ms. McCaine were waiting. Charlie eyed the two of them uncertainly. It was unusual for Mr. Wonka to let himself be alone with any of the applicants.
Ms. Weston appeared from nowhere as they neared the riverbank, startling Ms. McCaine and causing Mr. Wonka to frown. But she seemed content to watch the approaching boat for the moment, merely standing to one side of Ms. McCaine, the side furthest from Mr. Wonka and still a safe distance from Charlie.
Ms. Stolp stepped up next to Charlie. "I read about that boat in the papers," she murmured, her voice just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Is it...quite safe?"
"Of course it is," Mr. Wonka replied with a smile, rapping the side of the boat with his cane. "You know how children exaggerate."
Ms. Stolp looked at Charlie. "Did you exaggerate?"
"No," he said, and climbed aboard. He could feel five sets of eyes on his back and caught a glimpse of a smirk that Mr. Wonka was not trying very hard to hide. As he settled himself at the back of the boat, he saw that all of the women were regarding it with various degrees of fear and uncertainty.
Mr. Wonka surveyed them for the moment, then held out his hand to the woman next to him. "Ms. McCaine, if you please?" He quirked an eyebrow and Charlie swore there was a bit of a challenge in his voice.
Ms. McCaine gulped, then seemed to rally. She met Mr. Wonka's gaze stubbornly and firmly placed her hand in his. He helped her into the boat and she immediately moved to the far side, sitting on a bench near the front and staring down at the chocolate river. Mr. Wonka winked at Charlie before turning back to offer his hand to the next lady.
It was Ms. Weston, favoring him with a simpering smile and eagerly reaching for his hand. Mr. Wonka's face went carefully blank, the pleasant expression frozen in place. To Charlie's surprise, Ms. Weston merely stepped daintily into the boat, with no shenanigans that involved tripping and falling into Mr. Wonka's arms or finding some other excuse to cling to him any longer than was necessary. To his intense relief, she chose the empty bench between Charlie and Ms. McCaine instead of trying to sit by him. One experience with Ms. Weston was more than enough for Charlie.
There was a bit of a fuss getting Ms. Lauper and Ms. Aranack into the boat. Neither felt it was a safe or reliable way to travel, especially inside a building. Ms. Stolp finally shoved them both across the tiny gap between shore and ship, bustling aboard after them with a huff of frustration and some pointed comments to Mr. Wonka about the type of people who were appropriate for this sort of place.
Finally, Mr. Wonka settled himself on the bench next to Charlie and gave the Oompa Loompa's manning the paddle wheel a nod. They set off at a leisurely pace, and Charlie gave a quiet sigh of relief and heard it echoed by Mr. Wonka. "Just remember, this was your idea," the man murmured. Charlie shot a wry grin at his mentor.
Nervous whispers sprang up among the women as the boat approached the infamous tunnel. As a group, they slid closer together on the narrow benches. Ms. Stolp wrapped one arm around one of the poles that ran down the side of the boat and Ms. Lauper, who was sitting behind her, quickly imitated the motion. Ms. Aranack was all but clinging to Ms. Lauper's arm, much to the other woman's consternation. Ms. McCaine and Ms. Weston both craned their necks over the edge of the boat to get a better look at the approaching darkness.
Charlie gripped the bottom of his seat with both hands, noting that Mr. Wonka merely sat calmly, arms resting on his cane. "No singing this time," he hissed.
And then it began.
